Confusion surrounds the participation in MGM’s Dancing Lady of Shirley Deane Blattenberger (1913-83). She is given two IMDb entries, as Shirley Aaronson and Shirley Deane, but these would both appear to be Ms Blatternberger.
After some early stage experience as a child performer, and training with Albertina Rasch, Shirley Aaronson (having adopted the name of her stepfather), made her screen debut as a chorus girl in Dancing Lady. After a few years playing bit parts, she changed her name to Shirley Deane, and went on to play featured roles in films such as Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936).
In 1937, she played an imposter claiming to be the long-lost heiress in Nancy Steele is Missing. She was then cast as Bonnie in Big Business, the first of the Jones Family series at 20th Century-Fox.
Deane is perhaps best-remembered for playing Princess Aura in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940).
Leave a Reply