Marion Pauline Moore; Danced With the Ziegfeld Follies in 1920s

Marion Pauline Moore, who danced with the famed Ziegfeld Follies in the 1920s when she was just a teenager, died Friday in her sleep at her Fullerton home. She was 87.

Using the stage name Marion Wellman, Moore danced with the troupe on Broadway and toured the country in musical revues before settling in California, where she also appeared with the group in several movies, said her sister, Marjorie Colombo of Fullerton.

“Ever since she was a little girl, she knew she wanted to be a dancer,” Colombo said. She kept her dancing outfits, shoes, yellowed newspaper articles about the shows and dozens of photos as cherished mementos from her dancing days, Colombo said.

When Moore was just a teenager, however, her parents had different ideas about their daughter’s future, Colombo said. Her father forced the teenager to attend a stenography class and take a job as a secretary, Colombo said.

It was a disaster.

“All she wanted to do was work with her feet, not her hands,” Colombo said, laughing.

A memorial service is scheduled for Monday in Fullerton.