Beverly Raffel, Professional Dancer, 84

[DGH]

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Beverly Raffel, a professional dancer who toured the world in the 1920s
and '30s and performed in films featuring Jack Benny and other stars of
the day, died of complications from cancer Sunday, January 5, 2003, in
Aventura Hospital and Medical Center in Aventura, Florida, at the age of
84.

A Chicago, Illinois, native, Mrs. Raffel was one of seven children born
to the Dreebin family. She was a natural dancer and turned professional
at 15, joining the Muriel Abbott Dancers.

Based in Chicago, the troupe performed ballets and modern dance numbers
in tours in Europe and the United States.

"The big deal, though, was performing in the Empire Room at the Palmer
House Hotel," her son Bill said.

On tour, Mrs. Raffel was the roommate of June Taylor, whose own troupe
went on to fame on "The Jackie Gleason Show."

Mrs. Raffel's dancing earned her a spot in several films, including
"Buck Benny Rides Again." For that movie, she appeared on advertisements
opposite Jack Benny.

On April 18, 1937, she was one of three dancers to appear in one of the
earliest color images published in the Chicago Tribune. Sitting with one
leg stretched before her and her arm delicately extended, Mrs. Raffel's
image accompanied a story celebrating the "camera magic" of the new age
of color in print.

By the time she reached her early 20s, Mrs. Raffel was ready to set
aside the glamor life for something more traditional.

In 1941, she married Arnold Raffel, a naval officer she met on leave,
who later became a dentist with a successful practice in South Shore.

There, she raised her three sons and taught dance for several years in
the 1950s.

After Dr. Raffel's retirement in 1980, the couple moved to Aventura,
florida, near Miami, Florida, where Mrs. Raffel spent many years
teaching water aerobics to senior citizens.