BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge
Dandridge in trailer for The Decks Ran Red(1958).
Born	Dorothy Jean Dandridge November 9, 1922 Cleveland, Ohio, US
Died	September 8, 1965 (aged 42) West Hollywood, California, US
Cause of death	Embolism^[1] or Overdose^[2]
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale, California)
Other names	Dorothy Dandridge-Nicholas Dorothy Nicholas Dorothy Dandridge-Denison Dorothy Denison
Occupation	Actress, Singer, Dancer
Years active	1933–65
Spouse(s)	Harold Nicholas (m. 1942; div.1951) Jack Denison (m. 1959; div.1962)
Children	Harolyn Suzzane Nicholas (b.1943)
Parents	Ruby Dandridge Cyril Dandridge
Family	Vivian Dandridge (sister) Nayo Wallace (great-niece)

Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an African-American film and theatre actress, singer and dancer. She is perhaps best known for being the first black actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1954 film Carmen Jones.^[3] Dandridge performed as 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 1954, she was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Carmen Jones, and, in 1959, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Porgy and Bess. She is the subject of the 1999 HBObiographical film, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. She has been recognized with 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 under mysterious circumstances at the age of 42.^[4]

Early life

Dorothy Dandridge was born on November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio to aspiring entertainer Ruby Dandridge (née Butler) and Cyril Dandridge (October 25, 1895 – July 9, 1989),^[5]^[6] a cabinetmaker and minister, who had separated just before her birth.^[7] Ruby created a song-and-dance act for her two young daughters, Vivian and Dorothy, under the name The Wonder Children, that would be managed by Geneva Williams. The sisters toured the Southern United States almost non-stop for five years (rarely attending school), while Ruby worked and performed in Cleveland.^[8]

During the Great Depression, work virtually dried up for the Dandridges, as it did for many Chitlin' circuit performers. Ruby moved to Hollywood, California, where she found steady work on radio and film in small domestic-servant parts. The Wonder Children were renamed The Dandridge Sisters in 1934, and Dandridge and her sister were teamed with dance schoolmate Etta Jones.

Career

Beginnings

The Dandridge Sisters continued strong for several years, and were booked in several high-profile nightclubs, including the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater.^[9] Dandridge's first screen appearance was a bit part in an Our Gang comedy short, Teacher's Beau in 1935.^[10] As a part of The Dandridge Sisters, she 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.^[11] Although these appearances were relatively minor, Dandridge continued to earn recognition through continuing nightclub performances nationwide.

Dandridge's first credited film role was in Four Shall Die (1940). The race film cast her as a murderer in one of her earliest featured roles, but it would eventually not further her film career. She had small roles in Lady from Louisiana with John Wayne and Sundown (both 1941) with Gene Tierney. Dandridge appeared as part of a "Specialty Number" in the hit 1941 musical film, Sun Valley Serenade for 20th Century-Fox. The film marked the first time she performed with the Nicholas Brothers.^[12] Aside from her film appearances, Dandridge appeared in a succession of "soundies"–film clips designed to be displayed on juke boxes including "Paper Doll" by the Mills Brothers, "Cow, Cow Boogie", "Jig in the Jungle", and "Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter's Rent Party" among others. These films were noted not only for showcasing Dandridge's singing and acting abilities, but also for featuring strong emphasis on her physical attributes.

She continued to appear occasionally in films and on the stage throughout the rest of the decade, but few of these appearances were noteworthy. In 1951, Dandridge appeared as an African queen in Tarzan's Peril, starring Lex Barker and Virginia Huston. When the Hollywood censorship bureau objected to the film's "blunt sexuality", Dandridge was singled for wearing what was considered "provocative attire". The continuing controversy surrounding Dandridge's wardrobe got her pictured on the April 1951 cover of Look magazine. That same year, she had a supporting role in The Harlem Globetrotters (1951), which too did not further her career.^[12]^[12]

In December 1952, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio agent saw Dandridge perform at the Mocambo and cast her as Jane Richards in Bright Road, her first starring role as a "wonderful, emotional actress" as the trailer stated. The film, which plotted a teacher's struggles to reach out to a troubled student, marked the first time Dandridge appeared in a film opposite Harry Belafonte. She continued to perform in nightclubs thereafter and appeared on multiple early television variety shows, including Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town.^[13]

Carmen Jones and 20th Century-Fox

Carmen Jones promotional poster, 1954.

In 1953, a nationwide publicity search arose as 20th Century-Fox began the process of casting the all-black musical film adaptation ofGeorges Bizet's 1874 opera Carmen. Director and writer Otto Preminger initially did not consider her for the role, feeling her sophisticated look was more suited for the smaller role of Cindy Lou. Dandridge relented, and reinvented her look with the aid of Max Factor make-up artists to obtain the look of the earthy title role. After a meeting with Preminger dressed as the character, Dandridge was soon cast along withHarry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Brock Peters, Diahann Carroll, Madame Sul-Te-Wan (uncredited), Olga James, and Joe Adams.^[14]

Despite her recognition as a singer, Dandridge's voice was dubbed by operatic vocalist Marilyn Horne for the film. 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 the sultry title character made her one of Hollywood's first African-American sex symbols and earned her positive reviews. Walter Winchell recalled her performance as "bewitching" and Variety said her "performance maintains the right hedonistic note throughout".^[15]

Carmen Jones became a worldwide success, eventually earning over $10 million at 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 to be nominated for a leading role. At the 27th Academy Awards held on March 30, 1955, Dandridge shared her Oscar nomination which such luminaries as 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 the awards ceremony, Dandridge presented the Academy Award for Film Editing to On the Waterfronteditor Gene Milford. on November 1, 1954.

On February 15, 1955, Dandridge signed a three-movie deal with 20th Century-Fox starting at $75,000 a film. The head of the studio, Darryl F. Zanuck, had personally suggested the studio sign Dandridge to a contract. Zanuck had big plans for her, hoping she would evolve into the first African-American screen icon. He purchased 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 also scheduled to star as Cigarette in a remake of Under Two Flags. Meanwhile, Dandridge agreed to play 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, and she turned both roles down. She was eventually replaced by Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno in both parts.^[12]

Hollywood Research, Inc. trial

Dandridge was one of the few Hollywood stars who testified at the 1957 criminal libel trial of Hollywood Research, Inc., the company that published all of the era's tabloid magazines.^[16] She and actress Maureen O'Hara, the only other star who testified, were photographed shaking hands outside the downtown-Los Angeles courtroom where the well-publicized trial was held.^[16] Testimony from O'Hara, as well as from a disgruntled former magazine editor, 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 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.^[16]

Dandridge's testimony further strengthened the prosecution's case. Alleged by one tabloid to have fornicated with a white bandleader in the woods of Lake Tahoe in 1950, she testified that racial segregation had confined her to her hotel during her nightclub engagement in the Nevada resort city.^[16]^[17] 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.^[16] This proved beyond any doubt that Hollywood Research had committed libel at least once. The judge ordered Hollywood Research to stop publishing questionable stories based on tips for which they paid, and this curtailed invasive tabloid journalism until 1971 when Generoso Pope, Jr. moved The National Enquirer, which he owned, from New York to Lantana, Florida.^[18]^[19]

Decline

BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY

In 1957, after a three-year absence from film acting, she agreed to appear in the film version of Island in the Sun opposite an ensemble cast, including James Mason, Harry Belafonte, Joan Fontaine, Joan Collins, and Stephen Boyd. Dandridge portrayed a local Indian shop clerk who has an interracial love affair with white man, played by John Justin. The film was controversial for its time period, and the script was revised numerous times to accommodate the Production Code requirements about interracial relationships. There occurred, however, an extremely intimate loving embrace between Dandridge and Justin that succeeded in not breaching the code. Despite the behind-the-scenes controversy and unfavorable critical reviews, the film was one of the year's biggest successes.^[20]

Dandridge next starred opposite German actor Curd Jürgens in the Italian production of Tamango, which began filming in 1957, for $100,000. A reluctant Dandridge had agreed to appear in the film only after learning that it focused on a nineteenth century slave revolt on a cargo ship travelling from Africa to Cuba. However, she nearly withdrew her involvement when 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 was retooled to her liking. United States Production code requirements did not apply to this Italian production and a passionate and overwhelming kiss from her co-star Jürgens was accepted by Dandridge's Aiché. This gave Dandridge her first, and only, on-screen kiss with a white actor. Tamango was withheld from an American release until late 1959, and received mixed reviews from critics and minor success.

In MGM's The Decks Ran Red (1958), she co-starred with James Mason and Broderick Crawford as an exotic woman aboard a large ocean linear where numerous deaths are arranged to take place. Despite being universally panned, the film generated a respectable audience due to the controversy surrounding Dandridge's sultry wardrobe.

In late 1958, Dandridge accepted producer Samuel Goldwyn's offer to star in his forthcoming production of Porgy and Bess, which would becoming her first major Hollywood film in five years. Her acceptance to playing the role angered the African-American community, who felt the story's negative stereotyping of blacks was degrading. When the initial director was replaced with Otto Preminger, he informed Dandridge her performance was not creditable and that she needed intensive coaching to handle such role. Porgy and Bess had a long and costly production; its entire sets and costumes were destroyed in a fire, losing almost $2 million. Continued script rewrites and further problems that prolonged the production, pushed the film over-budget. When it was released in June 1959, it was critically bashed and failed to recoup its financial investment.

In 1959, she filmed a 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 a jewel robbery and its aftermath. Some pre-release publicity^[21] invited the belief that Dandridge in this movie received her first, and only, on-screen kiss with a white actor, Howard. This was not so [see her film Tamango above] but the actor and actress, under László Benedek's direction, created some strongly understated sexual tension. The film was withheld from a theatrical release abroad until 1960, but went unreleased in the United States until 1962. It became her final completed film appearance.

Recordings

Dandridge first gained fame as a solo artist from her performances in nightclubs, usually accompanied by Phil Moore on piano. As well known as she became from 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. Whether it was because of personal choice or lack of opportunity is unknown.

As part of the Dandridge Sisters singing group:

Recorded	Song title	Label	Release	Catalogue No.	Issued	Band
1940	That's Your Red Wagon	Columbia	78 rpm	#28006	1940	Jimmy Lunceford
	You Ain't Nowhere	Columbia	78 rpm	#28007	1940	Jimmy Lunceford
	Minnie The Moocher Is Dead	Columbia	78 rpm	#26937A	1940	Jimmy Lunceford
	Ain't Going To Go To Study War No More	Columbia	78 rpm	#26938	1940	Jimmy Lunceford

As a solo artist:

Recorded	Song title	Label	Release	Catalogue No.	Issued
1944	Watch'a Say (duet with Louis Armstrong from the film Pillow to Post)	Decca	78 rpm	#L-3502	1944
1951	I Can't See It Your Way/Blow Out The Candle	Columbia	78 rpm	DB 2923	1951
1953	Taking a Chance On Love	MGM Records	78 rpm	?	1953

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 the vaults until a CD release in 1999. This CD also included four tracks from 1961 (with an unknown orchestra) that included one 45 rpm record single and another aborted single:

Recorded	Song title	Label	Release	Catalogue No.	Issued
1958	It's Easy To Remember	Verve	Unreleased	21942-3	1999 (CD only)
	What Is There To Say		Unreleased	21943-6	1999 (CD only)
	That Old Feeling		Unreleased	21944-4	1999 (CD only)
	The Touch Of Your Lips		Unreleased	21945-12	1999 (CD only)
	When Your Lover Has Gone		Unreleased	21946-1	1999 (CD only)
	The Nearness Of You		Unreleased	21947-7	1999 (CD only)
	I'm Glad There Is You		Unreleased	21948-10	1999 (CD only)
	I've Grown Accustomed To His Face		Unreleased	21949-4	1999 (CD only)
	Body and Soul		Unreleased	21950-2	1999 (CD only)
	How Long Has This Been Going On?		Unreleased	21951-6	1999 (CD only)
	I've Got a Crush on You		Unreleased	21952-3	1999 (CD only)
	I Didn't Know What Time It Was		Unreleased	21953-3	1999 (CD only)
1961	Somebody		45 rpm single V10231	23459-2	1961
	Stay with It		45 rpm single V10231	23460-4	1961
	It's A Beautiful Evening		Unissued single	23461-5	1961
	Smooth Operator		Unissued single	23462-2	1961

The above two tracks were aborted for release as a single and remained unreleased until the Smooth Operator CD release in 1999). These are the only known songs Dandridge recorded on vinyl. Several songs she sang, including her version of "Cow-Cow Boogie" were recorded on Soundies and are not included on this list.

Personal life

Dandridge married dancer and entertainer Harold Nicholas on September 6, 1942, and gave birth to her only child, Harolyn Suzanne Nicholas, on September 2, 1943. Harolyn was born brain-damaged, and the couple divorced in October 1951.

While filming Carmen Jones (1954), the director Otto Preminger began an affair with his film's star, Dandridge. It lasted four years, during which period he advised her on career matters, demanding she accept only starring roles, advice Dandridge later regretted accepting.^[22] She ended the affair when she realized that Preminger had no plans to leave his wife to marry her.^[23] Their affair was depicted in the HBO Pictures biopic, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, in which Preminger was portrayed by Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer.

Dandridge married Jack Denison on June 22, 1959; they divorced in 1962 amid financial setbacks and allegations of domestic violence. At this time, Dandridge discovered that the people who were handling her finances had swindled her out of $150,000 and that she was $139,000 in debt for back taxes. Forced to sell her Hollywood home and place her daughter in a state mental institution in Camarillo, California, Dandridge moved into a small apartment at 8495 Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood, California.

Death

The "Four Ladies of Hollywood" gazebo at the western border of the Walk of Fame: Dorothy Dandridge,Dolores del Río, Anna May Wong, andMae West.

On September 8, 1965, Dandridge spoke by telephone with friend and former sister-in-law^[24] Geraldine "Geri" Branton. Dandridge was scheduled to fly to New York the next day to prepare for her nightclub engagement at Basin Street East. Several hours after her conversation with Branton ended, Dandridge was found dead by her manager, Earl Mills.^[25] Two months later, a Los Angeles pathology institute determined the cause to be an accidental overdose of Imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant.^[2] The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office came to a different conclusion: “Miss Dandridge died of a rare embolism—blockage of the blood passages at the lungs and brain by tiny pieces of fat flaking off from bone marrow in a fractured right foot she sustained in a Hollywood film five days before she died.”^[1] She was 42 years old.

On September 12, 1965, a private funeral service was held for Dandridge at the Little Chapel of the Flowers;^[26] she was then cremated^[26]and her ashes interred in the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery.^[27]

Legacy

Many years passed before the entertainment industry acknowledged Dandridge's legacy. Starting in the 1980s, stars such as Cicely Tyson,Jada Pinkett Smith, Halle Berry, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine, Tasha Smith, and Angela Bassettac knowledged Dandridge's contributions to the role of black Americans in film.^[28]

In 1999, Halle Berry took the lead role of Dandridge in the HBO Movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, which she also produced and for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. When Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Monster's Ball, she dedicated the "moment [to] Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll."^[29] Both Dandridge and Berry were from Cleveland, Ohio.

For her contributions to the motion picture industry, she was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 671 Hollywood Boulevard. Dorothy Dandridge is also the most prominent figure of a huge mural of celebrities painted on an exterior wall of Hollywood High School.^[30]

Dorothy Dandridge has a statue at Hollywood-La Brea Boulevard in Los Angeles, designed by Catherine Hardwicke, built to honor multi-ethnic leading ladies of the cinema, includingMae West, Dolores del Rio and Anna May Wong.^[31]

Recording artist Janelle Monáe performs a song entitled "Dorothy Dandridge Eyes" on her album The Electric Lady, with Esperanza Spalding.

Filmography

As an actress

Year	Film title	Role	Notes
1935	Teacher's Beau	Dorothy
1936	The Big Broadcast of 1936	Member of the Dandridge Sisters
1937	Easy to Take	Member of the Dandridge Sisters	Uncredited
1937	It Can't Last Forever	Dandridge Sisters Act	Uncredited
1937	A Day at the Races	Black Singer	Uncredited
1938	Going Places	Member of the Dandridge Sisters	Uncredited
1938	Snow Gets in Your Eyes	One of the Dandridge Sisters
1940	Irene	The Dandridge Sisters	Uncredited
1940	Four Shall Die	Helen Fielding	Alternative title: Condemned Men
1941	Bahama Passage	Thalia
1941	Sundown	Kipsang's Bride
1941	Sun Valley Serenade	Specialty Act	Chattanooga Choo Choo [with Nicholas Brothers]
1941	Lady from Louisiana	Felice	Alternative title: Lady from New Orleans
1942	Lucky Jordan	Hollyhock School Maid	Uncredited
1942	Night in New Orleans	Sal, Shadrach's Girl	Uncredited
1942	The Night Before the Divorce	Maid	Uncredited
1942	Ride 'Em Cowboy	Dancer	Uncredited
1942	Drums of the Congo	Princess Malimi
1942	Orchestra Wives	Singer/Dancer
1943	Hit Parade of 1943	Count Basie Band Singer	Alternative title: Change of Heart
1943	Happy Go Lucky	Showgirl	Uncredited
1944	Since You Went Away	Black Officer's Wife in Train Station	Uncredited
1944	Atlantic City	Singer	Alternative title: Atlantic City Honeymoon Uncredited
1945	Pillow to Post	Herself-Vocalist	Uncredited
1947	Ebony Parade	Herself-Vocalist	Uncredited
1951	Tarzan's Peril	Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba
1951	The Harlem Globetrotters	Ann Carpenter
1953	Bright Road	Jane Richards
1953	Remains to Be Seen	Herself- Night Club Vocalist	She sings Taking a Chance on Love
1954	Carmen Jones	Carmen Jones	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1957	Island in the Sun	Margot Seaton
1958	Tamango	Aiché, Reiker's mistress
1958	The Decks Ran Red	Mahia	Alternative titles: Infamy La Rivolta dell'esperanza (foreign releases)
1959	Porgy and Bess	Bess	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1960	Malaga	Gianna	Alternative tiles: Moment of Danger
1961	The Murder Men	Norma Sherman	Television movie
1962	Cain's Hundred	Norma Sherman	Episode: "Blues for a Junkman"