deanna durbin interview

", "An interesting interview for sure and a shame it is so short. They were married from 1945 to 1949. The best part of the play, for me, was the question and answer session at the end. DEANNA DURBIN BY DAVID SHIPMAN PARIS. Her major motion pictures were Three Smart Girls (1936), Mad About Music (1938) and That Certain Age (1938). "[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. She just wanted more say in her own films, but she couldnt. [2], Universal Pictures producer Joe Pasternak wished to borrow Garland from MGM, but she was unavailable. Durbin turned down several offers for a comeback, including a Broadway role as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady; she later said, "I had my ticket for Paris in my pocket. I'd love to have more insight into this enigmatic lody. Universal announced Durbin was to star in They Lived Alone, scheduled to be directed by Koster. . I do my own shopping, bring up my two children and sing an hour every day.. She was young, beautiful, possessed all the glory of the world, but she preferred quietness, protection from reporters and insects. She wanted more involvement in her career. The couple welcomed a daughter before the couple called it quits in 1949. Even when cameras stopped rolling, Durbin couldnt escape her good-girl image. According to the New York Times, Durbin did shed some insight on her departure from Hollywood in a 1958 letter. These films, produced by frequent collaborator and second husband Felix Jackson, were not as successful; she continued in musical roles until her retirement. [12] Durbin also dabbled in other genres, such as the romantic comedy His Butler's Sister (1943) and the musical Western Can't Help Singing (1944), her only Technicolor film, which was produced on location in southern Utah and co-starred Robert Paige. [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]. How about Judy Garland? Her first screen kiss was described in a headline story across the continent. In the film, Jane Barlow, ballerina and a student of Nijinska, was a body double for Durbin. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. Durbin had been effectively typecast as the good girl and wanted to be able to choose different roles. D.J.. "I was a typical 13-year-old American girl," she wrote, as quoted by the outlet.. ), Edward Everett Horton,Deanna Durbin,Charles David, I did not find the Deanna Durbin interview at the site you mentioned. Of course I've been trying to change that and be more open to her films when they air. 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. In the late 1930s and 1940s, Deanna and Judy, just teenagers, were two of the biggest stars in Hollywood. She didnt really care to do interviews that all the promotional things that came with doing films. "Great post, very interesting too! We, HER FANS, can only hope. If I went to New York, I had to stay in my hotel room or go everywhere under guard, whisked away in a big black limousine, terrified that the fans running alongside would get hurt in the traffic. Also in 1936, Durbin began a radio collaboration with Eddie Cantor which lasted until 1938, when her heavy workload for Universal forced her to quit her weekly appearances. Here is the full interview of Deanna Durbin with Wallace Beery in 1935, which she concludes by singing "One Night of Love" (the other version I have posted is a digital remastering). (LogOut/ 30S STAR THELMA TODD WAS BECOMING' TIRED 'OF HOLLYWOOD' BEFORE HER MYSTERIOUS DEATH, BOOK CLAIMS, Judy Garland (left) with Deanna Durbin, circa 1936. And. Thanks for your comment. [citation needed] When she was an infant, her family moved from Winnipeg to Southern California, and the family became United States citizens in 1923. INTERVIEW: DEANNA DURBIN - 1983 greatentertainersarchives.blogspot.com. (1941). 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. Theme images by, WHERE ARE THEY NOW: FORGOTTEN CHILD STARS, HOLLYWOOD LOVE: DINAH SHORE AND BURT REYNOLDS, Tonight's Movie: Francis in the Navy (1955) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review, The Brass Bottle: A Comfort Comedy with a Genie and a Future Jeannie, Danny G's Sunday Serenade with Dino: "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", The Classic Film Collective: 7 Life Lessons from Cicely Tysons Memoir, CMBA Profile -- Real Weegie Midget Reviews, Fifty Years of Film in 50 Weeks, #45: Repulsion, 1965, JERRY LEWIS TO BE HONORED AT TCM FESTIVAL, PHOTOS OF THE DAY: CLASSIC STARS AND HORSES. That year her fan club was the biggest on earth. [21] Durbin settled the complaint by agreeing to star in three more pictures, including one in Paris; this did not materialize before Durbin's contract expired. This was a great read! Encounter with Siodmak 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. Legal Statement. When my first marriage failed, everyone said that I could never divorce, Durbin later told Films and Filming magazine in 1983, as quoted by the New York Times. She used that name in 1941, when she appeared in a WWII civil defense film and made a minor appearance in her first feature film, after which she became a contract player with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which changed her first name and cast her in the title role of the film Journey for Margaret. France Wt Remember Deanna Durbin' Well, she is now a happy French housewife who says nothing could lure her back to Hollywood. Deanna's observations of her life in Hollywood are so revealing and her honesty is welcome. After 1949, she stayed out of the spotlight until her death in 2013. Mayer did not think he needed two child stars, so he fired Durbin (the play suggests that might have been accidental and he may have wanted to boot Garland), Durbin, at her new studio, Universal, became famous right away and her first few pictures were so successful that they saved the studio (Deanna starred in21 movies in her storied career). it's already old news now, as dated as its subject the obituary notices announcing the death at 91 of deanna durbin, the "plucky child movie star" who saved universal studios from financial ruin; "the best-loved and most fondly remembered singing star of hollywood's golden age" who cut short her career at 28; "the perfect girl next door" who Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. She tried to match these changes and starred in a fashionable then noir-style film. Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Deanna Durbin, Robert Stack, Eugene Pallette, Helen Parrish Votes: 696 7. Her second marriage, to the producer Felix Jackson, also ended in divorce, this time after four years, in 1949. I wonder now if there could be a demand for a biography of Deanna. The story needs a far better explanation of why Durbin fled Hollywood. Her life was totally different from the one she led in Hollywood, which makes her all the more fascinating.. 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. (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. Deanna counted the ten pennies and put them in her purse. [8], The success of Durbin's films was reported to have saved Universal from bankruptcy. Then suddenly, she disappeared. Deanna married director Charles Davis when she was 28 and retired to live in a French farmhouse. Do you remember actress Deanna Durbin? In her early childhood there were no obvious signs that one day she would be a bigger box office attraction than Shirley Temple. According to the New York Times, Durbin moved to France in 1949 and settled in the village of Neauple-le-Chateau, outside of Paris. Andrs de Segurola, who was the vocal coach working with Universal Studioshimself a former Metropolitan Opera singerbelieved that Durbin was a potential opera star. There were Deanna Durbin dolls and dresses. She was able to convey the same elusive, which has no words in any language.Deanna has grown, the world has changed. Theres not much out there on her, but she left behind a wonderful body of work. American GIs in World War II even named a bomber after her. Interestingly, the lyrics pair her name with her first co-star Judy Garland: "Even a voice that's so disturbin' / Like Judy Garland or Miss Durbin / Can't compare to my pin-up queen". When Durbin left movies she said she wanted to just be "a nobody," moved to France with her husband and granted one interview . . By the time she was 18 her income was $250,000 a year. That was a long time. Universal cast Durbin in a film called Three Smart Girls (1936), about a trio of plucky sisters determined to reunite their estranged parents. If she did have any regrets we will probably never know because very little is written about her life, once she retired. Durbin appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias. However, Durbin was unhappy by the role, and that Universal had not given support to the career of her first husband assistant director Vaughn Paul, whom she had married in April 1941. 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. 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). More than Six Decades in Retirement. Deanna Durbin, the former child actress who was born Edna Mae Durbin in Winnipeg, Canada on December 4, 1921, has passed away at age 91, according to her son, Peter H. David, who said she died "a few days ago." . Ive gained weight. This is the last known interview with the reclusive film star and recording artist before her death in . She tried her hand at drama, but I believe critics expected her to just make cheerful, happy films with the same character., I do believe she could have gone to MGM or any other studio, said Harper. Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 April 17, 2013),[1] known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. 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. She is far better known today in the United Kingdom and Europe that in the U.S. because the actress never cut off her films there. Deanna married director Charles Davis when she was 28 and retired to live in a French farmhouse. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. She and Jackson had a daughter, Jessica. Deanna was a Hollywood star in every way. She had also completed 22 films by then. Gall says she was tired of Hollywood, found fame tedious and wanted to live a normal life. Deanna was not only a superb actress, but as a singer had the voice of an angel. But one can speculate that she was eager to start a new chapter in her life. [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. 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. Prior to singing "Whatever Became of Hubert? Working with these talented men helped me so very much and I grew up much faster than the average teenager. [16] However, while her adult dramatic roles may have been more satisfying for Durbin, it was clear her fans preferred her in light musical confections. The play should be subtitled Show Biz History 101. Her voice was often described as "natural and beautiful" and her version of "One Fine Day" from Madame Butterfly, became a classic. Jackson left Universal in November 1946;[17] he also left Durbin in January 1947, although their separation was not announced until the following year. It is Deannas story, not Judys, and she sings Deannas music and not Judys (except forSomewhere Over the Rainbow). He kept the promise.Deanna died quite recently, in 2013, having outlived her husband by 14 years.She was not forgotten, and hardly ever will be forgotten. 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. For one thing, just take a look at my last four films and youll appreciate that the stories I had to defend were mediocre, near impossible. While often re-creating her movie songs for commercial release, Durbin also covered independent standards, like "Kiss Me Again", "My Hero", "Annie Laurie", "Poor Butterfly", "Love's Old Sweet Song" and "God Bless America". The first time was at age 19 in 1941 to director Vaughn Paul. Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. Edna Mae's time in Canada, however, was brief. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 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. Deanna Durbin has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1722 Vine Street. I couldnt discover why she didnt try. Change). She didnt really care to do interviews that all the promotional things that came with doing films. 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". David, thanks for reprinting this fascinating interview. 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. Deanna Durbin was one of the famous children of Hollywood of that era.She starred in 20 films. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sight and Sound; London Vol. Durbin married assistant director Vaughn Paul in 1941 at age 19. I've had Paris. Her first screen kiss was described in a headline story across the continent. No exclamation point. Deanna's genius had to be unfolded, but it was hers and hers alone, always has been, always will be, and no one can take credit for discovering her. 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. Brady, Thomas F. "Some Hollywood Highlights". Los Angeles Times 27 Sep 1949: A1. A reviewer for the New York Times praised her 'phenomenal vocal cords'. She tried very hard to shake off her girl-next-door image with films such as Christmas Holiday (1944), directed by Robert Siodmak and adapted from W Somerset Maugham's novel: Durbin and her co-star Gene Kelly were both cast against type, she as a nightclub hostess and he as a killer. Durbin continued her success with It's a Date (1940), Spring Parade (1940), and Nice Girl? ", "This was a great read! Thank you for reprinting this article on such a lovely actress and singer. 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. All rights reserved. Harper hopes his book will celebrate Durbins films in Hollywood, as well as introduce her to movie buffs discovering her work for the first time. 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. Since 1949, Durbin successfully stayed out of the spotlight and rarely gave interviews before she passed away in 2013 at age 91. Her new husband Charles David promised to give her that. Her talk with me was her first interview since . I loved thembut I had my ticket to Paris in my pocket and anyway, Julie Andrews was great and so was Audrey Hepburn in the film.. However, fans and critics didnt like it. Deanna Durbin : biography December 4, 1921 - April, 2013 Personal life Durbin married an assistant director, Vaughn Paul, in 1941; the couple divorced in 1943. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. 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. Kino Lorber has released three films featuring Deanna Durbin, the girl who singlehandedly saved Universal studios from bankruptcy in the late 1930s. Its a shame, too, that she wouldnt allow herself to be profiled on Websites. Lets hope we get a well researched biography. 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.' Durbin turned down the role, and was suspended by the studio from October 16, 1941, to early February 1942. Are you sure you want to report this post for ? Mayer let her go, but his notion of box-office poison was another studio's sweet success. PERSONAL LIFE AND DEATH In her personal life, Durbin got married three times. In 1941, Durbin starred in It Started with Eve (1941), her last film with Pasternak and director Henry Koster. When her former producer Joe Pasternak tried to dissuade her, she told him, "I can't run around being a Little Miss Fix-It who bursts into songthe highest-paid star with the poorest material. Unlike Judy Garland, she seemed to be very mature in the films that she made, even as a young teenager. I did not succeed. Between December 15, 1936, and July 22, 1947, Deanna Durbin recorded 50 tunes for Decca Records. At 13, Durbin was signed by the studio. Gall carries the play well, but you really need a richer story and more nuance about Judys life. She fled to Europe and completely turned her back to Hollywood., RELATED: 16 Old Hollywood Bombshells: See Photos Then And Now. 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. Judy stayed in Hollywood, led a tragic life and died of a drug overdose at 47. She was due to play the diva as a child, but the film was never made. Winston Churchill was also a fan of Durbin, screening her films "on celebratory wartime occasions".

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