Associated Press
Saturday, January 10, 2009

Olga San Juan, 81, the actress dubbed the "Puerto Rican Pepperpot" who sang and danced in Hollywood films alongside Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and other top entertainers, died Jan. 3 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif.

She had kidney failure, said her son-in-law Barry Adelman, executive producer of the Golden Globe Awards.

Ms. San Juan, who was of Puerto Rican descent, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. She started dancing as a child and performed with mambo percussionist Tito Puente. She began her acting career in radio and theater and went on to movies in the mid-1940s.

"Those were the days where the studios were very active in building images. She was very tiny, but very spunky and lively. So the name 'Puerto Rican Pepperpot' fit," Adelman said.

Ms. San Juan danced with Astaire in the 1946 musical "Blue Skies," and she sang with Crosby in the film, according to a news release. She also appeared in such 1940s films as "Duffy's Tavern," "Variety Girl" and "One Touch of Venus."

In 1951, she starred in the Broadway production of Lerner and Loewe's "Paint Your Wagon." She retired several years later to raise three children from her marriage to Academy Award-winning actor Edmond O'Brien. They later divorced.

Survivors include her children; a sister; and three grandchildren.