Lucille Bremer

Lucille Bremer
Bremer as Sally Hessler in Till the Clouds Roll By in 1946
Born	February 21, 1917 Amsterdam, New York, United States
Died	April 16, 1996 (aged 79) La Jolla, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress/dancer
Years active	1942—1948
Spouse(s)	Abelardo Louis Rodriguez (1948-1963) (divorced) (four children)

Lucille Bremer (February 21, 1917 – April 16, 1996) was an American film actress and dancer.

Biography

Lucille Bremer was born in Amsterdam, New York, but soon moved to Philadelphia Pennsylvania where she studied ballet. Once in New York, she danced in various specialty acts, most notably in the 1939/40 New York's World's Fair "American Jubilee". She auditioned and began her career as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, at age 16. Lucille was voted as "most likely to succeed in movies" by her Rockette peers. She was also known as "5th from the right" in the Rockettes line up. Bremer also auditioned as a dancer for various Broadway shows, along with fellow stars Vera-Ellen and June Allyson, appearing as a 'Pony Girl' in the Broadway musical Panama Hattie in 1940. She also danced at the famed Copacabana Nightclub in New York City as well as the Club Versailles where she was spotted by Arthur Freed, a Producer of Musicals at Metro Goldwyn Mayer. She was taken to Hollywood, where her screen test impressed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer mogul Louis B. Mayer. An accomplished dancer, she was also considered to display potential as a dramatic actress. Lucille also screen tested and was offered a contract with Goldwyn Studios, but decided on MGM studios to properly showcase her dancing talent. She studied acting at MGM with the great acting coach Lillian Burns.

She made her screen debut in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) as Judy Garland's sister, and followed this with a co-starring role opposite Fred Astaire in Yolanda and the Thief (1945), and a featured dance performance, once again with Astaire, in two memorable sequences in Ziegfeld Follies (1946). Her last major film was Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), but after this, MGM began to lose interest in promoting her. After a few minor films, she played her last starring role in Behind Locked Doors (1948).

Reportedly disappointed with her Hollywood career, she elected not to renew her contract and left the film industry. She had also met and fallen in love with the son of the former president of Mexico, Abelardo Luis Rodriguez, who bore the same name as his father. She and Rod Rodriguez were married at Catalina Island in August of 1948. She moved with him to Baja California Sur, Mexico, at the beginning of the Golden Age of Baja and started the illustrious private resort Rancho Las Cruces, as well as the original Palmilla Hotel and the Hacienda Hotel. With her contacts in Hollywood, and her husband "Rod" Rodriguez's influence, they drew people from Hollywood who sought to enjoy this newly found paradise. She and her husband were also business partners with Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, and Bing Crosby to name a few.

After her divorce (in 1963), she settled in La Jolla, California, where she owned a children's clothing boutique. She continued to travel between La Jolla, California and Baja California Mexico. She died in 1996 from a heart attack at age 79. Her ashes were scattered in the Sea of Cortez as well as scattered next to the church she and her husband had built on the Rancho Las Cruces resort property. A plaque bearing her name, as well as that of Desi Arnaz, was erected on the left side of the church in her honor.

She left four children (Nicholas, Torre, Cristina, and Karen) and numerous grandchildren (Francesca, Amanda, Andres, Alexis, Kamal, and David) and great-grandchildren. Her son, Niki (Nicolas) continues to manage and run the Rancho Las Cruces resort where they recently celebrated their 65th anniversary of the resort in May of 2015. Her other children, Cristina, Kali (Karen) and Torre continue to live in the Baja California Mexico area where they also manage their own properties as well. Her children and grandchildren continue to spend their time between La Jolla, California and Baja California Mexico. Rod Rodriguez is still alive today at age 98 and resides in the La Jolla, California area.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1942	Penny Arcade (short film)	Woman
1944	This Love of Mine (short film)	Dancer
1944	Meet Me in St. Louis	Rose Smith
1945	Yolanda and the Thief	Yolanda
1946	Ziegfeld Follies	Princess ("This Heart of Mine") / Moy Ling ("Limehouse Blues")
1946	Till the Clouds Roll By	Sally Hessler
1947	Dark Delusion	Cynthia Grace
1948	Adventures of Casanova	Lady Bianca
1948	Ruthless	Christa Mansfield
1948	Behind Locked Doors	Kathy Lawrence

External links

• Lucille Bremer at the Internet Movie Database
• Lucille Bremer at the Internet Broadway Database
• Lucille Bremer at AllMovie
• "Class Act - Lucille Bremer"