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This listing is for an 8x10 size picture of Dorothy Dandridge.

Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 - September 8, 1965) was an American actress. She was the first African American to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Birth

She was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Cyrus Dandridge and Ruby Jean Butler, both African Americans. Cyrus and Ruby split up 5 months previous to Dorothy's birth. Dorothy had one sister: Vivian Dandridge.

Career

Beginnings

Dandridge began singing in her church's choir. With the prodding of her mother, a stage and screen actress, she and her sister began to perform as "The Wonder Children" when Dandridge was only age four. The "Wonder Children" toured in the South for five years. After the Depression, Ruby Jean Butler Dandridge, Vivian Dandridge, Dorothy Dandridge, and Geneva Williams (Ruby's lesbian lover/friend) moved to Hollywood. In Los Angeles, Ruby played a domestic in small parts on the radio and in film. Dorothy's first on-screen appearance was as an extra in a 1935 Our Gang short called Teacher's Beau.

The Dandridge Sisters

Dorothy's first important role was a small part in the Marx Brothers' A Day at the Races in 1937 which her sister, Vivian Dandridge, and Etta Jones appear as "The Dandridge Sisters". The Dandridge Sisters traveled all over the world and even performed at the Cotton Club with the Nicholas Brothers. They also appeared in the 1939 film Going Places.

Dorothy Dandridge did not receive another role until 1940, when she appeared in Four Shall Die a race film in which she played a murderer at the age of 19. All of her early roles were stereotypical parts for African American actresses, but her singing ability brought her popularity in nightclubs around the country. During this period, she starred in several "soundies", video films designed to be displayed on juke boxes, including Paper Doll by the Mills Brothers Cow Cow Boogie, "Jig In The Jungle," "Mr. & Mrs. Carpenters (Rent Party)".

In 1954, Dandridge was cast in Carmen Jones, the remake of the , in November 1954, Dandridge became the first African American to appear on the cover of Life magazine.

Other Movies and The Ed Sullivan Show

Despite the Oscar nomination, Dorothy had to go to Italy to make her next movie, Tamango, in 1956. Dorothy agreed to play "Tuptim" in The King and I, but later changed her mind (Rita Moreno got the part instead). This reneging may have led to her lack of work in Hollywood, and she was once again forced to go on tour and perform at clubs across the nation. In 1957 she played in Island in the Sun which created much controversy for its display of an interracial romance; in 1959 she starred in Porgy and Bess starring alongside Sidney Poitier, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

In 1961, Dorothy, elegantly gowned and coiffed, looking relaxed and beautiful, guested on the popular Ed Sullivan Show. She sang a ballad, giving viewers the chance to hear her real voice. (All the leads in Carmen Jones had been dubbed with the exception of Pearl Bailey.) While not operatic, Dandridge's voice was lovely all the same.

Marriages

Dorothy would eventually marry Harold Nicholas on 6 September 1942. The couple had one child, Harolyn Nicholas, Dandridge's only child. Harolyn was born on 2 September 1943; she was severely mentally handicapped. The couple divorced in October of 1951. After this marriage, Dorothy became involved with her director, Otto Preminger, while he was still married. This affair lasted for years, but Otto had refused to divorce his wife and marry Dorothy.

Dorothy married Jack Denison, a white man, on 22 June 1959. Denison was physically abusive and took much of Dandridge's money to put into his restaurant business and into oil deals. Dorothy filed for divorce after two years, but was left in debt. She had to take Harolyn out of a private institution and place her into a public institution.

Death

In 1965, Dandridge was found dead at the age of 42 in her home in West Hollywood, California from an overdose of Imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant. Modern analysts believe that she may have suffered from bipolar disorder. As she was depressed and apparently destitute, many speculate that her death was a suicide, but the official coroner's report did not make a final determination. Of great concern to Dandridge at the time was her financial situation, including home foreclosure. Her business manager at the time was Jerome Rosenthal, who years later would be found guilty of plundering the fortune of client Doris Day.

Dorothy's cremated remains are interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California. After her mother Ruby passed away in 1987, she was interred with Dorothy at Forest Lawn.

Legacy

* She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6719 Hollywood Blvd.

* She was placed in the Black Film Hall of Fame in 1977

* Fellow Clevelander Halle Berry played Dandridge in the made-for-TV movie, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), for which she won an Emmy Award. Berry was noted for her striking resemblance to the late Dandridge, and for her engaging depiction of the actress’ struggle to succeed in the racially biased industry of 1950s Hollywood. Coincedently, Berry became the first African American to receive the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture. In her speech, Berry paid tribute to Dandridge.

* She was an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

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