Hackett, Jeanette (c. 1898–1979)

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Hackett, Jeanette (c. 1898–1979)

American vaudeville dancer and choreographer. Born c. 1898, probably in New York, NY; died Aug 16, 1979, in New York, NY; m. John Steele (tenor).

As a child, made vaudeville debut in Nora Bayes' starrer The Songs You Love where she performed hula dance (1907), and intermittently toured with brother Albert in their own act for 8 years; performed in other feature acts including Jules Garrison's After the Play (1908–10); performed solo dance act (late 1910s), before making official NYC debut at 18; launched Jeanette Hackett Chorus for which she created precision line dances; staged numerous acts for husband John Steele who introduced "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" in the Ziegfeld Follies.