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71-559: The original Broadway production starred Muriel Smith (alternating with Muriel Rahn ) in the title role. The original Broadway cast members were nearly all new to the stage; Kennedy and Muir each wrote that on the first day of rehearsal only one member had ever been on a stage before this musical. The 1954 film was adapted by Hammerstein and Harry Kleiner. It was directed by Otto Preminger and starred Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte . The musical has been revived in London, running for

142-563: A Highland Park Music Theater production of West Side Story , but she lasted only two performances due to illness. On 31 March 1962, Dandridge sang in the Le Paon Rouge nightclub of the Phoenicia Intercontinental as the guest of honor. By 1963, Dandridge's popularity had dwindled, and she was performing in nightclubs to pay off debts from numerous lawsuits. She filed for bankruptcy and went into seclusion before appearing as

213-482: A "wonderful, emotional actress"—which the trailer promoted. The film, which centered on a teacher's struggles to reach a troubled student, marked the first time Dandridge appeared in a film opposite Harry Belafonte . She continued her performances in nightclubs and appeared on multiple early television variety shows, including Ed Sullivan 's Toast of the Town . In 1953, a talent search was conducted as 20th Century Fox began

284-540: A Woman? at Hampton University in 1985. She died of cancer in 1985, aged 62, in Richmond, Virginia , having moved there in 1974. Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress and singer. She was the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Carmen Jones (1954). Dandridge had also performed as

355-412: A fight with another woman. Joe's pass is cancelled in order for him to drive her to the next town to be handed over to the non-military police. Instead, Carmen charms him and escapes, and he is put in the stockade for not delivering her to the authorities. While Carmen waits for Joe to be released from military prison, she hangs around Billy Pastor's jive cafe where she encounters boxer Husky Miller, who

426-437: A guilt trip, protesting that a long-distance relationship with Joe 400 miles (640 km) away at school just isn't what she had in mind. He immediately gets into a fight with his sergeant, who is making a move on Carmen, as well as putting pressure on Joe. Starting the fight would have been enough to put Joe back in military prison for years, but the fight goes badly, and the sergeant ends up apparently dead. Carmen makes Joe hide

497-461: A jewel robbery and its aftermath. Some pre-release publicity invited the belief that Dandridge received her first, and only, on-screen kiss with a white actor (Howard) in this film. She had kissed her white costar in Tamango , but Dandridge and Howard, under László Benedek 's direction, created some strongly understated sexual tension. The film was withheld from a theatrical release abroad until 1960, and

568-486: A loss of almost $ 2 million. Continuous script rewrites and other problems prolonged the production and ultimately pushed the film over its original budget. When it was released in June 1959, it drew mixed reviews and failed financially. In 1959, Dandridge starred in the low-budget British thriller Malaga , in which she played a European woman with an Italian name. The film, co-starring Trevor Howard and Edmund Purdom , plotted

639-524: A lounge act in Las Vegas in 1964. In 1965, she attempted to revive her acting career. Dandridge signed a new contract in Mexico and was scheduled to appear as the female lead in a film about outlaw Johnny Ringo . Dandridge was a Democrat , and she supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election . Having developed an interest in activism because of the racism she encountered in

710-458: A mistrial. The judge ordered Hollywood Research to stop publishing questionable stories based on paid tips. This curtailed invasive tabloid journalism until 1971, when Generoso Pope, Jr. moved the National Enquirer , which he owned, from New York to Lantana, Florida, where there were fewer restrictions. In 1957, after a three-year absence from film acting, Dandridge agreed to appear in

781-502: A mutiny. Despite being universally panned, the film generated a respectable audience. During production, fellow actor Stuart Whitman said that he noted her strength as she was going through personal turmoil. In late 1958, Dandridge accepted producer Samuel Goldwyn 's offer to star alongside Sidney Poitier in Goldwyn's forthcoming production of Porgy and Bess . This was her first major Hollywood film in five years. Her acceptance angered

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852-741: A positive critical reception, and ran on Broadway for 14 months. Smith toured with the production until 1947, with two further Broadway revivals. In 1947, she starred as Delphine with the baritone William Veasey (Joshua Tain) in Theodore Ward's 'Our Lan' at the Royale Theatre. She later appeared in Marc Blitzstein 's opera The Cradle Will Rock in 1947/8, and performed with the American Negro Theatre in 1948. She moved to London in 1949. After appearing in two Cecil Landeau revues at

923-612: A recently sustained right foot fracture. On September 12, 1965, a private funeral service was held at the Little Chapel of the Flowers ; Dandridge was cremated and her ashes interred in the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park . In 1997 a tribute to Dandridge was aired on the talk show Charlie Rose , featuring biographer Donald Bogle and actors Ruby Dee and Cicely Tyson , who acknowledge Dandridge's contribution to

994-627: A recital at the Wigmore Hall in 1955 before returning to the US to appear in a revival of Carmen Jones at the New York City Center . On December 17, 1956, she made her début in serious opera, starring as Carmen in a production at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden . The performance on December 27, 1956 was broadcast live on BBC radio . This was not an unqualified success. In his history of

1065-419: A scandalous incident that it claimed occurred in 1950. In May 1957, she accepted an out-of-court settlement of $ 10,000. Dandridge was one of two Hollywood stars who testified at the 1957 criminal libel trial of Hollywood Research, Inc., the company that published Confidential and other tabloid magazines from that era. Four months after her out-of-court settlement for $ 10,000, she and actress Maureen O'Hara ,

1136-611: A season in 1991 at Old Vic and most recently in Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre in 2007. In 2018, it was revived off-Broadway at the Classic Stage Company under the direction of John Doyle and Anika Noni Rose in the title role. Parachute maker Carmen Jones makes a play for a "fly boy" Air Force man, Joe, who is in love with sweet Cindy Lou and about to marry her on a day pass when Carmen gets into

1207-523: A song-and-dance act for her two young daughters, Vivian and Dorothy, under the name The Wonder Children. The act was managed by her lover, Geneva Williams. Williams was said to have had a bad temper and to have cruelly disciplined the children. The sisters toured the Southern United States almost nonstop for five years (rarely attending school), while Ruby worked and performed in Cleveland. During

1278-526: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Dandridge was married and divorced twice, first to dancer Harold Nicholas (the father of her daughter, Harolyn Suzanne) and then to hotel owner Jack Denison. Dandridge died in 1965 at the age of 42. Dorothy Jean Dandridge was born in 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio to entertainer Ruby (née Butler) and Cyril Dandridge. Her father was a cabinetmaker and Baptist minister. Her parents separated before her birth. Ruby created

1349-732: A strong emphasis on her physical attributes. She appeared occasionally in films and on the stage throughout the rest of the 1940s and performed as a band singer in films with Count Basie in Hit Parade of 1943 and Louis Armstrong , Atlantic City (1944) and Pillow to Post (1945). In 1944, Dandridge was featured as the star in "Sweet 'N Hot" , a musical held at the Mayan theatre in Los Angeles and produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. , which played nightly for 11 weeks. In 1951, Dandridge appeared as Melmendi, Queen of

1420-635: A supporting role in The Harlem Globetrotters (1951). In May 1951, Dandridge had a spectacular opening at the Mocambo nightclub in West Hollywood, the biggest in its history. after assiduous coaching and decisions on style with pianist Phil Moore . This success seemed a new turn to her career, and she appeared in New York and at Café de Paris in London with equal success. In a return engagement at

1491-706: A vocalist in venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater . During her early career, she performed as a part of the Wonder Children, later the Dandridge Sisters , and appeared in a succession of films, usually in uncredited roles. In 1959, Dandridge was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Porgy and Bess . She was the subject of the 1999 biographical film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge , with Halle Berry portraying her. She had been recognized with

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1562-507: Is instantly besotted with Carmen, calling her "heatwave". Carmen initially is uninterested, but her friends Frankie and Mert know that their invitation from Husky's manager to see him fight in Chicago depends on Carmen's being there, too. Joe, having been released from the stockade, turns up at the cafe the same evening. At first, his prospects seem to be looking up, as his connections have put Joe back on track for aviator school. Carmen lays down

1633-618: Is referred to as the Dorothy Dandridge of her time, citing the star power that Dandridge wielded in her day. In 2020, Laura Harrier portrayed Camille Washington in the miniseries Hollywood . She is an up-and-coming actress during the Hollywood Golden Age in the post-World War II era, a character largely inspired by and based on Dandridge. Dandridge first gained fame as a solo artist from her performances in nightclubs, usually accompanied by Phil Moore on piano. Although she

1704-644: The Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Monster's Ball , she dedicated the "moment [to] Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne , Diahann Carroll ." Both Dandridge and Berry were from Cleveland, Ohio, and they were born in the same hospital. Dandridge was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 1984. She is featured as the most prominent figure in a mural on an exterior wall of Hollywood High School . A statue of Dandridge, designed by Catherine Hardwicke , honors multi-ethnic leading ladies of

1775-721: The Cambridge Theatre in the West End — Sauce Tartare in 1949 and Sauce Piquante in 1950 — she then performed in the London productions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , as Bloody Mary in South Pacific in 1951, and as Lady Thiang, the King's head wife, in The King and I in 1953-1955. with Herbert Lom and Valerie Hobson She gave

1846-828: The Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater . Dandridge first appeared on screen at the age of 13 in a small part in an Our Gang comedy short, " Teacher's Beau " in 1935. As a part of The Dandridge Sisters, she also appeared in The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1936) with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson , A Day at the Races with the Marx Brothers , and It Can't Last Forever (both 1937) with the Jackson Brothers. Although these appearances were relatively minor, Dandridge continued to earn recognition through continuing her nightclub performances nationwide. Dandridge's first credited film role

1917-710: The Great Depression , work virtually dried up for the Dandridges, as it did for many Chitlin' Circuit performers. Ruby moved her family to Hollywood, California, where she found steady work on radio and film in small domestic-servant parts. After that relocation, in 1930, Dorothy attended McKinley Junior High School. The Wonder Children were renamed The Dandridge Sisters in 1934. Dandridge and her sister were teamed with dance schoolmate Etta Jones. The Dandridge Sisters continued strong for several years, and they were booked in several high-profile New York nightclubs, including

1988-601: The soundies material, assured her earning the production's title role. The remainder of the cast was completed with Harry Belafonte , Pearl Bailey , Brock Peters , Diahann Carroll , Madame Sul-Te-Wan (uncredited), Olga James, and Joe Adams. Despite Dandridge's recognition as a singer, the studio wanted an operatic voice, so Dandridge's voice was dubbed by white mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne . Carmen Jones opened to favorable reviews and strong box-office returns on October 28, 1954, earning $ 70,000 during its first week and $ 50,000 during its second. Dandridge's performance as

2059-489: The 1955 Oscar ceremony, Dandridge presented the Academy Award for Film Editing to On the Waterfront editor Gene Milford. On February 15, 1955, Dandridge signed a three-movie deal with 20th Century Fox starting at $ 75,000 a film. Darryl F. Zanuck , the studio head, had suggested the studio sign Dandridge to a contract. Zanuck had big plans for her, hoping she would become the first African-American screen icon. He purchased

2130-631: The Ashuba in Tarzan's Peril , starring Lex Barker and Virginia Huston . When the Motion Picture Production Code objected to the film's "blunt sexuality", Dandridge received considerable attention for wearing what was considered "provocatively revealing" clothing. The continuing publicity buzz surrounding Dandridge's wardrobe got her featured on the April 1951 cover of Ebony . The same year, she had

2201-620: The Mocambo in December 1952, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio agent saw Dandridge and recommended to production chief Dore Schary that she might make an appearance as a club singer, in her own name, in Remains to Be Seen , a film already in production. Her acquaintance with Dore Schary resulted in his casting Dandridge as Jane Richards in Bright Road —her first starring role, in which she expressed herself as

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2272-479: The Royal Opera Harold Rosenthal comments that she was "a lovely figure on stage; a sultry slinky personality with a beautiful velvety voice; but she was tame dramatically and her singing often failed to dominate the stage." Though Covent Garden then had a colourful production and the musical director, Rafael Kubelik , conducted, other members of the cast were also below par, which did not help. She

2343-419: The appointed time. Several hours later, Dandridge was found unresponsive in her apartment by Mills after he had finally broken in the apartment door using the tire iron from his car. A Los Angeles pathology institute determined that the cause of death was an accidental overdose of the antidepressant imipramine . The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office concluded that she died of a fat embolism resulting from

2414-437: The black community, who felt the story's negative stereotyping of blacks was degrading. When the initial director, Rouben Mamoulian , was replaced with Otto Preminger , he informed Dandridge that her performance was not credible and that she needed intensive coaching to handle such a role. Porgy and Bess had a long and costly production. All the sets and costumes were destroyed in a fire and had to be replaced, which amounted to

2485-470: The body because desertion seems better than a lengthy sentence. The train ticket to Chicago originally given to Carmen offers them a way of avoiding the MPs. After a few days hiding in a seedy hotel with no money and no future with Joe, Carmen pays a visit to her two friends, now covered in diamonds and furs, at Husky's training camp. She only is looking for a loan, but they try to draw her to give up Joe and "go with

2556-529: The box office and becoming one of the year's highest-earning films. Dandridge was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress , becoming the first African American nominated for a leading role. At the 27th Academy Awards held on March 30, 1955, Dandridge was a nominee along with Grace Kelly , Audrey Hepburn , Judy Garland , and Jane Wyman . Although Kelly won the award for her performance in The Country Girl , Dandridge became an overnight sensation. At

2627-558: The card's prophecy a reality. Oscar Hammerstein II heavily adapted the libretto for Georges Bizet 's opera Carmen from the original French for his Broadway production. Arts and Entertainment Editor Elisabeth Vincentelli clarifies: "The music was pretty much left intact, but Hammerstein transferred the action to World War II America. Carmen's tobacco factory became Carmen Jones' parachute factory, bullfighter Escamillo became boxer Husky Miller, and so on. As if this weren't enough, there also

2698-423: The cinema, including Mae West , Dolores del Río , and Anna May Wong . Recording artist Janelle Monáe performs a song titled "Dorothy Dandridge Eyes" on her 2013 album The Electric Lady , with Esperanza Spalding . In the 1969 movie The Lost Man , Dorothy Starr (played by Beverly Todd ) says that she named herself after Dandridge. In a February 2016 episode of Black-ish , "Sink or Swim," Beyoncé

2769-520: The code. Despite the behind-the-scenes controversy, the film received favorable reviews and was one of the year's biggest successes. Dandridge next agreed to star opposite German actor Curd Jürgens in the French/Italian production of Tamango (1958). A reluctant Dandridge had agreed to appear in the film only after learning that it focused on a 19th-century slave revolt on a cargo ship traveling from Africa to Cuba. However, she nearly withdrew when

2840-422: The film Carmen Jones were dubbed. Even singer Harry Belafonte was dubbed by LeVern Hutcherson, and Dorothy Dandridge was dubbed by Marilyn Horne (long before Horne became a well-known opera singer). Muriel Smith (singer) Muriel Burrell Smith (February 23, 1923 – September 13, 1985) was an American singer. In the 1940s and 1950s, she was a star of musical theater and opera , and

2911-618: The film Island in the Sun opposite an ensemble cast, including James Mason , Harry Belafonte , Joan Fontaine , Joan Collins , and Stephen Boyd . Dandridge portrayed a local West Indian shop clerk who has an interracial love affair with a white man, played by John Justin . The film was controversial for its time period, and the script was revised numerous times to accommodate the Motion Picture Production Code requirements about interracial relationships. Dandridge and Justin did have an extremely intimate, loving embrace that succeeded in not breaching

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2982-594: The film rights to The Blue Angel and intended to cast her as saloon singer Lola-Lola in an all-black remake of the original 1930 film. She was scheduled to star as Cigarette in a remake of Under Two Flags . Meanwhile, Dandridge agreed to play the role of Tuptim in a film version of The King and I and a sultry upstairs neighbor in The Lieutenant Wore Skirts . However, her former director and now-lover Otto Preminger suggested she accept only leading roles. As an international star, Dorothy Dandridge rejected

3053-743: The hit 1941 musical Sun Valley Serenade for 20th Century Fox . The film marked the first time she performed with the Nicholas Brothers . Aside from her film appearances, Dandridge appeared in a succession of soundies – film clips that were displayed on jukeboxes, including "Paper Doll" by the Mills Brothers , "Cow, Cow Boogie", "Jig in the Jungle", and "Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter's Rent Party" also called "Swing for my Supper", among others. These films were noted not only for showcasing Dandridge as singer and dancer and her acting abilities, but also for featuring

3124-579: The hospital sooner. Harolyn was unable to speak and never recognized Dandridge as her mother. Dandridge was private about her daughter's condition; she didn't publicly speak about it until a 1963 appearance on The Mike Douglas Show . While filming Carmen Jones (1954), she began an affair with director Otto Preminger that lasted four years, during which Preminger advised her on career matters. He demanded that she accept only starring roles after her success in his film. Dandridge later regretted following his advice. She became pregnant by him in 1955, but

3195-593: The image of African Americans in American motion pictures. In the movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), Wesley Snipes played Noxeema Jackson, a drag queen whose dream is to play Dorothy Dandridge in a movie about her life and work. In 1999, Halle Berry produced and starred in the movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge , for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award , Golden Globe Award , and Screen Actors Guild Award . When Berry won

3266-918: The industry, Dandridge became involved with the National Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . During an engagement at the Cotton Club, Dandridge met Harold Nicholas , a dancer and entertainer. They married at a Hollywood ceremony on September 6, 1942. Guests at their wedding included Oscar-winner Hattie McDaniel , jazz singer Etta Jones , and choreographer Nick Castle . They had an unhappy marriage, which deteriorated because of Nicholas' womanizing and inattentiveness. By 1948, Nicholas had abandoned his family. Dandridge filed for divorce in September 1950, and it

3337-452: The initial script called for her to swim in the nude and spend the majority of the film in a two-piece bathing suit made of rags. When Dandridge threatened to leave the film, the script and her wardrobe were retooled to her liking. As United States Production code requirements did not apply to the Italian film production, a passionate kiss between Jürgens and Dandridge's characters was permitted in

3408-419: The jury and press visited Grauman's Chinese Theatre to determine whether O'Hara could have performed various sexual acts while seated in the balcony, as reported by a magazine published by Hollywood Research, Inc., this was discovered to have been impossible. Dandridge had not testified during her civil lawsuit earlier in 1957, but in September she gave testimony in the criminal trial that further strengthened

3479-512: The money" by staying with Husky. Later, at Husky's apartment, Frankie reads Carmen's "cards", and reveals the nine of spades - the card of death. In the belief that her days are numbered, Carmen gives in to Husky's advances, abandoning Joe for the luxurious life Husky can offer her. Cindy Lou comes to look for Joe, but he is still in love with Carmen and spurns Cindy Lou. The night of Husky's title fight, Joe tries to convince Carmen to return to him, but when she rejects him, he kills her, thus making

3550-448: The morning of September 8 around 7:15 am, Dandridge telephoned her manager, Earl Mills, asking him to reschedule a hospital appointment she had that morning where a cast would be applied to her foot where a tiny bone fracture had occurred in a fall five days earlier. A few minutes later, she called again and requested a further delay and a 10:00 am appointment was scheduled. Her manager Mills received no response when he arrived at her door at

3621-527: The only other star who testified at the criminal trial, were photographed shaking hands outside the downtown-Los Angeles courtroom where the highly publicized trial was held. Testimony from O'Hara, as well as from a disgruntled former magazine editor named Howard Rushmore , revealed that the magazines published false information provided by hotel maids, clerks, and movie-theater ushers who were paid for their tips. The stories with questionable veracity most often centered around alleged incidents of casual sex. When

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3692-551: The people who were handling her finances had swindled her out of $ 150,000, and she owed $ 139,000 in back taxes. She was forced to sell her Hollywood home and place her daughter in a California state mental institution, Camarillo State Hospital . Dandridge moved into a small apartment on Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood, California. On the evening of September 7, 1965, Dandridge spoke by telephone from Los Angeles with her friend and former sister-in-law Geraldine "Geri" Branton. Dandridge

3763-521: The popular radio series Major Bowes' Amateur Hour in 1937. After singing at a cocktail party in 1939, one of the guests, Elizabeth Westmoreland, arranged a scholarship for her at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia . She was the first African-American to study at Curtis. She worked in a factory, earning $ 15 per week, to support herself during her studies. She graduated in 1946, in

3834-574: The process of casting an all-black musical film adaptation of Oscar Hammerstein II 's 1943 Broadway musical Carmen Jones . This production had updated Georges Bizet 's opera Carmen to a World War II-era, African-American setting. In Dandridge's leading role from the previous year, a school teacher in Bright Road , director and writer Otto Preminger could see no gift to portray the classic femme fatale in Carmen Jones (1954) but his consideration

3905-498: The prosecution's case. Alleged by Confidential to have fornicated with a white bandleader in the woods of Lake Tahoe , Nevada, in 1950, she testified that racial segregation had confined her to her hotel during her nightclub engagement in Lake Tahoe. When she was not in the hotel lounge rehearsing or performing her singing, according to her testimony, she was required to stay inside her room where she slept alone. The trial ended in

3976-417: The same class as Leonard Bernstein and Isaac Stern . She made her début on Broadway in December 1943, taking the title role in Carmen Jones , an updated version of Bizet 's Carmen by Billy Rose and Oscar Hammerstein with an African-American cast. At that time, US opera companies were segregated — in the cast of 115, only one had previous Broadway experience. Carmen Jones received

4047-443: The seductive Carmen made her one of Hollywood's first African-American sex symbols and earned her positive reviews. On November 1, 1954, Dorothy Dandridge became the first black woman featured on the cover of Life . Walter Winchell described her performance as "bewitching", and Variety wrote that it "maintains the right hedonistic note throughout". Carmen Jones became a worldwide success, eventually earning over $ 10 million at

4118-440: The shooting of Tamango . This was Dandridge's first, and only, on-screen kiss with a white actor. Tamango was withheld from American release until late 1959. It received mixed reviews from critics and achieved only minor success. In MGM 's The Decks Ran Red (1958), Dandridge co-starred with James Mason , Broderick Crawford , and Stuart Whitman as Mahia, a cook's wife aboard a tired World War II surplus freighter enduring

4189-402: The songs " Bali Ha'i " and " Happy Talk ", but she turned down an on-screen part in the 1959 film version of George Gershwin 's opera Porgy and Bess , saying "It doesn't do the right thing for my people." Later in her life, she worked for Moral Re-Armament . In the late 1950s, she starred in the stage musical, “The Crowning Experience”, inspired by the life of Mary McLeod Bethune, which

4260-574: The two lesser roles, and Rita Moreno was cast in both roles. On April 11, 1955, Dandridge became the first black performer to open at the Empire Room at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Her success as a headliner led to the hotel booking other black performers, such as the Count Basie Orchestra with vocalist Joe Williams , Pearl Bailey, and Lena Horne . In 1957, Dandridge sued Confidential for libel over its article that described

4331-509: Was also the off-film ghost singer in several hit movies. She is perhaps best known in the UK for her 1953 #3 hit single , " Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me ", which was first covered in 1965 by Mel Carter (and which remains a staple of easy listening and oldies radio to this day) and later in 1994 by Gloria Estefan . Smith was born in New York City . Her early life remains obscure. She appeared on

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4402-584: Was finalized in October 1951. Dandridge gave birth to her only child, Harolyn Suzanne Nicholas, on September 2, 1943. While she was in labor, Nicholas left her stranded at her sister-in-law's home without the car when he went to play golf. At first, Dandridge refused to go to the hospital without him. Harolyn's delayed birth required the use of forceps. This may have resulted in the brain damage that left her requiring lifelong constant care. Dandridge blamed herself for her daughter's condition, and for not getting to

4473-452: Was forced to have an abortion by the studio. She ended the affair when she realized that Preminger had no plans to leave his wife to marry her. Their affair was depicted in the biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge , in which Preminger was portrayed by actor Klaus Maria Brandauer . Dandridge married Jack Denison on June 22, 1959. They divorced in 1962, amid financial setbacks and allegations of domestic violence. Dandridge discovered that

4544-518: Was in Four Shall Die (1940). The race film cast her as a murderer and did little for her film career. Because of her rejection of stereotypical black roles, she had limited options for film roles. She had small roles in Lady from Louisiana with John Wayne and Sundown with Gene Tierney , both in 1941. Also that year, Dandridge appeared as part of the specialty number " Chattanooga Choo Choo " in

4615-552: Was known for her renditions of songs such as "Blow Out the Candle", " You Do Something to Me ", and "Talk Sweet Talk to Me", she recorded very little on vinyl. It is unknown whether her lack of recording was due to personal choice or lack of opportunity. In 1958, she recorded a full-length album for Verve Records featuring Oscar Peterson with Herb Ellis , Ray Brown , and Alvin Stoller (Catalogue #314 547-514 2) that remained unreleased in

4686-407: Was later made into a film of the same name "The Crowning Experience" . She worked as a voice teacher at Virginia Union University . She received an arts award from the National Council of Negro Women in 1984. She appeared in several regional theatrical productions, including Equus at Theatre IV in Richmond, Virginia, and the première of Jeraldine Herbison 's Sojourner Truth ... Ain't I

4757-413: Was not released until 1962 in the United States. Malaga was her final completed film appearance. In 1962, Dandridge was filmed with Alain Delon on the set of La Fabuleuse Aventure de Marco Polo , a Raoul Lévy -produced French-Italian film that was abandoned due to financial issues. Years later it was released as Marco the Magnificent without either Dandridge or Delon. . She also appeared as Anita in

4828-403: Was scheduled to fly to New York City the next day to prepare for her nightclub engagement at Basin Street East . Branton told biographers that during the long conversation, Dandridge veered from expressing hope for the future, to singing Barbra Streisand 's " People " in its entirety, to making a cryptic remark moments before hanging up on her: "Whatever happens, I know you will understand." On

4899-418: Was that she would be suited for the smaller role, Cindy Lou. Dandridge, who had dressed down for the screen test of Bright Road to suit the demure teacher at its center, worked with Max Factor make-up artists to convey the look and character of the earthy Carmen, which she wore to a meeting with Preminger in his office. The effect, combined with some viewing suggested to him of her freer, looser appearances in

4970-403: Was the 'small' detail of casting the show only with African-Americans...many of the show's songs retain a surprising impact. The feverish intensity of 'Beat Out dat Rhythm on a Drum', for instance, hasn't dimmed over the years, and the song's been covered by a wide variety of performers, from Pearl Bailey and Marc Almond to Mandy Patinkin ." The majority of the actors performing the songs in

5041-418: Was the uncredited ghost singer for Zsa Zsa Gabor in John Huston 's 1952 movie Moulin Rouge , a biography of Toulouse-Lautrec (she also appeared on film as Aicha), and for April Olrich in the 1956 film The Battle of the River Plate . More significantly, she was ghost singer in two songs for the 1958 Hollywood film version of South Pacific , providing the voice for actress Juanita Hall in for

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