Deanna was not only a superb actress, but as a . In the late 1930s and 1940s, Deanna and Judy, just teenagers, were two of the biggest stars in Hollywood. There, she met Garland and the two became close friends. Deanna was a Hollywood star in every way. And it made us believe that somehow, we could achieve the same.. There were Deanna Durbin dolls and dresses. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. When Durbin had her first screen kiss with Robert Stack in First Love, a riff on the Cinderella plot it filled columns in the American newspapers for weeks. ", "David, thanks for reprinting this fascinating interview. Deanna Durbin was a child starin the '30s. This was a great read! Below are some excerpts: She is also referenced in the Glenn Miller WWII novelty song "Peggy the Pin-up Girl". In 1946, Universal merged with two other companies to create Universal-International. But she will never go back to that life." Poised as a veteran, prettier than ever, she arrived for her interview clad in rosy tweed. I was the highest paid star with the poorest material-today I consider my salary as damages for having to cope with such complete lack of quality., I did not hate show business. The first time was at age 19 in 1941 to director Vaughn Paul. She seemed totally content with raising her two children on a little farm outside of Paris., 50S SEX SYMBOL MAMIE VAN DOREN ON LEAVING HOLLYWOOD AFTER MARILYN MONROE'S DEATH: 'THERE WERE A LOT OF DRUGS', Deanna Durbin (1921-2013) with the wind in the hair and leaning on a tree's branch in a publicity shot from 1941, United States. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. She was young, beautiful, possessed all the glory of the world, but she preferred quietness, protection from reporters and insects. In 1936, her singing landed her a spot in Eddie Cantors weekly radio program. I did not succeed. I did find it in its entirety (with that same picture from the 1980s) at Java Journey in a 2010 article on this page: http://javabeanrush.blogspot.com/2010/11/DeannaDurbinInterview.html. It was there, in that Q and A session, that she dropped her bombshell. Most of these films had been produced by Felix Jackson, whom she married in August 1945; they welcomed their daughter, Jessica Louise, in February 1946. The whole interview can be read at DeannaDurbindevotees.com. 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. In the late 1930s and 1940s, Deanna and Judy, just teenagers, were two of the biggest stars in Hollywood. According to the New York Times, Durbin moved to France in 1949 and settled in the village of Neauple-le-Chateau, outside of Paris. Charles David directed only two films in Hollywood, both in 1945 Lady On A Train and Fairy Tale Murder (with Gloria Jean). Judy Garland was also featured in the film and she and Durbin sang together, but the much more gauche-looking Garland appealed more to the mogul than the prettier Durbin, who he decided was a little too womanly for what he had in mind. The story needs a far better explanation of why Durbin fled Hollywood. After being launched to fame overnight with her first full-length film, Three Smart Girls, Deanna starred in over twenty-one movies before moving to France at the age of 28. I think she wanted it.Only once did she allow to publish her photo in order to prove that she had not grown fat and was passing through the Triumphal Frame without having her stomach tucked.I apologize for the mistakes. http://javabeanrush.blogspot.com/2010/11/DeannaDurbinInterview.html. I don't think Deanna Durbin will ever lose her fan base, every year more people "discover" her and her delightful personality. I've also realized with giving her movies a chance that she was a very good singer.Thanks again for sharing this with us.See ya soon!Page. MGM casting director Rufus LeMaire heard about a talented young soloist performing with the Ralph Thomas Academy and called her in for an audition. [4], In early 1935, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was planning a biographical film on the life of opera star Ernestine Schumann-Heink and was having difficulty finding an actress to play the young opera singer. INTERVIEW: DEANNA DURBIN - 1983 The following is a 1983 interview with classic movie star Deanna Durbin, conducted by David Shipman. She then withdrew from show business and lived in France, closely guarding her privacy for decades. 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. The following is a 1983 interview with classic movie star Deanna Durbin, conducted by David Shipman. She and Jackson had a daughter, Jessica. Mr. Chadwick can be reached atbchadwick@njcu.edu. My mother and I were once mobbed in Texas: the police lost control of the crowd and my mother suffered two broken ribs from people trying to reach me. Hard to imagine being put in a jail for your safetyone more reason why I'm glad I'm not famous! Her seclusion is incomplete. "[24] In September 1949, Durbin filed for divorce from Jackson, which was finalized in November. In 1936, audiences saw her in the short Every Sunday and approved; Mayer saw it and did not. Raised in California, she was signed to a contract with MGM at 13, and a year later was hired by a competing studio, Universal Pictures. The light comedy For the Love of Mary (1948) was her swansong. 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). Gall says she was tired of Hollywood, found fame tedious and wanted to live a normal life. So sorry about that,I checked again myself and couldnt find the interview. Shop affordable wall art to hang in dorms, bedrooms, offices, or anywhere blank walls aren't welcome. Universal cast Durbin in a film called Three Smart Girls (1936), about a trio of plucky sisters determined to reunite their estranged parents. Legal Statement. She simply wanted to create quality work and grow within her job. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. This led to her discovery by MGM in 1935. She certainly was a mysterious woman. Her major motion pictures were Three Smart Girls (1936), Mad About Music (1938) and That Certain Age (1938). ( in the 1981 photo above, is Deanna holding a copy of the BBC s Radio Times? Do you remember actress Deanna Durbin? That same year, Durbin was given a special miniature Academy Award for her significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth., She had a special kind of youthfulness paired with an incredible voice, Harper said regarding Durbins talent. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images), BEWITCHED STAR ERIN MURPHY REVEALS HOW QUARANTINE HAS KEPT HER BUSY AT HOME, I was never happy making pictures, added Durbin. Photograph: Everett/Rex. The film was initially conceived without musical numbers, but Durbin finally relented to Universal's demand to include some. The strength of the play is its show biz history. 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. It would be much better as a two-character play and it should be a bit longer (its just a little over an hour). But I never have time to spend it." The waitress was back again. That year her fan club was the biggest on earth. Gall, in her story, suggests that latter version, and points out that Garland thought Durbin was shortsighted in leaving the movies and wished she had remained. Its box-office success is generally held to have been responsible for saving the studio from bankruptcy. 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.. She withdrew from public life, granting only one interview on her career in 1983. The problem of keeping normal in Hollywood doesn't seem so uncomplicated to Deanna Durbin, 16-year-old star of Universal Pictures. She just wanted more say in her own films, but she couldnt. she became a recluse in France, shunning publicity and only granting one interview in 1983. Durbin gained popularity during the Depression and was . Producer Joe Pasternak said:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}. No exclamation point. 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. Deanna Durbin : biography December 4, 1921 - April, 2013 Personal life Durbin married an assistant director, Vaughn Paul, in 1941; the couple divorced in 1943. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, It turns out she simply enjoyed her private life. Nobody knows very much about her. Deanna Durbin Devotees What did her friends say? The French born Davidmarried Deanna in 1950 and Deanna chose to leave America and settle in France. That role, of course, would have made her famous all over again, an international superstar, a brilliant comet racing across the show business sky. [3] At the age of one, Edna Mae was singing children's songs. Edna Mae Durbin was born on December 4, 1921, at Grace Hospital in Winnipeg, the younger daughter of James Allen Durbin and his wife Ada (ne Read) Durbin, who were originally from Chester, England. 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. From the age of eight she started taking voice lessons and when she was 14 she was recommended to the MGM studio boss Louis B Mayer, who planned to cast her in a biopic of the opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink. [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. Of course, I'm very fond of him in my own way. Her first screen kiss was described in a headline story across the continent. I do my own shopping, bring up my two children and sing an hour every day.. And. 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. The union lasted for two years. Reportedly, she also wanted to get out of the good girl image she built her career on. She didnt make great demands. Los Angeles Times 28 Oct 1949: 2. ", In 1950, she married the producer and director Charles David, with whom she had a son, Peter. Even as a young child, she could hold her own on the screen. I did two films with my special friend, Charles Laughton. Between December 15, 1936, and July 22, 1947, Deanna Durbin recorded 50 tunes for Decca Records. Charles David died in 1999. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Thanks for your comment. Her films resonated with audiences of all ages. Her co-star Joseph Cotten would later speak highly of her integrity and character. The conflict led to an unhappiness which was compounded by Durbin's divorce, in 1943, after two years of marriage to the film executive Vaughn Paul. Renamed Deanna Durbin for show business purposes, by age 21 she was the most highly paid female star in the world. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. You would think that maybe in the 60s or 70s, she could have received a lifetime achievement award or something for her work, he said. France Wt Remember Deanna Durbin' Well, she is now a happy French housewife who says nothing could lure her back to Hollywood. Breakdown Silences KFI When Pasternak learned that Durbin was no longer with MGM, he instead cast her in the film. 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. Andrs de Segurola, who was the vocal coach working with Universal Studioshimself a former Metropolitan Opera singerbelieved that Durbin was a potential opera star. 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. "Great post, very interesting too! In her early childhood there were no obvious signs that one day she would be a bigger box office attraction than Shirley Temple. Deanna was a Hollywood star in every way. I was happy on the set. Post-retirement, no writer ever got close enough to her to find out. At 13, Durbin was signed by the studio. Well, of course you do - Dorothy from Oz. Gall plays Deanna and brings in the story of Judy in an interview with an invisibleNew York Timesreporter. A year later, she married once more. Ten years and fewer than 20 films later, she suddenly announced her retirement from show business. Durbin and David raised a son, Peter David (born in June 1951), as well as Durbin's daughter Jessica, on a farm outside of Paris. And there was no denying her films improved the financial difficulties her studio faced at the time, he added. Hi, David!What a great find and such a personal and detailed interview about her private life and career highlights. *For donate* https://www.paypal.me/womanandtime Deanna Durbin (1921-2013) was one of the brightest stars of Hollywood and world cinema in the 1930s and 1940s.She began her career in 1936, when she was still a child. [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]. 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.' The Metropolitan Opera was even after her to join its company. I knew a little bit about Durbin, the Canadian born singer who rocketed to fame by the age of 15, but not much. The actress, who was born Edna Mae Durbin, married her third husband, 44-year-old French director Charles Davis, at age 28, and retired to a French farmhouse. Her first screen kiss was described in a headline story across the continent. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents. "And her contract eventually ran out. Durbin had an older sister named Edith, who recognized Deanna's musical talents at an early age and helped Deanna to take singing lessons at Ralph Thomas Academy. TYRONE POWERS DAUGHTER SAYS 30S HOLLYWOOD IDOL WAS A DEVOTED FATHER BEFORE HIS TRAGIC DEATH: I FELT SAFE, Canadian actress and singer Deanna Durbin (1921-2013) wearing a black sleeveless dress in a publicity shot once used for the cover of the magazine Yank, The Army Weekly, 1944, United States. 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. Her . 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