Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge (born November 9, 1922 in Cleveland , Ohio - † September 8, 1965 in Hollywood , California ) was an American actress and singer . For Carmen Jones (1954) she was the first African-American person to receive an Oscar nomination in the leading actor category.
Life
Dorothy Dandridge's mother and grandmother were already actresses. As a child she performed as a singer in Baptist churches in Ohio . Her mother Ruby Dandridge also wrote a piece for her two daughters Vivian and Dorothy, The Wonder Children . The two sisters later went on tour in the southern United States.
During the Great Depression in the early 1930s, the family moved to Los Angeles . There Dorothy quickly found minor roles on radio and film; The Wonder Kids called themselves from then on The Dandridge Sisters and also appeared in the New York Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater . Dandridge's first film appearance was a supporting role in the short film Our Gang in 1935 ; In 1937 she and her sister appeared in The Marx Brothers: A Day at the Race .
In her early films, she mostly got the stereotypical roles that were intended for African American women; In 1940 Dandridge played a murderess in the film Four Shall Die . She quickly became known through her film appearances and had successful appearances as a singer in nightclubs. During this time, some soundies were recorded in which she sang her hits, mostly cover versions of other artists, such as "Paper Doll" by the Mills Brothers , "Cow Cow Boogie" by Freddie Slack and Ella Mae Morse and "Jig in the Jungle" and "Mr. & Mrs. Carpenter's Rent Party ”.
She had her greatest successes in the 1950s under director Otto Preminger . She played the title role in Carmen Jones , for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress as the first black actress in history . She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for the role of Bess in the movie Porgy and Bess . She made her last film in 1961.
In 1965, suffering from depression, financial problems and alcohol addiction, she committed suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills . Before her death, she was in discussion for the role of Billie Holiday in a movie. However, this film was only made a few years after her death with Diana Ross in the lead role.
Dorothy Dandridge was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (6719 Hollywood Boulevard ) for her services to the film industry . Her career was also filmed in the film Rising Star (1999). Halle Berry played the role of Dandridge, for which she received the Emmy Award and the Golden Globe Award .
Dandridge was married to tap dancer and actor Harold Nicholas from 1942 to 1951 and to restaurant manager Jack Denison from 1959 to 1962. A daughter was born from his first marriage.
Discography
Singles
- You Ain't Nowhere (1940)
- That's Your Red Wagon (1940)
- Watcha Say (1944)
- Blow Out the Candle (1951)
- Talk Sweet Talk To Me (1951)
- Taking a Chance On Love (1953)
- It's a Beautiful Evening (1961)
album
- Smooth Operatar (1958–1961, only published in 1999)
Filmography (selection)
- 1935: The Big Broadcast of 1936
- 1937: The Marx Brothers: A Day at the Races
- 1938: Going Places
- 1940: Irene
- 1941: Lady from Louisiana
- 1941: Adopted Happiness (Sun Valley Serenade)
- 1941: Gun smugglers from Kenya (Sundown)
- 1941: Bahama Passage
- 1943: Hit Parade of 1943
- 1944: Atlantic City
- 1947: Ebony Parade
- 1951: Tarzan and the jungle goddess (Tarzan's peril)
- 1951: Harlem Globetrotters
- 1953: Bright Road
- 1954: Carmen Jones
- 1957: Hot Earth (Island in the Sun)
- 1957: The black slave (Tamango)
- 1958: Killer on Board (The Decks Ran Red)
- 1959: Porgy and Bess (Porgy and Bess)
- 1960: Malaga (Moment of Danger)
literature
- Dorothy Dandridge and Earl Conrad: Everything and Nothing: The Dorothy Dandridge Tragedy. Abelard-Schuman, 1st edition, 1970, ISBN 0-200-71690-5 . HarperCollins, New Edition, New York 2000, ISBN 0-06-095675-5 .
- Earl Mills: Dorothy Dandridge: An Intimate Portrait of Hollywood's First Major Black Film Star. Holloway House Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0-87067-899-X .
Web links
- Dorothy Dandridge in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Dorothy Dandridge in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
- Dorothy Dandridge on FemBiography
- Pictures by Dorothy Dandridge In: Virtual History
- Dorothy Dandridge in the German synchronous file
Individual evidence
- ^ Dorothy Dandridge Biography (1922-1965) . filmreference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Dandridge, Dorothy |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Dandridge, Dorothy Jean (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American actress and singer |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 9, 1922 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Cleveland , Ohio , United States |
DATE OF DEATH | September 8, 1965 |
Place of death | Hollywood , California , United States |