The Girl Next Door: June Haver Dead at 79

[Eve]

June Haver, a singer and actress once groomed by 20th Century Fox to be “the next Betty Grable” but who left acting to join a convent and later married actor Fred MacMurray, has died. She was 79. Beginning in 1943, she appeared in 15 films in 10 years, including “Irish Eyes Are Smiling” (1944) and “The Girl Next Door” (1953), her last film, which was considered one of her best. The blond, blue-eyed Haver was called the “pocket Grable” after she was paired with the screen legend in “The Dolly Sisters” (1945). The movie featured “sassy hokum” and “two lovely stars,” according to “Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide.” After singing with dance bands, Haver came to Hollywood and appeared in a string of musicals, many of which were set in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But she never achieved Grable’s popularity. Throughout her life, she was so upbeat that friends were known to greet her with these words: “Cheer down, June.”

Some nice photos of her here.

[Girl_Next_Door]

I’m not dead yet.

[DrMemory]

You will be soon. Go on, Get on the Cart.