But the public did not accept her new image. Market data provided by Factset. In the days when child stars were wholesome, Durbin was everyone's idea of the perfect girl next door, and she was a huge money-spinner. The film was intended as a demonstration of their talent as performers as studio executives had questioned the wisdom of casting two female singers together. Upon her retirement and divorce from Jackson in 1949, Durbin married producer-director Charles Henri David and moved to a farmhouse near Paris. Edna Mae's time in Canada, however, was brief. 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). [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. Then in 1945, she tied the knot with 43-year-old producer Felix Jackson. In 1958 a letter she sent to the . And Durbins popularity wasnt just on the silver screen. ( in the 1981 photo above, is Deanna holding a copy of the BBC s Radio Times? And then she vanished from the public eye. Her work was credited with saving the studio from bankruptcy,[2] and led to Durbin being awarded the Academy Juvenile Award in 1938. She was young, beautiful, possessed all the glory of the world, but she preferred quietness, protection from reporters and insects. Her first screen kiss was described in a headline story across the continent. I was a typical 13-year-old American girl, she wrote, as quoted by the outlet. I'd love to have more insight into this enigmatic lody. By the time she was 18 her income was $250,000 a year. DEANNA DURBIN GETS SUSPENSION AT STUDIO: Penalized by Universal After It Refuses Concessions to Her (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. The whole interview can be read at DeannaDurbindevotees.com. Renamed Deanna Durbin for show business purposes, by age 21 she was the most highly paid female star in the world. How did her rather wild personal life (three marriages and two out of wedlock pregnancies) affect her? As she matured, Durbin grew dissatisfied with the girl-next-door roles assigned to her and attempted to move into sophisticated non-musical roles with film noir Christmas Holiday (1944) and the whodunit Lady on a Train (1945). In fact, there is still a Deanna Devotees fan club in England. Unlike Judy Garland, she seemed to be very mature in the films that she made, even as a young teenager. The first time was at age 19 in 1941 to director Vaughn Paul. There were Deanna Durbin dolls and dresses. Gall, who also wrote the drama, has done a fine job. 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. This is not me, this is Google translator.Music:First Love Wayne JonesGaiety in the Golden Age Aaron KennyNostalgic Pull Asher FuleroWander Into ann annie Her new husband Charles David promised to give her that. 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. I couldnt discover why she didnt try. Encounter with Siodmak This is the last known interview with the reclusive film star and recording artist before her death in April of 2013. Deanna is a favourite on my local nostalgia radio. Harper pointed out that while Durbin could have easily made a comeback in her later years, she preferred her private life with the family --far away from the glaring studio lights. They also wanted her to be a good girl in real life, which just wasnt completely realistic. Thank you for reprinting this article on such a lovely actress and singer. Whenever I complained or asked for story or director approval, the studio refused. In It's a Date (1940), Kay Francis and Durbin played mother-and-daughter actors. She stated that the studio pushed a "childlike image" on her, but I'm not so sure about that. 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. It is an eye opener of a tale and an absolute treasure chest of show business history. She was due to play the diva as a child, but the film was never made. Thanks for your comment. This added to her movie images even more charm and beauty.In the Soviet Union, and today in Russia, we really love her film His Butler's Sister, where Deanna sings old Russian romances in Russian.She miraculously managed to convey the atmosphere of the Russian romance. In her early childhood there were no obvious signs that one day she would be a bigger box office attraction than Shirley Temple. D.J.. This time she had a menu which she said some one wanted Deanna to autograph. She turned down his offer because she felt she needed more singing lessons. 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. [2], Universal Pictures producer Joe Pasternak wished to borrow Garland from MGM, but she was unavailable. INTERVIEW: DEANNA DURBIN - 1983. 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. What makes Deanna Durbin's story different is that she was never comfortable with adulation. That cant be all of it, though. Deanna married director Charles Davis when she was 28 and retired to live in a French farmhouse. Gall tells the audience that Durbin was probably a better singer, but Judy had more hits. On April 30, 2013, a newsletter published by the Deanna Durbin Society reported that Durbin had died "in the past few days", quoting her son, Peter H. David, who thanked her admirers for respecting her privacy. How about Judy Garland? Siodmark praised Durbin's acting skills, but later recalled she was difficult as "she wanted to play a new part but flinched from looking like a tramp: she always wanted to look like nice wholesome Deanna Durbin pretending to be a tramp. That role, of course, would have made her famous all over again, an international superstar, a brilliant comet racing across the show business sky. I knew a little bit about Durbin, the Canadian born singer who rocketed to fame by the age of 15, but not much. ", "An interesting interview for sure and a shame it is so short. [6] According to the Social Security Death Index (under the name Edna M. David), she died on April 17, 2013[1][28] in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.[29]. Deanna was not only a superb actress, but as a singer had the voice of an angel. "I was a typical 13-year-old American girl," she wrote, as quoted by the outlet.. 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. I could never believe that my contemporaries were my fans., They may have been impressed with my success, but my fans were the parents, many of whom could not cope with their own youngsters, she continued. I really hope people will discover Deanna again and watch her movies, he said. But at this point, she just had enough. [15] The whodunit Lady on a Train (1945) also received mixed critical reviews. Audiences flocked to see her musical comedies and, after she had trilled numbers such as It's Raining Sunbeams (in the film One Hundred Men and a Girl, 1937), Home Sweet Home (in First Love, 1939) and Waltzing in the Clouds (in Spring Parade, 1940), her fans queued to buy the latest record bearing her name. You can't hide that kind of light under a bushel. 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. Her seclusion is incomplete. In the film, Jane Barlow, ballerina and a student of Nijinska, was a body double for Durbin. And thanks for the javabeanrush link. A nostalgic journey to the past to relive the golden days of entertainment! Gall carries the play well, but you really need a richer story and more nuance about Judys life. Mr. Chadwick can be reached [email protected]. Her co-star Joseph Cotten would later speak highly of her integrity and character. Even as a young child, she could hold her own on the screen. What makes Deanna Durbin's story different is that she was never comfortable with adulation. Its box-office success is generally held to have been responsible for saving the studio from bankruptcy. To me, it's already a miracle that you've been with him three years. [19][20], On December 21, 1950, Durbin married French director-producer Charles Henri David, who had previously directed her in Lady on a Train. Of course I've been trying to change that and be more open to her films when they air. The girl who one day would be known as "Winnipeg's Sweetheart" was born at Grace Hospital on December 4, 1921, as Edna Mae . (LogOut/ But after having been a Top Paid Actress in Hollywood, she could hardly expect people to not seek her out. The best part of the play, for me, was the question and answer session at the end. Deanna was a Hollywood star in every way. Of course, I'm very fond of him in my own way. Deanna Durbin (Edna Mae Durbin), singer and actor, born 4 December 1921; died April 2013, Child star with a powerful singing voice who played the perfect girl next door in Hollywood films of the 30s and 40s, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Deanna Durbin in It's a Date, 1940. It would be much better as a two-character play and it should be a bit longer (its just a little over an hour). Durbin had been effectively typecast as the good girl and wanted to be able to choose different roles. Deannas observations of her life in Hollywood are so revealing and her honesty is welcome. Why did she build such a successful career in a short time and then give it all up? Wishing to move into more sophisticated material, They Lived Alone was retooled into The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943), the World War II story of refugee children from China. Durbin sang "Il Bacio" for the studio's vocal coach, who was stunned by her "mature soprano" voice. Needless to say, I was, along with her other fans, shocked to hear about her passing. However, film historians seem to agree that in that era Durbin was one of the most beloved actresses in the world. Unique Deanna Durbin Interview Posters designed and sold by artists. Actress/singer Melanie Gall has merged the two stories into one, Ingenue: Deanna Durbin and Judy Garland, and the Golden Age of Hollywood. These films, produced by frequent collaborator and second husband Felix Jackson, were not as successful; she continued in musical roles until her retirement. [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]. 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. She spoke of the Deanna "persona" in the third person, and considered the film character "Deanna Durbin" to be a byproduct of her youth and not her true identity. In 1936, audiences saw her in the short Every Sunday and approved; Mayer saw it and did not. . Well, of course you do - Dorothy from Oz. I also enjoyed the company of my fellow actors What I did find difficult was that this acquired maturity had to be hidden under the childlike personality my films and publicity projected on me.". She granted only one interview since 1949 to film historian David Shipman in 1983. I liked your two books on the stars and such statements you made as, the system was firmly rigged against the individual in favor of the machine, . Her major motion pictures were Three Smart Girls (1936), Mad About Music (1938) and That Certain Age (1938). 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. 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