Olga San Juan | Actress, dancer, 81

Olga San Juan, 81, the actress dubbed the "Puerto Rican Pepperpot" for singing and dancing roles alongside the likes of Bing Crosby, has died.

She died Saturday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., of kidney failure, said her son-in-law Barry Adelman, executive producer of the Golden Globe Awards.

Ms. San Juan started dancing when she was 5 or 6 years old, said Adelman, and she performed as a girl with mambo percussionist Tito Puente. She began her acting career in radio and theater, then went on to movies in the mid-1940s.

Ms. San Juan appeared opposite Fred Astaire and danced with him in the 1946 musical Blue Skies and also sang with Crosby in the film, according to a news release.

In 1951 she starred in the Broadway production of Lerner and Loewe's Paint Your Wagon. - AP