Dorothy Dandridge, actress, dancer and singer was the first African American woman nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1954 and a Golden Globe Award in 1959. Dandridge achieved international recognition as an entertainer. She performed at numerous legendary venues including the Cotton Club and The Apollo. Known as a talented and extremely vivacious woman, Dandridge symbolized and embodied the modern female star. Her work paved the way for a generation of Black performers.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1922, Dandridge achieved early success as a childhood performer. She was part of a group called the Wonder Children. The group was later known as the Dandridge Sisters. Dandridge and her sisters (Ava Mae, Vivian Mary, and Lorraine Marguerite) performed in nightclubs and theaters in New York City, Hawaii, and California. The group also performed abroad in England and Ireland. In addition to singing, the Dandridge Sisters appeared in numerous films including The Big Broadcast of 1936 with Bill Bojangles Robinson, and A Day at the Races with the Marx Brothers in 1937. Dandridge appeared in small film roles in the 1940’s , but worked with some of the leading musical performers of the period including Count Basie in Hit Parade of 1943 and Louis Armstrong in Atlantic City in 1944.
Viewed as one of the most multitalented performers of the period, Dandridge garnered attention for her acting ability, stunning beauty and stage presence. In the 1950s, her opening at the Mocambo nightclub in as a club singer cemented her reputation. It also received increased attention in Hollywood. She secured her first starring role in Bright Roadin 1953 where she performed opposite actor Harry Belafonte.
Dandridge’s breakout role came in 1953. The movie studio 20th Century Fox began the process of a casting an all-Black cast for a film version of the 1942 Oscar and Hammerstein musical Carmen Jones. Aware that she was under consideration but not the obvious choice for Carmen, Dandridge styled herself for the role. She then presented herself to the film’s director Otto Perminger in his executive office. This impromptu performance convinced Perminger to cast Dandridge in the role of Carmen Jones. The film was a success at the box office and with critics. Dandridge became an overnight sensation and the first Black woman to appear on the cover of Life Magazine.
Dandridge enjoyed a surge in popularity following her immensely popular performance in Carmen Jones. She signed a contract with 20th Century Fox for three films. In 1955, she became the first Black performer to open at the Empire Room at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Her performances opened the door for other Black performers including Joe Williams, Pearl Bailey and Lena Horne, to name a few.
The latter years of Dandridge’s career were filled with controversy and tragedy. She appeared in Island in the Sun in 1957 The film’s storyline focused on an interracial love story between a local Indian clerk and a white man. The film was edited numerous times to blunt the impact of the interracial love affair. Her appearance in Tamango in 1958 was also controversial. The plot focused on a cargo of enslaved Africans traveling from Africa to Cuba. Dandridge withdrew from the film because it required her to swim in the nude and to appear in skimpy clothing. Perhaps, one of her most controversial roles was Porgy and Bess in 1958. Widely viewed by African Americans as degrading, Dandridge’s participation in the project drew the ire of the Black commentators. This situation was compounded by the cost of the production and the film ultimately failed at the box office and drew mixed reviews.
Dandridge not only experienced setbacks in her professional life but in her personal life. Her first marriage to prominent entertainer Harold Nicholas ended in divorce in 1951. Dandridge gave birth to the couple’s only child Harolyn Suzanne Nicholas in 1943. Nicholas was largely neglectful and left her without transportation at her sister in laws house during labor. She refused to go the husband without Nicholas. The delay caused doctors to use forceps to extract the newborn, which resulted in lifelong brain damage. She could not speak or even recognize Dandridge as her mother. Dandridge had a 4 year affair with Otto Perminger, while working on Carmen Jones. Perminger proved autocratic and demanded she take only starring roles. She also became pregnant with his child but was forced by the studio to abort it.
Her last marriage to Jack Denison in 1959 proved equally problematic. There were allegations of domestic abuse in the relationship. Dandridge discovered her financial handlers had swindled more than $150,000 from her earnings and failed to file more than $139,000 in back taxes. Her dire financial situation led to the sale of her Hollywood home. She was forced to place her daughter in the Camarillo State Hospital, a state mental institution, in Camarillo, California.
Although Dandridge died under suspicious circumstances on September 8, 1965, her reputation and legacy remain intact. Today she is credited as a pioneer in promoting positive images of African Americans in the motion picture industry. Dandridge was a awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. Halie Berry’ produced and starred in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, an HBO movie in 1999. This film introduced the actress to a new generation of fans. The movie won Berry critical acclaim and accolades including the Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.. More recently, Beyonce was referred to as the modern Dorothy Dandridge on the February 2016 episode of Black-ish and the Netflix miniseries Hollywood portrays an up-and-coming post WWII actress who is largely based on and inspired by the life and career of Dandridge.
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This post was previously published on Historian Speaks.
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Photo credit: Public Domain