Taina Elg dead at 95: Tony nominee and co-star of Gene Kelly passes away
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Taina Elg, a glamorous star to MGM in the 1950s, has died in her native Finland.
She was 95.
The Golden Globe winner was best known in Hollywood for her versatility, starring in a variety of projects with some of tinsel town's biggest names.
Born in 1930 in Helsinki, the budding actress and dancer starred in her first film in 1940.
After World War II, she and a small group of Finnish students were allowed to go to Sweden to study dance, and her host family later supported her when she moved to London to study with Royal Ballet.
It was there she was discovered by American film producer Edwin H. Knopf and signed to a seven-year contract by MGM.
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Taina Elg, one of a glamorous squad of women signed to MGM in the 1950s has died in her native Finland . She was 95
While under contract, she appeared in 1955's The Prodigal starring screen siren Lana Turner, followed by Alice with Turner and future James Bond star Roger Moore in 1956.
She won the Golden Globe for best female foreign newcomer for her performance in Gaby with Leslie Caron.
In her next film, the musical Les Girls with Gene Kelly and Mitzi Gaynor, she was able to show off her dancing skills as a showgirl.
She and co-star Kay Kendall shared the Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy for their work.
Elg also starred in Imitation General, a World War II comedy co-starring Glen Ford and Red Buttons.
After leaving MGM, she signed with the Rank Organization for a remake of the spy thriller The 39 Steps.
She starred as a schoolteacher who gets involved with a British diplomat to decipher and break up a sinister plot against England in the 1959 big screen release.
At the ripe old age of 30, Elg turned her attention to TV and the stage.
She appeared in guest spots on shows such as Wagon Train and Hong Kong, along wit the daytime dramas such as The Doctors.
Elg was studying ballet in London where she was discovered by American film producer Edwin H. Knopf and signed to a seven-year contract by MGM; Circa 1957
Elg, a talented dancer and actress starred in 1957's Les Girls with Gene Kelly and Mitzi Gaynor (l); circa 1958
She and co-star Kay Kendall (center) shared the Golden Globe award for best actress in a musical or comedy for their work in the musical
After leaving MGM, she signed with the Rank Organization for a remake of the spy thriller The 39 Steps co-starring Kenneth More
Elg starred as the title character in a touring production of the musical Irma La Douce in 1962.
She made the first of her seven Broadway appearances, in 1970 as a nun in Josh Logan’s Look to the Lillies, based on Sydney Poitier's Oscar winning turn in 1963's Lillies of the Field.
The multi-talented Elg received her first Tony nomination for the 1974-75 revival of Frank Loesser’s Where’s Charley? co-starring Raul Julia.
Another Broadway success included the musical Nine, where she originated the role of Guido's Mother in the Best Musical winner.
Elg also toured in the musicals Two by Two, Gigi, and Titanic.
Elg married her first husband Carl-Gustav Björkenheim in 1953 and the two shared a son, jazz guitarist Raoul Björkenheim. The couple divorced in 1960; Pictured in May 1956
The actress originated the role of Olympia Buchanan, the first wife of tycoon Asa Buchanan, on One Life to Live. Her character dramatically and fatally fell over a balcony at a costume party; Pictured in March 1981
In 2004, Elg was awarded one of Finland's highest honors, the Order of the Lion of Finland and was bestowed the rank of a Knight First Class; Pictured in Los Angeles n May 1956
The actress starred in the soap opera Guiding Light as Dr. Ingrid Fisher and originated the role of Olympia Buchanan, the first wife of tycoon Asa Buchanan, on One Life to Live in which her character dramatically and fatally fell over a balcony at a costume party.
Elg was married twice and shared her son, jazz guitarist Raoul Björkenheim, with her first husband Carl-Gustav Björkenheim, whom she married in 1953 and divorced seven years later.
She wed her second husband, Rocco Caporale, in 1985 and was with him until his death in 2008.
In 2004, Elg was awarded one of Finland's highest honors, the Order of the Lion of Finland and was bestowed the rank of a Knight First Class.
