Dorothy Babbs; Dancer in Movies and on Stage
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Dorothy Babbs, 71, a dancer who performed with the 1940s troupe Jivin’ Jacks & Jills, died May 13 in Thousand Oaks of complications after heart surgery.
A native of Amarillo, Texas, Babbs moved to Los Angeles with her parents and made her film debut in “You Can’t Take It With You” in 1939. Her role was to teach Jimmy Stewart how to do the then-popular dance called the Big Apple.
Babbs danced her way through several swing music era films, including “Scandal Street,” “Star Maker,” “What’s Cookin,’ ” “Chip Off the Old Block,” “Earl Carroll Sketchbook,” “It Could Happen to You” and “When My Baby Smiles at Me.”
On stage, Babbs appeared in the original Los Angeles cast of “Lend an Ear” with Gene Nelson and Carol Channing, and went to New York for the show’s Broadway run.
Babbs largely retired from show business in the 1950s to become a wife and mother.
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