Dorothy Dandridge

COMING SOON!

Dorothy Dandridge was the first African-American woman to be nominated for an Oscar®, but the star of films like Sun Valley Serenade and Carmen Jones battled continually with the pressures of fame.This is the story of her tragic life.

Biography

Films

Dorothy Dandridge
born: 09-11-1922
birth place: Ohio, USA
died: 08-09-1965

Under the guidance of her mother, an entertainer herself, Dorothy and her sister began performing in black Baptist churches throughout the country. As the 1930s depression worsened, Dorothy and her family moved to Los Angeles, where they had hopes of finding better work.

Her first part was a small role in the Marx Brothers comedy, 'A Day at the Races', in 1937. As a black woman in a very prejudiced society, Dorothy didn’t have access to roles that were readily available to her white counterparts, and she did not appear in another film until 1940’s 'Four Shall Die'. Her next few roles in the early forties included films such as 'Bahama Passage', 'Drums of the Congo', and 'Change of Heart'.

Not only was she a talented actress but she could also sing, as evidenced in films such as 'Atlantic City' and 'Pillow to Post, and she went on to become the headline act in the best hotel nightclubs in New York, Miami, Chicago, and Las Vegas. She may have been allowed to sing in these hotels, but because of segregation, she couldn't stay there.

In 1954, Dorothy appeared in the all-black production of 'Carmen Jones', in the title role. She garnered an Academy Award nomination, but did not secure another movie role until she appeared in 'Tamango', an Italian film, in 1956.

She made six more motion pictures of which 'Island in the Sun' and 'Porgy and Bess' were probably the best. Her last was 1961's 'The Murder Men'.

Dorothy’s life went downhill, with a poor second marriage to Jack Denison (her first was to Harold Nicholas), financial woes, and a problem with alcohol. She was found dead in her West Hollywood apartment on 8th September 1965, of barbiturate poisoning.