The Most Notable Ex-Rockettes

There are few things more associated with wholesome Americana than the Rockettes. Aside from representing a kind of old-school entertainment standard (the dance company has existed since 1925, but was inspired by older dance companies like the Tiller Girls), they've also been closely associated with Christmas since the inception of the "Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes" in 1933. You just can't get any more wholesome than dancers dressed as toy soldiers dancing alongside Santa Claus.

The Rockettes are what's known as a "precision" dance company. If you've ever seen them perform you know exactly what that means: Those insanely high kicks in unison require a lot of precision and training to attain the spectacular result. As a direct result, becoming a Rockette isn't easy: According to amNewYork you have to be an accomplished dancer proficient in jazz, tap, and ballet and you have to be between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10.5 inches tall. There's a grueling 2-day audition process—hundreds of dancers typically show up and have to quickly team up and learn group routines on the spot, with cuts after each routine. And after all that, each dancer only gets a one-season contract—and must try out again the next year.

Those high standards explain why so many Rockettes have gone on to be successful, influential women. Here's a list of the most notable ex-Rockettes.

Show business is tough. Just getting your foot in the door can be a challenge, much less working steadily for nearly 60 years. But that's exactly what former Rockette Suzanne Rogers has accomplished. Soap Opera fans know that Rogers first appeared on "Days of Our Lives" as Maggie Horton in 1973—and as noted by Screen Rant that makes her the longest-serving cast member on the iconic show. Over the course of more than 48 years, Rogers has appeared in more than 3,500 episodes.

More than a decade before landing that career-defining role, however, Rogers was a successful dancer. Wide Open Country reports that Rogers left home for New York City when she was just 17 years old—and quickly became the youngest dancer to ever join the Rockettes. She spent a decade dancing in New York, appearing not only as a Rockette but also on Broadway in shows like "Follies" and "Coco."

In the early 1970s, Rogers took a chance and moved to California, where she took acting lessons—she studied with legendary acting teacher Stella Adler. According to Glamour, she auditioned for the "Days" role on a Friday and got a call from her agent on Monday informing her that she got the job—and she started work on Wednesday. She eventually won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her work on the show.

Lucille Bremer was born to dance. According to The New York Times, by the age of 12 she was dancing professionally with the Philadelphia Opera Company ballet. Just a few years later she arrived in New York City and joined the legendary Rockettes while still a teenager.

Bremer wanted more. She traveled to California and completed a screen test for Warner Brothers, but according to the Albuquerque Journal a week went by without a response. When she viewed her own test she realized she'd done poorly, so she returned to New York and her dance career, appearing at the Copacabana and Versailles nightclubs according to the Los Angeles Times. That's when she got her second shot at a film career with producer Arthur Freed—and made her film debut in the all-time classic "Meet Me in St. Louis" in 1944, playing Judy Garland's older sister. She made seven more feature films and was also the cover model for Life Magazine's first color cover in 1947.

Despite finding great success as an actress and dancer, Bremer ended her career voluntarily just a few years later. She married Abelardo Louis Rodriguez, son of former Mexican President Abelardo Rodriguez. They were married for 15 years and had four children.

As noted by The New York Times, one legacy of the Rockettes the dance company would love to leave behind is its perception as racially exclusive. Even in the modern day, most of the dancers in the company are white. In fact, the Rockettes did not have a single Black dancer until 1987, 52 years after its founding—and according to The New York Post, Rockettes were even forbidden from getting a suntan in case they might be mistaken for a minority.

The Rockette who finally broke the Rockettes' color barrier was Jennifer Jones, who was just 19 when she joined the company. She spotted an open call for dancers to audition for the legendary dance group that included the line "ethnic minorities encouraged to attend." According to Today, Jones spent 15 years dancing with the Rockettes as well as appearing in Broadway shows. DNAinfo reports that she was one of just three Black women cast in "42^nd Street" in 2001—the show went on to win a Tony Award for best musical revival. Jones founded her own dance school, and officially retired in 2002.

In 2018, Real Health reports that Jones was diagnosed with Stage III nonhereditary colon cancer. After undergoing aggressive treatment, Jones was declared cancer-free in 2019. Curiously, the Rockettes' official history does not mention Jennifer Jones once despite her significance.

Margaret E. Lynn wasn't just a Rockette: according to The New York Times, she was a dance captain with the legendary company. And Margaret—known by the nickname "Skippy"—wasn't just an entertainer. Her career reached far beyond dance. After earning a Master's degree from Catholic University in speech and drama, she danced with the Rockettes, the Martha Graham Company, and in several Broadway shows including "Carousel" and "Oklahoma!"

The Los Angeles Times reports that Lynn served as an "actress technician" during World War II, helping to organize entertainment for the troops—often displaying incredible bravery by performing and directing while under artillery fire. In 1962, Lynn pushed to found the Army Music and Theater Program. The program encouraged the men and women serving in our armed forces to develop and pursue their performing talent. The program grew to be the largest music and theater production organization in the world, staging more than 25,000 performances with an audience of 2.5 million annually. Lynn continued to lead this incredible unit within the army until 1982, when she left to form her own production company, Creative Consultants. According to U.S. Army Family and Morale Welfare and Recreation, she was simultaneously named general manager of the World Showcase Festival Program for the Disney organization and helped organize the opening of Disney's famed EPCOT Center in 1982.

Before Cara Mund even turned 30 years old, she had a pretty impressive resume. According to North Dakota Living, Mund graduated from Brown University with honors, served as an intern for U.S. Senator John Hoeven, and founded North Dakota's Annual Make-a-Wish Fashion Show at age 14.

According to the Rockettes official site, Mund trained with the Radio City Rockettes four years in a row during their annual Rockettes Summer Intensive. She's been dancing competitively most of her life—and also competing in pageants. In 2017, Mund was named Miss North Dakota, and USA Today reports that in 2018 she was named Miss America—the first Miss North Dakota to do so.

Mund is clearly a woman of high character, because she was willing to risk everything in the name of doing the right thing. As noted by The New York Times, Mund caused quite a controversy when she released a letter alleging that Miss America officials had engaged in what she described as "workplace bullying." Mund alleged that she had been marginalized, condescended to, and prevented from doing publicity because she wasn't as "important" as Gretchen Carlson, former Miss America, FOX News correspondent, and chairwoman of the organization's board of directors. Mund's letter had an impact—according to Press of Atlantic City, President and CEO of the Miss America Organization, Regina Hopper, resigned in early 2020.

Joan McCracken may be the most influential dancer you've never heard of. According to Town and Country, McCracken began her professional dancing career at the School of American Ballet, and traveled around the world as part of the Littlefield Ballet. She danced with the Rockettes—but hated the job because of the grueling schedule involved.

After leaving the Rockettes, Heavy reports that she caught her big break when she was cast as Sylvie in the smash hit "Oklahoma!" Her success in that role led to a contract with Warner Brothers, and more film appearances, and as reported by Vanity Fair, she honed a unique approach that combined comedy and dancing and became quite famous (Truman Capote may have based the character of Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" on McCracken). She met the legendary Bob Fosse in 1949—and Fosse later acknowledged her role in his success, saying that she told him his approach was wrong and encouraged him to go back to studying dance. She then secured Fosse's first big gig as a Broadway choreographer—but had her heart broken when he began an affair with dancer Gwen Verdon.

Tragically, McCracken's Type I Diabetes began to have a negative effect on her health and career. She kept her condition a secret and self-administered insulin, but cigarette smoking and constant crash diets resulted in joint pain and heart problems. She died in 1961 at the age of 38 after a heart attack.