She was 91. 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. After all secrets do leak out. 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. Unfortunately, Loretta didnt have the luxury of reading endless articles and hearing thousands of experts giving advice about raising children, the importance of knowing their birth parents, hearing what effect something like this could have on a child, probably never heard or saw examples that showed the results of secrets like this, etc. And as an instant Hollywood star with her very first movie, Three Smart Girls, she almost single-handedly fixed the problems of her fretting bosses at Universal, bringing them box-office gold. Did being on location make it easier to carry on their affair? Edna Mae Durbin was born on Dec. 4, 1921, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and grew up in Southern California, where she studied singing. She did seem to know that Its only a film No other details were given. Although I think she would have liked us to be together, she thought separations were unharmful. Could this also be a little inner guilt because she was still seeing Cotton, a married man? In the 1944 film noir Christmas Holiday, she played an unhappy honky-tonk singer opposite Gene Kelly, but the movie was seen as a disappointment. Canadian singer and actress Deanna Durbin, who enjoyed a short but successful career as a Universal contract star from 1936 to 1948, has died. We were on a first name basis. He indicated that she died "a few days ago," but provided no other details. To my further surprise, he addressed the rumors of their on-set affair in the book, claiming that it was all an innocent mix-up. Poignantly, even Anne Frank, confined to her familys hiding place in Amsterdam during World War II, pasted a movie magazine picture of Durbin on her wall. (Getty Images) About the same time, in 1936, she began singing on Eddie Cantors popular weekly radio program. No other details were given. I personally think she was acting like a woman in love in Cant Help Singing and Lady on a Train. My favourite anecdotes about Durbin concern Cant Help Singing, and I do hope theyre true when the costume designer (Walter Plunkett?) Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy Home Page | Mac/Eddy Club 1996-2022. No other details were given. From 1936 to 1938, she also was singing with Eddie Cantors radio show, and her vocal coach urged a career in opera, but she opted instead for films. The child-star persona affected her personal life as well. joanne tew Deanna later publicly blamed their divorce on their mutual utter boredom. I approached him for an interview since he had worked with Nelson Eddy on Phantom of the Opera. He was there for her many times when she needed him but there are some actions by Gene that I can never forgive, namely his physical abuse of her (at least early on that we know about) and the verbal abuse and neglect in Jeanettes final days. ", Three Smart Girls was nominated for the best picture Oscar in 1937. She replied that I was wrong, and went on with an earful of trite reasonsfree speech, duty to the reading public, etc. This made me immediately think that there definitely was something between them. The marriage lasted two years. In movie after movie Ms. Durbins character found a way to help the struggling grown-ups in her life: reuniting her divorced parents, persuading the conductor Leopold Stokowski to help her out-of-work musician father, cajoling a stranger into becoming her father for a day. Of course not, I said. When she was a star she behaved like a star, and played ball with the publicity boys. David announced her death through a fan newsletter, saying she died a few days ago. Embarrassment expanded to humiliation, and humiliation exploded into anger. judoo Deanna Durbin was a Hollywood legend in her own lifetimeand one hopes that Edna May Durbin David was able to come to peace with the rich professional legacy she leaves behind. With the technical skill and vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano, she performed many styles from popular standards to operatic arias. (Getty Images), /celebs/international/reclusive-hollywood-actress-deanna-durbin-dies-at-91/eventshow/19820949.cms, The actress was born Edna Mae Durbin in Winnipeg, Canada, but moved to California with her British-born parents when she was young. In 1943, Deanna was offered the ingenue role of Christine in the Technicolor remake of Phantom of the Opera. Her next husband would be this films producer.) The character I was forced into had little or nothing in common with myself or with other youth of my generation, for that matter. Her second marriage, to Felix Jackson, the 43-year-old producer of several of her films, also ended in divorce, after the birth of a daughter. The actress' son, Peter H. David, was quoted. As a final note on daughter Jessica, I was sad to read that she apparently was estranged from her mother in adulthood. Her son Peter H. David was quoted as telling The Deanna Durbin Society newsletter that the actress died "a few days ago", thanking her admirers for respecting her privacy. It is to return that love that she has given her first interview in so many years. Don't miss a beat. 1946) and son Peter David (born on June 20, 1951). According to Pat, her friend had nursed Deannas father at some point in his final years or days. Brownie felt Nelsons voice had never been captured accurately at MGM and also, they always had to turn him down to compensate for anyone that he sang with. I, too, always wondered how Loretta could keep that secret. I was so thrilled when she sent me a picture with her autograph. I hope that she had happiness with her husband and children. Throughout her career, she would perform everything from operatic arias to popular songs. The story goes that MGM head Louis B. Mayer said, after this short subject was released, Get rid of the fat one. He meant Judy Garland but instead Deanna Durbin was dropped. May 2, 2013 @ Sharon, I just really discovered Deanna Durbin in the last year. No other. Durbin's death was initially reported by her son, Peter H. David, in the Deanna Durbin. In addition to Peter, her son from her marriage to Mr. David, Ms. Durbin had a daughter, Jessica, from her second marriage. Thats how Hedda was able to break a juicy story without violating the unwritten rules of the day. She was discovered by an MGM casting director searching Los Angeles singing schools for someone to portray the opera star Ernestine Schumann-Heink as a child. Nevertheless, I like you, have done some research on Deanna and came to the same conclusion regarding her shotgun wedding to Felix who even looks like a trapped man in their wedding picture. I looked up what kind of schedule Cotton was on with his films and he was pretty busy during 44 and early 45, but I am sure he could find time to get away when he wanted to. 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. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada as Edna Mae Durbin, she was first signed by MGM in 1935. Hot, hot anger that finally, when it reached its zenith, was transformed into icicles. In fact, her first marriage was violently abusive, and her second marriage to Felix Jackson was also short-lived. 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. No other details were given. Maybe even to abundantsurely attendees George W. Bush said after bin Laden's killing that he wanted to stay out of the public eye. Durbin's death was initially reported by her son, Peter H. David, in the Deanna Durbin. Deanna Edna Mae Durbin: Birthdate: December 04, 1921: Birthplace: Winnipeg, Division No. I have many CDs of her recordings, and also her movies on DVD and VHS. May 3, 2013 @ Canadian singer and actress Deanna Durbin, who enjoyed a short but successful career as a Universal contract star from 1936 to 1948, has died. 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. After that, Durbin, Pasternak and Koster became known as the Durbin unit, which became the key to Universals survival for the next few years. She was 91. 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. And as an instant Hollywood star with her very first movie, Three Smart Girls, she almost single-handedly fixed the problems of her fretting bosses at Universal, bringing them box-office gold. May 3 update: Richard Simonton kindly gave me permission to reproduce a 1994 letter he wrote to Deanna Durbin and her response. She made her name playing the ideal teenage daughter in "Three Smart Girls" in 1936 and in its profitable follow-up the next year, "One Hundred Men and a Girl", which was credited with saving Universal studios from bankruptcy. 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.. (Getty Images). Here is part of his letter to her: catebar44 Before Durbins 20th birthday, she had appeared in 10 wildly profitable films for Universal. I think my response is partially due to the fact that except for the written correspondence she shared with fans like you, she did not have that open give-and-take that so many stars enjoy in their old age of being honored newly for their life achievements. 1:28 am. Perhaps the columns had nothing whatsoever to do with it. Or even true, for that matter. 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". One can only imagine the devastation these stars felt and the blow to their self-esteem. By the time she was making Hers to Hold, Vaughn was off to the war as a Naval officer. As Joseph Cotten stated, he was not going to divorce his wife and in this circumstance, Deanna would have had to act quickly for her child to be born in wedlock. Durbin's husband of over 48 years, Charles David, died in Paris on March 1, 1999. May 3, 2013 @ 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. Deannas story is an amazing one. Villagers in Neauphle reported seeing Durbin from time to time at the post office or dry cleaner but, at her request, maintained a strict code of silence about their famous resident. maceddy 1:18 pm. All those years of being important and making millions for your studioand then you are given the boot and your dressing room belongings are unceremoniously dumped at the studio gate. You could see the fond childhood memories reflecting on their faces as the camera panned around. "sweet soprano voice" that charmed American audiences, second-highest paid actress in America in 1946. 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. Despite her obvious popularity, Durbin would go on to retire just two years later at the age of 29, making "For The Love Of Mary" her final film. She, of course, works her magic and by the end of the 84-minute film, all happily join together to make music under the direction of legendary conductor Leopold Stokowski, who plays himself. Durbin's death was initially reported by her son, Peter H. David, in the Deanna Durbin Society newsletter. (As it would be difficult for any woman in those circumstances.) Former child star Deanna Durbin has died at the age of 91, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. But she never enjoyed that part of her life. She was a huge box-office star for a short period of time.. Those of us who have studied the Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy story can relate to the difficult personal issues that Deanna Durbin might have faced while in her mid-20s. Actually, Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper accused Deanna and co-star Joseph Cotten of having an affair during this film. 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. ", "The character I was forced into had little or nothing in common with myself or with other youth of my generation, for that matter.". Deanna and Felix separated soon after and divorced in 1949. Wow. Though Cotten was angry at Hedda Hopper printing it, was she ultimately incorrect in her assumption? To my surprise, there was much speculation to be found on whether Durbin and Cotten had had even a brief affair during the filming. 'Winnipeg's sweetheart' actress Deana Durbin dies | CBC News Loaded. So his appearance at the Oscars was emotional on many levels both for the audience and for him. She was 91. You just cant, even if you try.. Of course, who knows what I would do if I were in that situation. Durbin's husband of almost 50 years, Charles David, died in Paris on March 1, 1999. Was Cotton the one love in her life? 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