In fact, her first marriage was violently abusive, and her second marriage to Felix Jackson was also short-lived. Durbin died on about April 20 Deanna Durbin, a singer-actress who, as a child star, became one of the biggest box-office attractions of the 1930s and 40s has died at the age of 91. I too, wrote Deanna many times and received in return an autographed photograph which I will always treasure. She was 91. I do my own shopping, bring up my two children and sing an hour every day.. It was a couple of months after the filming that she filed for divorce in Oct 1943 which was final by December after she had started filming Christmas Holiday. Critics responded negatively to her attempts to be an adult on screen, as a prostitute in love with a killer in Robert Siodmaks bleak film noir Christmas Holiday (1944) and as a debutante mixed up in a murder plot in Lady on a Train (1945.). Durbin tried to transition into a more sophisticated movie persona by taking roles in The Amazing Mrs. Holliday, about refugee children from China and mysteries Lady on a Train and Christmas Holiday. Her last film was 1948s Up in Central Park, and she left film-making in 1949, turning down roles in Bing Crosbys Topo' the Morning and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court at Paramount studios. She was given a special miniature 1938 Academy Award for her significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth.. The third marriage was a success: in 1950, at 28, she married Charles David, the 44-year-old French director of Lady on a Train. After starring in 21 feature films, she retired to a French farmhouse. That Joseph Cotten would not have left his wife for Deanna if he indeed was the father of her child would have been very painful for Deanna, if indeed he was her great love. Deanna Durbin, a singing child movie star of the 1930s who became one of the world's highest paid actresses before turning her back on stardom, has died at the age of 91. Several years ago I wrote to her in France. Unlike Greta Garbo, whose mystique remained basically intact following her Deanna Durbin dies at 91: One of the top stars of Hollywoods studio era (photo: Deanna Durbin in Ill Be Yours) According to Hollywood lore, teen star Deanna Durbin saved Universal Pictures from Deanna Durbin, a star whose songs and smile made her one of the biggest box office draws of Hollywoods Golden Age with fans that included Winston Churchill, has died. She was 91. In the afternoon there was always a break for tea and sandwiches. I am reminded of what a magical moment it was when Charlie Chaplin returned to America to receive an honorary Oscar in 1972. maceddy According to the New York Times, Durbin did shed some insight on her . Of course Mayer was fuming all through 1937-8 because he had lost the potential Deanna Durbin goldmine. Jeanette and Nelson also expressed some shell-shock and bitterness once their Hollywood careers turned on them. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. Now they will be my treasures. He used her as a beaming social worker to unhappy adults and such balm proved very efficacious just before and in the early years of the war.. Cotton also mentioned in his book how much he admired Deanna for her character and integrity. Many of the films were Depression fairy tales in which Ms. Durbin won over or defeated silly rich people with the help of butlers, cooks and chauffeurs, who often risked their jobs to aid her. She was a huge box-office star for a short period of time.. Ms. Durbin had remained determinedly out of public view since 1949, when she retired to a village in France with her third husband. Durbin had previously been married to assistant director Vaughn Paul from 1941 to 1943, and writer-actor Felix Jackson, with whom she had a daughter, Jessica, from 1945 to 1949. They may have been impressed with my success. but my fans were the parents, many of whom could not cope with their own youngsters. When my first marriage failed, everyone said that I could never divorce. Her much older sister, Edith, insisted that her little sisters operatic abilities be nurtured after hearing her sing Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes. From her earnings as a teacher, Edith paid for Edna Maes singing lessons. I made pictures, I made love, and I made martinis. I agree with you that Deanna most likely escaped to France to protect her daughter and family from scandal. The announcement of her death was made by her Former child star Deanna Durbin has died at the age of 91, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This article was written by fellow blogger and writer Ed Sum. In 1946, Ms. Durbins salary of $323,477 from Universal made her the second-highest-paid woman in America, just $5,000 behind Bette Davis. I dont remember any such thing ever happening, do you? I laughed. And she continues to enchant with her film library available on DVD to new generations. Here, for example, is a recent quote from Doug Bonner, a filmmaker and Emmy-winning sound designer. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. The two moved to France and had a son. Charles David directed only two films in Hollywood, both in 1945 - Lady On A Train and Fairy Tale Murder (with Gloria Jean). The two moved to France and had a son. When she was filmed running in movies there was sometimes a visible awkwardness due to her having to favor the bad arm. No date. Six of her early films, including 100 Men, were directed by Henry Koster, who had fled Hitlers Germany in 1933, moved to the U.S. and directed such films as The Bishops Wife (1947) with Cary Grant and Harvey (1950) with James Stewart. No other details were given. I learned from reading your books to watch Jeanette and Nelson during each picture in which you would describe what was going on in their relationship. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Charles David (109793226)? She also was one of the highest paid stars of her time, making a reported $250,000 a year. So if the above indeed was her thinking, such casting and plot revision would have been unworkable for her. In fact that night when she was supposed to have the tryst with Cotton, she had earlier driven Vaughn to his ship. I dont understand how Gable was happy staying out of Judys life. She is Deanna Durbin - one of the best-loved of all stars. By the time she and David married, Durbin was completing a near total retreat from the public eye. Her pictures after the baby was born beginning with Something in the Wind revealed an unhappy Deanna who became more mechanical in her roles. Reminds me of a certain baritone and his spouse who also stayed married until death do us partbut who lived separate lives. But Deanna Durbin a world-famous young movie actress during the 1930s and 1940s managed to do it right. By 1940 Deanna had successfully made the transition on film from cute kid to young adult. Her fresh face and clear voice were known around the world. Nevertheless, she seemed happy and carefree during the filming of Cant Help Singing. (Getty Images). We spoke a few times on the phone after that. She was 91. 8:47 am, It breaks my heart to hear Deanna Durbin has passed. That is really not so different from her characters. Universal picked her up and after two films there, Three Smart Girls (1936) and 100 Men and a Girl (1937), Deanna was an overnight international movie star. Her last three films were a return to the musical romances her public preferred but were weak efforts. Much to my surprise she wrote back to me. Below, Deanna receiving her Oscar from Edgar Bergen. After an actors agent saw 14-year-old Edna Mae sing in a neighborhood show, she was quickly signed to MGM for $56 a week. But because of his past history of becoming involved with (and usually marrying) women much younger than himself, the court ordered him to pay child support. Deanna Durbin has died, aged 91. In addition to Peter, her son from her marriage to David, Ms. Durbin had a daughter, Jessica, from her second marriage. Deanna Durbin, who attained worldwide popularity as a child star in the 1930s while starring in a series of musicals, has died. She was a huge international star and received a special juvenile Oscar in 1938. Mr. David died in 1999, a few months before their 50th wedding anniversary. Heres an excerpt from the New York Times obituary: Deanna Durbin, who as a plucky child movie star with a sweet soprano voice charmed American audiences during the Depression and saved Universal Pictures from bankruptcy before she vanished from public view 64 years ago, has died, a fan club announced on Tuesday. For more on Deanna Durbin, click over to The Hollywood Reporter. She was wearing a ring on her left hand covered with tape which could be seen when dancing with Franchot Tone. In 1947, she was the highest paid star in Hollywood, known for movies such as Three Smart Girls, Spring Parade and Mad about Music. Read Less, Durbin shared a special Juvenile Award with Mickey Rooney at the 1938 Oscars fo Read More, Durbin shared a special Juvenile Award with Mickey Rooney at the 1938 Oscars for their "significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth". Deanna Durbin, a star whose songs and smile made her one of the biggest box-office draws of Hollywood's Golden Age with fans that included Winston Churchill, has died. No other details were given. In the mid to late 1940s Pat lived in the Los Angeles area with her mother, who was dating a Hollywood undercover vice squad policeman. Durbin had lived just outside the village of Neauphle-le-Chateau, near Paris, since moving there in 1950 with her third husband, director Charles David. Maybe its no wonder, then, that she was relieved to give up her career and move to France with Charles David, with whom she found lasting happiness. Musical Film. No other details were given. Edna Mae Durbin was born on Dec. 4, 1921, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and grew up in Southern California, where she studied singing. She was considered a snob by some people, but I think she just chose her friends carefully.We lived our own lives and were together whenever possible. joanne tew Below are two pictures of little Jessica and also a shot from her first birthday. Per Cotten: Deanna had driven to the lot about eleven; I had come through the gate an hour later. They were married on June 13, 1945. She looked very much like Clark Gable (and her mother) and she had the same Gable ears although she had plastic surgery so they wouldnt stick out like Gables did. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. Despite her tendency to plumpness (by Hollywood standards), the studio did not starve her and/or put her on dangerous medications as did MGM with Judy Garland. Producer A.C. Lyles, 94, was working at Paramount when Durbin turned into a major, major attraction for Universal., She was a charming and talented lady, he said Wednesday, an amazing star with great talent.. They were married from 1945 to 1949. I fervently hope that her marriage to Charles David was a happy one, did not know that they argued quite frequently prior to their marriage. In fact, I was so flabbergasted over the details of her first pregnancy that I neglected to observe as you did that her son was born 6 months after her marriage to Charles David. Durbin walked away and never went back, and had a life, a real life, not one based on illusory fame, not one based on chasing the Bitch Goddess. Was there a blow up and there could have been regarding the published affair with Cotton. ETimes is an Entertainment, TV & Lifestyle industry's promotional website and carries advertorials and native advertising. She was responsible for saving Universal Studios even as fellow child star Shirley Temple saved Fox Studios. ", Three Smart Girls was nominated for the best picture Oscar in 1937. I like Deanna Durbins first two features, Three Smart Girls and 100 Men and a Girl and most of her other films including her basically non-singing murder mystery Lady on a Train. Ms. Durbin was quickly handed to Joe Pasternak, who produced her first 10 movies, and to Henry Koster, who directed six of them: Three Smart Girls, One Hundred Men and a Girl, Three Smart Girls Grow Up, First Love, Spring Parade and It Started With Eve.. My favourite anecdotes about Durbin concern Cant Help Singing, and I do hope theyre true when the costume designer (Walter Plunkett?) Despite her bitterness in later years about her studio years, Deanna Durbins films brought great joy to the worldwide movie audiences in the Depression years. Wow. Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games. Shortly afterward she moved to Universal, shepherded there by Rufus Le Maire, a former MGM executive who had switched his allegiance to the rival studio. In his autobiography, Easy the Hard Way, Mr. Pasternak who would eventually move to MGM and build the careers of two other coloratura sopranos, Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell said that stardom was always a matter of chemistry between the public and the player and that no one could take credit for discovering Deanna Durbin. In 1938 there was a nationwide search to choose the young man who would give Ms. Durbin her first screen kiss in the movie First Love. (Robert Stack was the actor chosen.) Her passing affected me deeply, to my surprise. She was 91. (Getty Images) Read Less, Reclusive Hollywood actress Deanna Durbin dies at 91. There was estrangement between mother and daughter because of Lorettas refusal to be honest with Judy about her parentage till near the end of her life. This marriage was happy and they were together 50 years until Charles David died in 1999. Durbin's death was initially reported by her son, Peter H. David, in the Deanna Durbin Society newsletter. Spring Parade(at this writing) has never been released on DVD but can be watched on YouTube. Although I think she would have liked us to be together, she thought separations were unharmful. She was 91. There could have been so many more years of her beautiful music for the the world to enjoy. Wondering why Deanna retired so young, I read about some problems she had in 1946 with her brother-in-law who had been her business manager. Cause of death was not disclosed. Ms. Durbin, who was originally to have ninth billing in Three Smart Girls, became the movies star when studio executives saw the first rushes. According to Harper's research, Durbin primarily kept at home where she happily raised her children and lived a private life. She retired from the movies at an early age, and has resisted all efforts to bring her back "" including a possible offer to sing in "My Fair Lady.". But the supporting cast was different; Boris Karloff was to play the Phantom and Allan Jones would have taken third billing in Nelsons role. In addition to Peter, her son from her marriage to Mr. David, Ms. Durbin had a daughter, Jessica, from her second marriage. In 1938, Durbin and another young star, Mickey Rooney, were recognized at the Academy Awards for bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth.. Deanna Durbin (born Edna Mae Durbin; December 4, 1921 - c. April 20, 2013) was a Canadian singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, her singing voice being variously described as being light but full, sweet and unaffected. Jeanette & Nelson by Sharon Rich, R.I.P. But she gave it all up in 1949, at age 27, saying she had never been happy as a movie star. Deanna Durbin with her son Peter David Old Hollywood Glamour Golden Age Of Hollywood Deanna Durbin Musical Film Old Movie Stars Babe Celebrity Families She Movie Judy Garland More information . Fans of the Canadian produced series, "Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal" can rejoice. It old Hedda that as a journalist she had every right to air her opinion of my professional behavior on the screen, but that my personal life was none of her business. 1:28 am. Her son. I was almost afraid to mention what Deannas father had said about Joseph Cotten as I had no idea of whether this was common knowledge or even hinted at in earlier times. Durbin and the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, who made their first Universal picture in 1940, saved the studio from going down the tubes, according to Rode, the film historian. In a newsletter, the Deanna Durbin Society said Ms. Durbin died "a few days ago," quoting her son, Peter H. David, who thanked her admirers for respecting her privacy. Actually, Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper accused Deanna and co-star Joseph Cotten of having an affair during this film. That Jackson would just leave Deanna six months after baby Jessicas birth and walk away from his without even fighting for joint custody well, that was very telling. She soon had a stage name, Deanna Durbin, and was making $300 a week under contract to Universal. Before Durbins 20th birthday, she had appeared in 10 wildly profitable films for Universal. Take a look at that moment on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDHgg1GUNlo. She died in April in France, said family friend Bob Koster, the son of Henry Koster, who directed Durbin in films early in her career. 1:18 pm. What I think saddens me about Deanna Durbin is that she never was able to have that experience, to have that group hug. 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. In a subsequent report, the Associated Press quoted a family friend who said Durbin had died on or about April 20. She was 91. So I really am grateful for your work in studying Deannas films and plan to re-watch her films with new interest. December 26, 2013 @ Deanna always would say that she isnt the person she played on the screen, that she was another person apart from who she really was. So his appearance at the Oscars was emotional on many levels both for the audience and for him. But over the years she very kindly did autograph photos sent to her by mail by her fans. 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