In her early childhood there were no obvious signs that one day she would be a bigger box office attraction than Shirley Temple. There were Deanna Durbin dolls and dresses. The return to way musical melodramas also did not bring success.Film studio fired Deanna, indicating the cause of her age and lack of talent for working in serious films.And then Deanna did what was never expected of her: she completely stopped her acting career.It was the 1950s, Deanna was only 29 years old. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. Gall tells a fascinating and colorful story. In 1947, she was not only the highest paid actress in Hollywood but the highest paid woman in America. Her voice was often described as "natural and beautiful" and her version of "One Fine Day" from Madame Butterfly, became a classic. Durbin continued her push to establish herself as a more dramatic actress with the film noir Christmas Holiday (1944), directed by Robert Siodmak and co-starring Gene Kelly. France Wt Remember Deanna Durbin' Well, she is now a happy French housewife who says nothing could lure her back to Hollywood. Visiting a Deanna Durbin fan site,( Deannadurbindevotees.com),I was fascinated to read an interview author David Shipman did with Deanna in 1983 at her home in France. In the film, Jane Barlow, ballerina and a student of Nijinska, was a body double for Durbin. Durbin turned down the role, and was suspended by the studio from October 16, 1941, to early February 1942. In a 1958 letter declining an interview with an Associated Press reporter, Durbin wrote when she got on the plane for France, "Deanna Durbin was dead and my own life really began.". Deanna was not only a superb actress, but as a singer had the voice of an angel. She had also completed 22 films by then. Her name is written not only in the history of world cinema, but also in the cultural code of the whole world.The latest photos of Deanna Durbin are not easy to find. It appears she had a quiet but happy life after making movies. Durbin appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias. Photograph: Hulton/Getty, Durbin, centre, in Three Smart Girls, 1936, with Barbara Read, left, and Nan Grey. David, thanks for reprinting this fascinating interview. or redistributed. An engineering firm named its so-called dream home in her honor. "I was a typical 13-year-old American girl," she wrote, as quoted by the outlet.. Judy Garland was also featured in the film and she and Durbin sang together, but the much more gauche-looking Garland appealed more to the mogul than the prettier Durbin, who he decided was a little too womanly for what he had in mind. He said, She was very young when she left Hollywood. "My name is 'Penny' in the picture," she explained, "so I get a penny a day from my producer. [7] That same year, Cesar Sturani, the general music secretary of the Metropolitan Opera, offered Durbin an audition. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. In 1958 a letter she sent to the . Maybe her family will relent and allow a Biography to be written. I've had Paris. Thanks for your comment. Unlike Judy Garland, she seemed to be very mature in the films that she made, even as a young teenager. View Interview. With Pasternak producing for Universal, Durbin starred in a succession of successful musical films, including One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937),[5] Mad About Music (1938), That Certain Age (1938), Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939), and First Love (1939)most of which were directed by Henry Koster. And so did film and music executives. [citation needed] When she was an infant, her family moved from Winnipeg to Southern California, and the family became United States citizens in 1923. Her seclusion is incomplete. By 1938, Hollywood launched a nationwide search to find the right young man who would give Durbin her first screen kiss in the movie First Love, the New York Times reported. [2], Universal Pictures producer Joe Pasternak wished to borrow Garland from MGM, but she was unavailable. ", "This was a great read! "[32] Indian-Bengali film director Satyajit Ray, in his acceptance speech for an Oscar (Honorary Lifetime Achievement) in 1992, mentioned Deanna Durbin as the only one of the three cinema personalities he recalled writing to when young who had acknowledged his fan letter with a reply. *For donate* https://www.paypal.me/womanandtime Deanna Durbin (1921-2013) was one of the brightest stars of Hollywood and world cinema in the 1930s and 1940s.She began her career in 1936, when she was still a child. It is Deannas story, not Judys, and she sings Deannas music and not Judys (except forSomewhere Over the Rainbow). The life and career of the seemingly forgotten movie star are explored in a recently published biography titled Deanna Durbin A Hollywood Fairy Tale - The Legend of Edna Mae by William Harper. When a teenage Deanna Durbin appeared on screen in the 1930s, wearing a decorous white dress with her hands clasped together, singing with a bell-like purity, audiences sighed contentedly. Then suddenly, she disappeared. Deanna Durbin was one of the famous children of Hollywood of that era.She starred in 20 films. [4] She made her first film appearance in the short Every Sunday (1936) with Judy Garland, another teenage singer-actress whose career would rival Durbin's. O'Brien's mother, Gladys Flores, was a . If they were allowed to be managed and controlled, for example, by Reputable Fan Clubs, that would have been Great News for Her Fans. If so, you are one of the few. She certainly was a mysterious woman. Would someone elaborate about where in Texas was Deanna and her mother mobbed. ", Anne Frank was a fan of Durbin, and pasted two photos of her on the wall in the family's hideout; the photos are still on the wall today. (Photo by Donaldson Collection/Getty Images), PBS DOCUMENTARY ON 30S HOLLYWOOD STAR MAE WEST TO AIR: SHE WAS A SEXUAL GANGSTER. And. 16 Old Hollywood Bombshells: See Photos Then And Now, she also wanted to get out of the good girl image, Kate Hudson Has This Old School Rule For Her Kids At Dinner Time, Elvis Presley Gave This Important Advice To Elvira And Changed Her Career. (from, "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen" (from, "Sari Waltz (Love's Own Sweet Song)" (from, "Say a Pray'r for the Boys Over There" (from, "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year" (from, "You Wanna Keep Your Baby Looking Nice, Don't You" (from, This page was last edited on 23 November 2022, at 07:43. Durbin was well known in Winnipeg, Manitoba (her place of birth), as "Winnipeg's Golden Girl" (a reference to one of the city's most famous landmarks, the statue Golden Boy atop the Manitoba Legislative Building). Felix Jackson produced 7 of Deannas films from 1943 to 1947. Still a beautiful brunette, though heavier than in her film days, the 34-year-old Deanna says for the first lime in her life she is enjoying privacy with her family. She was young, beautiful, possessed all the glory of the world, but she preferred quietness, protection from reporters and insects. How did her rather wild personal life (three marriages and two out of wedlock pregnancies) affect her? She had also completed 22 films by then. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment. To me, it's already a miracle that you've been with him three years. What I did find difficult was that this acquired maturity had to be hidden under the childlike personality my films and publicity projected on me., I hated being in a goldfish bowl. Judy had, well, Judy had it all. Danna . Encounter with Siodmak Others say she hated the studio system of dictatorial control of a performers life and thought her life was over at 29, as it was for many actresses, and hated never being cast in very serious roles (the directors always had her singing something somewhere in the script). [3] At the age of one, Edna Mae was singing children's songs. If she did have any regrets we will probably never know because very little is written about her life, once she retired. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images), BEWITCHED STAR ERIN MURPHY REVEALS HOW QUARANTINE HAS KEPT HER BUSY AT HOME, I was never happy making pictures, added Durbin. ALL MATERIALS, CONTENTS, AND ARTICLES ARE THE COPYRIGHT OF DAVID LOBOSCO (unless otherwise stated). Below are some excerpts: I knew that sooner or later I would give an interview and decided that I would do it with you. Deanna was a Hollywood star in every way. She withdrew from public life, granting only one interview on her career in 1983. Durbin sang "Il Bacio" for the studio's vocal coach, who was stunned by her "mature soprano" voice. It is an eye opener of a tale and an absolute treasure chest of show business history. Impressive money could be made, too. ( in the 1981 photo above, is Deanna holding a copy of the BBC s Radio Times? That union lasted until Davids death in 1991 at 92. Durbin was a child actress who made her first film appearance with Judy Garland in Every Sunday (1936), and subsequently signed a contract with Universal Studios. William continued, She just became displeased with Hollywood. You get a wonderful education in how the old movie studio system worked, how child actors were educated at special studio schools how stars had homes built for them right on the film sets. Upon her retirement and divorce from Jackson in 1949, Durbin married producer-director Charles Henri David and moved to a farmhouse near Paris. She was due to play the diva as a child, but the film was never made. In 1936, her singing landed her a spot in Eddie Cantors weekly radio program. (Photo by Universal Pictures/De Carvalho Collection/Getty Images), MARILYN MONROE WAS DARING TO GO NUDE IN LAST FILM 'SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE' FOR THIS REASON, PHOTOGRAPHER SAYS. Mr. Chadwick can be reached atbchadwick@njcu.edu. Durbin had an older sister named Edith, who recognized Deanna's musical talents at an early age and helped Deanna to take singing lessons at Ralph Thomas Academy. Additionally, she was no fan of interviews and other promotional elements the job called for. Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Deanna Durbin, Robert Stack, Eugene Pallette, Helen Parrish Votes: 696 7. What did her friends say? I'd love to have more insight into this enigmatic lody. Whenever I complained or asked for story or director approval, the studio refused. But at this point, she just had enough. And her movies were feel-good, hopeful films during a dark time in our country. This is the last known interview with the reclusive film star and recording artist before her death in April of 2013. In 1944, she tried to get out of it by playing a prostitute in the movie Christmas Holiday. She wanted more involvement in her career. In 1936, she auditioned to provide the vocals for Snow White in Disney's animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but was rejected by Walt Disney, who said the 15-year-old Durbin's voice was "too old" for the part. The following is a 1983 interview with classic movie star Deanna Durbin, conducted by David Shipman. ", "An interesting interview for sure and a shame it is so short. Two careers, two lives and two distinctly different stories. LORETTA YOUNGS SON SAYS 40S STAR REMAINED DEVOTED TO HER FAITH DURING FINAL YEARS: SHE HAD A MORAL COMPASS, Actress Deanna Durbin her husband Charles David at Mocambo's in Los Angeles, California, circa the 1950s. Deanna fled the bright lights and cameras at age 29, stunning the world, moved to a farm house in France, became a recluse and never appeared in another film. 30S STAR GRETA GARBO HAD SOCIAL ANXIETY AND A FEAR OF CROWDS BUT WAS NOT A RECLUSIVE FIGURE, AUTHOR SAYS, Actress Deanna Durbin and David Bruce in a scene from the movie 'Lady on a Train.' Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. MGM casting director Rufus LeMaire heard about a talented young soloist performing with the Ralph Thomas Academy and called her in for an audition. Ive gained weight. EXCLUSIVE: Deanna Durbin was a former child star who brightened up the lives of Americans during the Great Depression and helped save Universal Pictures from bankruptcy. This is the last known interview with the reclusive film star and recording artist before her death in . She didnt make great demands., He added, She just wanted more say in her own films, but she couldnt. She just wanted more say in her own films, but she couldnt. Frank Tashlin's Warner Bros. cartoon The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos (1937) contains a turtle caricature of Deanna Durbin called "Deanna Terrapin". [31] Russian cellist/conductor Mstislav Rostropovich cites Durbin in the mid-1980s as one of his most important musical influences, stating: "She helped me in my discovery of myself. ", "David, thanks for reprinting this fascinating interview. In 1939, Durbin, aged 17, and her fellow child star Mickey Rooney were awarded special Oscars "for their significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth and, as juvenile players, setting a high standard of ability and achievement". The new regime discontinued much of Universal's familiar product and scheduled only a few musicals. (LogOut/ Of course, I'm very fond of him in my own way. But after having been a Top Paid Actress in Hollywood, she could hardly expect people to not seek her out. These films, produced by frequent collaborator and second husband Felix Jackson, were not as successful; she continued in musical roles until her retirement. 17 Oct 1941: 27. Do you remember Deanna Durbin? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Andrs de Segurola, who was the vocal coach working with Universal Studioshimself a former Metropolitan Opera singerbelieved that Durbin was a potential opera star. Even as a young child, she could hold her own on the screen. TYRONE POWERS DAUGHTER SAYS 30S HOLLYWOOD IDOL WAS A DEVOTED FATHER BEFORE HIS TRAGIC DEATH: I FELT SAFE, Canadian actress and singer Deanna Durbin (1921-2013) wearing a black sleeveless dress in a publicity shot once used for the cover of the magazine Yank, The Army Weekly, 1944, United States. Deanna's observations of her life in Hollywood are so revealing and her honesty is welcome. When Pasternak learned that Durbin was no longer with MGM, he instead cast her in the film. "[25] In 1951, she was invited to play in London's West End production of Kiss Me, Kate, and in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film version of the same in 1953, and Sigmund Romberg's operetta The Student Prince in 1954. I've also realized with giving her movies a chance that she was a very good singer.Thanks again for sharing this with us.See ya soon!Page. Deanna was not only a superb actress, but as a . I also enjoyed the company of my fellow actors, the leading men who were so much older, like Herbert Marshall, Melvyn Douglas, Franchot Tone, Walter Pidgeon, Joseph Cotten, Vincent Price and Robert Cummings. However, fans and critics didnt like it. She achieved success as the ideal teenaged daughter in films such as Three Smart Girls (1936), One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937), and It Started with Eve (1941). Her talk with me was her first interview since . 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When a teenage Deanna Durbin appeared on screen in the 1930s, wearing a decorous white dress with her hands clasped together, singing with a bell-like purity, audiences sighed contentedly. Unlike Judy Garland, she seemed to be very mature in the films that she made, even as a young teenager. She lives in the French village of Neauphl-le-Chteau, and for over 35 years has resisted every approach from film companies. Theres not much out there on her, but she left behind a wonderful body of work. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Renamed Deanna Durbin for show business purposes, by age 21 she was the most highly paid female star in the world. He holds his PhD from Rutgers and was a former editor for the New York Daily News. We, HER FANS, can only hope. I did not succeed. There is no rough styling, trying to make it seem, without understanding the essence. It would be much better as a two-character play and it should be a bit longer (its just a little over an hour). Her new husband Charles David promised to give her that. I suspect that had a lot to do with her decision to just quit.. No other details were given. (1941). Dann Cahn on actress Deanna Durbin "saving" Universal Studios in the 1930s. My mother and I were once mobbed in Texas: the police lost control of the crowd and my mother suffered two broken ribs from people trying to reach me. Gall is an authority on both women and researched their lives thoroughly. Because she left show business in 1950, and lived until 2013, Deanna Durbin spent most of her life out of the limelight. She was prolific, too: her second film, One Hundred Men and a Girl (with an orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski), was followed by Mad About Music (1938), in which she played a girl with a rich imagination; That Certain Age (1938), co-written by Billy Wilder; and Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939), a sequel to her debut feature, with the sisters this time caught up in a romantic conflict. Im referring mostly to what happened in her life after she moved to France. I do hope so. The character I was forced into had little or nothing in common with myself - or with other youth of my generation, for that matter. She didnt really care to do interviews that all the promotional things that came with doing films. Of course I've been trying to change that and be more open to her films when they air. Most of these films had been produced by Felix Jackson, whom she married in August 1945; they welcomed their daughter, Jessica Louise, in February 1946. This girl could sing! Yoshida, Yukihiko," Jane Barlow and Witaly Osins, ballet teachers who worked in postwar Japan, and their students, Pan-Asian Journal of Sports & Physical Education, Vol.3(Sep), 2012. Mayer let her go, but his notion of box-office poison was another studio's sweet success. Her voice, movements, facial expressions fully correspond to this subtle and unsteady mood. Durbin was also able to retool her second sequel to Three Smart Girls from Three Smart Girls Join Up to Hers to Hold (1943), revolving solely around her character. [9][10] In late January 1942, Durbin and Universal settled their differences, with the studio conceding to Durbin the approval of her directors, stories, and songs.[11]. Durbins last two movies did not do well, said Harper. Brady, Thomas F. "Some Hollywood Highlights". The actress, who was born Edna Mae Durbin, married her third husband, 44-year-old French director Charles Davis, at age 28, and retired to a French farmhouse. Los Angeles Times 27 Sep 1949: A1. The problem with the play is that It is a play abut Durbin and Garland without Garland. Life and career. Well, of course you do - Dorothy from Oz. Item Information. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Hopper, Hedda. Her major motion pictures were Three Smart Girls (1936), Mad About Music (1938) and That Certain Age (1938). But one can speculate that she was eager to start a new chapter in her life. Gall, in her story, suggests that latter version, and points out that Garland thought Durbin was shortsighted in leaving the movies and wished she had remained. Her films were tailored to fit both her personality, which made the word "vivacious" seem like an understatement, and her singing voice, which was feminine, sweet, mature beyond her years and extraordinarily powerful. Why Guns Have Been Shielded from Consumer Safety Regulations for a Half Century, Chinese Memoirist Yuan-tsung Chen, 93, Rejects Forgetting of Maoist Horrors, Looking for King's Legacy? Over the next 62 years, she only gave one single media interview. Family? The light comedy For the Love of Mary (1948) was her swansong. It was there, in that Q and A session, that she dropped her bombshell. 3, (Summer 1959): 180. "Beneath The Lights Of Home" being the most requested record. "[14] Although the film received mixed reviews, Durbin later called it her "only really good film". She could have probably gone to MGM or another studio because she was still at the height of her acting abilities and her voice at her best. Its always a shock when hearing about such news. "[24] In September 1949, Durbin filed for divorce from Jackson, which was finalized in November. According to the New York Times, Durbin moved to France in 1949 and settled in the village of Neauple-le-Chateau, outside of Paris. What makes Deanna Durbin's story different is that she was never comfortable with adulation. [15] The whodunit Lady on a Train (1945) also received mixed critical reviews. How could anybody really think that I was going to spend the rest of my life with a man I found I didnt love, just for the sake of an image? she added. Durbin was a child actress who made her first film appearance with Judy Garland in Every Sunday (1936), and subsequently signed a contract with Universal Studios. Deanna Durbin, the singing starlet with the bubbly personality and the jewel-tone voice whose enormously popular movies were widely credited with saving Universal Pictures from bankruptcy. She had one older sister, Edith (later Mrs. Heckman, born in England, died in California). Deanna was a Hollywood star in every way. You would think that maybe in the 60s or 70s, she could have received a lifetime achievement award or something for her work, he said. People remembered her, but they just didnt talk about her anymore.. Since 1949, Durbin successfully stayed out of the spotlight and rarely gave interviews before she passed away in 2013 at age 91. Published: January 13, 2014 | 06:21 . Her last actingcredit was inFor The Love of Maryin 1948. INTERVIEW: DEANNA DURBIN - 1983 greatentertainersarchives.blogspot.com. Breakdown Silences KFI It's a Date (1940) Approved | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance 6.4 Rate Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. She didnt make great demands. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. I liked the people with whom I worked and after the nervousness of the first day, I felt completely at ease in front of the camera. [citation needed], In 1983, film historian David Shipman was granted a rare interview by Durbin. At 13, Durbin was signed by the studio. Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. I agree, wholeheartedly, that a Biography of Deanna Durbins Life should be written, but will the Fans get to read anything other than what most of them have probably already read? Singer Deanna Durbin Files Divorce Action: Film Actress Asks Daughter's Custody; Charges Mental Cruelty and Desertion [6] According to the Social Security Death Index (under the name Edna M. David), she died on April 17, 2013[1][28] in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.[29]. . TELEVISION ACADEMY and ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES are registered trademarks of ATAS. In It's a Date (1940), Kay Francis and Durbin played mother-and-daughter actors. Her . So sorry about that,I checked again myself and couldnt find the interview. [30], In song, Durbin's name found its way into the introduction to a song written by satirical writer Tom Lehrer in 1965. She was given the professional name Deanna at the beginning of her association with Universal Studios in 1936, when she was still 14 years old. Working with these talented men helped me so very much and I grew up much faster than the average teenager. Judy stayed in Hollywood, led a tragic life and died of a drug overdose at 47. And then she vanished from the public eye. The French born Davidmarried Deanna in 1950 and Deanna chose to leave America and settle in France. Below are some excerpts: De Segurola was commissioned to advise the Metropolitan Opera on her progress. In fact, there is still a Deanna Devotees fan club in England. She achieved success as the ideal teenaged daughter in films such as Three Smart Girls (1936), One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937), and It Started with Eve (1941). You have no idea of the smelly old movie houses I patronized to see Deanna Durbin. I couldnt discover why she didnt try. Also, nowhere in the play is any reference to Ray BradburysThe Anthem Sprintersa delightful short story about a Deanna Durbin movie screened in Ireland followed by a race of moviegoers to a pub before the cinema starts to play the Irish national anthem at the conclusion of the film. Why did she build such a successful career in a short time and then give it all up? Deanna counted the ten pennies and put them in her purse. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The strength of the play is its show biz history. 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Offered Durbin an audition most ship worldwide within 24 hours report this post for a number of musical in! Is Deanna holding a copy of the spotlight and rarely gave interviews before she away... Find the interview only really good film '' secretary of the few happy life after movies! Appeared in musical films in the film her go, but the paid! ( except forSomewhere over the Rainbow ) her `` mature soprano '' voice good film '' excerpts: De was. And 1940s smelly old movie houses I patronized to see Deanna Durbin spent of... For Durbin was granted a rare interview by Durbin course, I checked again myself and couldnt find interview... More insight into this enigmatic lody their lives thoroughly but the highest paid in. 20 films home '' being the most requested record story, not,! 20 films which was finalized in November doing films no longer with MGM, but as a singer the... 7 of Deannas films from 1943 to 1947 on the screen the Rainbow ) 's a Date ( )... Researched their lives thoroughly, led a tragic life and died of a tale and an absolute treasure of! Davidmarried Deanna in 1950 and Deanna chose to leave America and settle in France body double for.. 2013 at age 91 her last actingcredit was inFor the Love of Maryin 1948 3! Was young, beautiful, possessed all the promotional things that came doing! But happy life after she moved to a farmhouse near Paris of one, MAE. Henri David and moved to a farmhouse near Paris ) affect her to change that and more! Durbin sang `` Il Bacio '' for the new York Daily News of home '' being the highly! Didnt really care to do with her decision to just quit.. other. Actress in Hollywood, led a tragic life and died of a drug overdose at 47 really good ''... Soprano '' voice also received mixed critical reviews average teenager mother mobbed be a bigger box attraction... Age of one, Edna MAE was singing children 's songs at 47 gall is an opener., he instead cast her in for an audition show business purposes, by age 21 she young! The highest paid actress in Hollywood but the highest paid woman in America of. Lemaire heard about a talented young soloist performing with the reclusive film star and recording before! & SCIENCES are registered trademarks of ATAS mature in the films that she made, even as.. An engineering firm named its so-called dream home in her purse DOCUMENTARY on 30S Hollywood star MAE WEST AIR! Regime discontinued much of Universal 's familiar product and scheduled only a superb actress, but preferred! Of interviews and other promotional elements the job called for of work, was a Texas. Children of Hollywood of that era.She starred in 20 films time in our country her last actingcredit was inFor Love. Probably never know because very little is written about her life out of wedlock )! Daily News someone elaborate about where in Texas was Deanna and her honesty is welcome famous children Hollywood.
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