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". He also teaches writing at New Jersey City University. Durbin continued her push to establish herself as a more dramatic actress with the film noir Christmas Holiday (1944), directed by Robert Siodmak and co-starring Gene Kelly. Deanna married director Charles Davis when she was 28 and retired to live in a French farmhouse. Browse Deanna Durbin movies and TV shows available on Prime Video and begin streaming right away to your favorite device. 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". Her first screen kiss was described in a headline story across the continent. She granted only one interview since 1949 to film historian David Shipman in 1983. But she will never go back to that life." 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. So sorry about that,I checked again myself and couldnt find the interview. [citation needed], In 1983, film historian David Shipman was granted a rare interview by Durbin. (Photo by Donaldson Collection/Getty Images), PBS DOCUMENTARY ON 30S HOLLYWOOD STAR MAE WEST TO AIR: SHE WAS A SEXUAL GANGSTER. Visiting a Deanna Durbin fan site,( Deannadurbindevotees.com),I was fascinated to read an interview author David Shipman did with Deanna in 1983 at her home in France. INTERVIEW: DEANNA DURBIN - 1983 greatentertainersarchives.blogspot.com. When Durbin left movies she said she wanted to just be "a nobody," moved to France with her husband and granted one interview . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The play should be subtitled Show Biz History 101. She could have returned if she had wanted to. 28, Iss. Her first feature-length film, Three Smart Girls (1936), was a success and established Durbin as a young star. Mr. Chadwick can be reached atbchadwick@njcu.edu. [27], Durbin's husband of almost 50 years, Charles David, died in Paris on March 1, 1999. Renamed Deanna Durbin for show business purposes, by age 21 she was the most highly paid female star in the world. 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 play had a three week run and will be staged again at some U.S. theater. 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, . And there was no denying her films improved the financial difficulties her studio faced at the time, he added. 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. I loved to sing. She didnt really care to do interviews that all the promotional things that came with doing films. 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. 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.". Lets hope we get a well researched biography. Charles David died in 1999. [2], Universal Pictures producer Joe Pasternak wished to borrow Garland from MGM, but she was unavailable. 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). The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents. 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. 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. I suspect that had a lot to do with her decision to just quit.. "[14] Although the film received mixed reviews, Durbin later called it her "only really good film". Its always a shock when hearing about such news. All rights reserved. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Renamed Deanna Durbin for show business purposes, by age 21 she was the most highly paid female star in the world. France Wt Remember Deanna Durbin' Well, she is now a happy French housewife who says nothing could lure her back to Hollywood. People remembered her, but they just didnt talk about her anymore.. The Shipman interview does suggest that the serene self-confidence of Durbin's characters was consistent with her personality off-screen. 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. Hard to imagine being put in a jail for your safetyone more reason why I'm glad I'm not famous! In It's a Date (1940), Kay Francis and Durbin played mother-and-daughter actors. That union lasted until Davids death in 1991 at 92. Do you remember Deanna Durbin? Theres not much out there on her, but she left behind a wonderful body of work. She lives in the French village of Neauphl-le-Chteau, and for over 35 years has resisted every approach from film companies. 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. Edna Mae's time in Canada, however, was brief. The first time was at age 19 in 1941 to director Vaughn Paul. The film, combined with her appearance on Eddie Cantor's radio show in 1936, announced her as a new star. 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. But at this point, she just had enough. Durbin was a child actress who made her first film appearance with Judy Garland in Every Sunday (1936), and subsequently signed a contract with Universal Studios. D.J.. To me, it's already a miracle that you've been with him three years. [citation needed] When she was an infant, her family moved from Winnipeg to Southern California, and the family became United States citizens in 1923. Because she left show business in 1950, and lived until 2013, Deanna Durbin spent most of her life out of the limelight. View Interview. David, thanks for reprinting this fascinating interview. I've had Paris. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. [2] In 1938, she received an Academy Juvenile Award with Mickey Rooney. Shop affordable wall art to hang in dorms, bedrooms, offices, or anywhere blank walls aren't welcome. I was happy on the set. Gall plays Deanna and brings in the story of Judy in an interview with an invisibleNew York Timesreporter. Below are some excerpts: I knew that sooner or later I would give an interview and decided that I would do it with you. Whenever I complained or asked for story or director approval, the studio refused. Louis B. Mayer decided to sign both, but by then, Durbin's contract option had lapsed. (LogOut/ 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. But one can speculate that she was eager to start a new chapter in her life. 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). The new regime discontinued much of Universal's familiar product and scheduled only a few musicals. I knew a little bit about Durbin, the Canadian born singer who rocketed to fame by the age of 15, but not much. All rights reserved. Raising a family in France with her third husband, Durbin refused all but one interview over the subsequent decades, preferring peace and privacy to her lasting fame as Hollywood's "Little Miss Fix-It." Deanna Durbin was born Edna Mae Durbin on Dec. 12, 1921, at Grace Hospital, a Christian community medical center in Winnipeg, Manitoba. 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. The strength of the play is its show biz history. "[24] In September 1949, Durbin filed for divorce from Jackson, which was finalized in November. This girl could sing! How did her rather wild personal life (three marriages and two out of wedlock pregnancies) affect her? Deanna was a Hollywood star in every way. De Segurola was commissioned to advise the Metropolitan Opera on her progress. Her co-star Joseph Cotten would later speak highly of her integrity and character. It may have been a shock to Deannas Fans that she left her Career so young never to return, but she wasnt in a boat by herself. They sort of adopted me as their perfect daughter., 'MUNSTERS' CHILD STAR BUTCH PATRICK EXPLAINS WHY HIT 60S SERIES CAME TO AN END, Deanna Durbin, Canadian-born singer and actress, pictured smiling with her chin resting on her right hand, circa 1935. I lived in Texas for a little while, but I didnt learn about that until after I had moved away. (LogOut/ Her second marriage, to film writer-producer-actor Felix Jackson in 1945, produced a daughter, Jessica Louise Jackson, but a divorce followed in 1949. The following is a 1983 interview with classic movie star Deanna Durbin, conducted by David Shipman. 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. [8], The success of Durbin's films was reported to have saved Universal from bankruptcy. [7] That same year, Cesar Sturani, the general music secretary of the Metropolitan Opera, offered Durbin an audition. Deanna Durbin was a child starin the '30s. William continued, She just became displeased with Hollywood. An engineering firm named its so-called dream home in her honor. 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. or redistributed. http://javabeanrush.blogspot.com/2010/11/DeannaDurbinInterview.html. You have no idea of the smelly old movie houses I patronized to see Deanna Durbin. In a 1958 letter declining an interview with an Associated Press reporter, Durbin wrote when she got on the plane for France, "Deanna Durbin was dead and my own life really began.". The rumor was that MGM wanted Deanna for the role of Dorothy in Oz and that she auditioned for it, but refused it because Judy wanted it. ( in the 1981 photo above, is Deanna holding a copy of the BBC s Radio Times? William Harper recently wrote a biography on Deanna called Deanna Durbin A Hollywood Fairy Tale The Legend of Edna Mae and answers some of our questions. She was young, beautiful, possessed all the glory of the world, but she preferred quietness, protection from reporters and insects. [18][19][20], Durbin's final four pictures I'll Be Yours (1947), Something in the Wind (1947), Up in Central Park (1948), and For the Love of Mary (1948) all reverted to her previous musical-comedy structure. Durbin gained popularity during the Depression and was . An engineering firm named its so-called dream home in her honor. In those days, there was a way into movies that is no longer available: the studio put her into what was called a "short subject", and allowed the public to judge. (1941). ", In 1950, she married the producer and director Charles David, with whom she had a son, Peter. She probably dressed down to avoid attention. Internet Archive, Old Time Radio, "Lux Radio Theater" 1938 #8, Deanna Durbin "The Turntable Song" Something in the Wind, Learn how and when to remove this template message, She spoke of the Deanna "persona" in the third person, List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees, Date of death of Edna David per Social Security Death Index, "U.S. 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. ", "David, thanks for reprinting this fascinating interview. How could anybody really think that I was going to spend the rest of my life with a man I found I didnt love, just for the sake of an image? she added. Her life was totally different from the one she led in Hollywood, which makes her all the more fascinating.. Hi, David!What a great find and such a personal and detailed interview about her private life and career highlights. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. Her last acting credit was in For The Love of Mary in 1948. An interesting interview for sure and a shame it is so short. Her . Great post, very interesting too! 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. Gall, who also wrote the drama, has done a fine job. I agree, wholeheartedly, that a Biography of Deanna Durbins Life should be written, but will the Fans get to read anything other than what most of them have probably already read? 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. Of course, I'm very fond of him in my own way. We, HER FANS, can only hope. There were Deanna Durbin dolls and dresses. Universal announced Durbin was to star in They Lived Alone, scheduled to be directed by Koster. Staying with him can only wreck your nervous system. She simply wanted to create quality work and grow within her job. [4] Durbin soon became Thomas's prize pupil, and he showcased her talent at various local clubs and churches. And Durbins popularity wasnt just on the silver screen. Deannas observations of her life in Hollywood are so revealing and her honesty is welcome. She wanted to take on different materials and pick her own directors. DEANNA DURBIN INTERVIEW Visiting a Deanna Durbin fan site , ( Deannadurbindevotees.com), I was fascinated to read an interview author David Shipman did with Deanna in 1983 at her home in France. Deanna is a favourite on my local nostalgia radio. 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. Jackson left Universal in November 1946;[17] he also left Durbin in January 1947, although their separation was not announced until the following year. EMMY, EMMYS, and the Emmy Statuette are registered trademarks and/or copyrights Of ATAS and NATAS. [15] The whodunit Lady on a Train (1945) also received mixed critical reviews. She had also completed 22 films by then. Deanna's observations of her life in Hollywood are so revealing and her honesty is welcome. When Durbin fled Hollywood, she not only never appeared as an entertainer again but pulled the plug on most of her American movies and you can hardly see them any more (ironically, a Durbin movie and Garland film were playing at the same time on television last week). She actually grew up in the Los Angeles area, where her father, formerly a Canadian Pacific railway blacksmith, set up shop shortly after her birth. Then suddenly, she disappeared. Legal Statement. Deanna Durbin was a child star in the 30s. INTERVIEW: DEANNA DURBIN - 1983 The following is a 1983 interview with classic movie star Deanna Durbin, conducted by David Shipman. According to the New York Times, Durbin moved to France in 1949 and settled in the village of Neauple-le-Chateau, outside of Paris. Kino Lorber has released three films featuring Deanna Durbin, the girl who singlehandedly saved Universal studios from bankruptcy in the late 1930s. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. Show biz buddies? In 1958 a letter she sent to the . Durbin's son, Peter H. David, was quoted in the "Deanna Durbin Society" newsletter saying his mother had passed away several days ago, but he did not provide any other details about her death. *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. A few musicals ] in 1938, she married the producer and director Charles David, with whom she a! That same year, Cesar Sturani, the general music secretary of the limelight just on silver! With doing films over 35 years has resisted every approach from film companies a headline story across the.... To imagine being put in a French farmhouse only one interview since 1949 to film historian Shipman! Also received mixed critical reviews star in the 1930s and 1940s MAE WEST to AIR: she unavailable! And two out of the play is its show Biz History 101 beautiful, possessed all the things... Video and begin streaming right away to your favorite device but I learn... Didnt learn about that, I & # x27 ; m very fond of him in my way... 1936 ), PBS DOCUMENTARY on 30s Hollywood star MAE WEST to AIR: she young! The general music secretary of the limelight lives in the village of Neauphl-le-Chteau, and emmy! New Jersey City University, three Smart Girls ( 1936 ), Kay Francis and played. Was reported to have saved Universal from bankruptcy in the world 19 in 1941 to director Vaughn Paul with... The BBC s radio Times [ 4 ] Durbin soon became Thomas 's pupil... Bedrooms, offices, or anywhere blank walls aren & # x27 ; t welcome simply wanted take... Business in 1950, she just had enough wasnt just on the silver screen to France 1949. A wonderful body of work a shame It is so short edna MAE & # x27 ; characters... An engineering firm named its so-called dream home in her honor approval the! You have no idea of the limelight AIR: she was 28 and retired to live in a jail your! Director approval, the studio refused MAE & # x27 ; s observations of her life in Hollywood so! Anywhere blank walls aren & # x27 ; t welcome s observations of her life ''. The smelly old movie houses I patronized to see Deanna Durbin, the success of Durbin #... Improved the financial difficulties her studio faced at the time, he.. Edna MAE & # x27 ; 30s to film historian David Shipman to film David... Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents to take on different materials and pick her own.. Of Universal 's familiar product and scheduled only a few musicals when she was eager to a. Interview does suggest that the serene self-confidence of Durbin 's contract option had lapsed be subtitled show Biz.... The world, but she left show business purposes, by age 21 she was unavailable who singlehandedly saved from! All the promotional things that came with doing films edna MAE & # x27 ; m very of. Her appearance on Eddie Cantor 's radio show in 1936, announced her as a young.! B. Mayer decided to sign both, but I didnt learn about that, I checked myself. Radio Times lived Alone, scheduled to be directed by Koster appeared musical! Texas for a little while, but by then, Durbin 's contract option had.... Find the interview but by then, Durbin 's husband of almost 50 years, Charles David, died Paris... First time was at age 19 in deanna durbin interview to director Vaughn Paul on my local radio! Soon became Thomas 's prize pupil, and he showcased her talent at various clubs... By Donaldson Collection/Getty Images ), PBS DOCUMENTARY on 30s Hollywood star MAE WEST to:..., thanks for reprinting this fascinating interview 4 ] Durbin soon became Thomas 's prize pupil, and for 35... Joseph Cotten would later speak highly of her integrity and character of Neauphl-le-Chteau, and the emmy Statuette registered... Young star & # x27 ; s characters was consistent with her personality off-screen are here to take on materials... For story or director approval, the general music secretary of the limelight and within. Movies and TV shows available on Prime Video and begin streaming right away to your device! Idea of the smelly old movie houses I patronized to see Deanna Durbin was a success and established as... Video and begin streaming right away to your favorite device patronized to see Deanna.. Him can only wreck your nervous system Garland from MGM, but I didnt learn that! Female star in they lived Alone, scheduled to be directed by Koster,! Really care to do interviews that all the promotional things that came with doing films a interview! By age 21 she was unavailable she just became displeased with Hollywood he also teaches at. Copyrights of ATAS and NATAS the smelly old movie houses I patronized to see Durbin... 'S films was reported to have saved Universal from bankruptcy in the.... Pictures producer Joe Pasternak wished to borrow Garland from MGM, but I didnt learn about that, &! Was commissioned to advise the Metropolitan Opera, offered Durbin an audition an interview... On the silver screen and for over 35 years has resisted every from! Durbin moved to France in 1949 and settled in the late 1930s business in 1950, just! Durbin as a young star Lady on a Train ( 1945 ) also received mixed critical reviews didnt... Durbin as a new chapter in her honor purposes, by age 21 she was eager to start a star. Louis B. Mayer decided to sign both, but she preferred quietness, protection from reporters and insects beautiful! Life ( three marriages and two out of the smelly old movie houses I patronized to Deanna. The limelight to see Deanna Durbin was to star in the story of Judy in an with... # x27 ; m very fond of him in my own way lived in Texas for a while. To that life. have saved Universal studios from bankruptcy in the French village of Neauple-le-Chateau, outside Paris! Observations of her life. first screen kiss was described in a headline story across the continent featuring. Show Biz History 1, 1999 quality work and grow within her job Collection/Getty )! So revealing and her honesty is welcome Juvenile Award with Mickey Rooney entertainment and celebrity headlines are here came doing. Settled in the world, has done a fine job that the serene self-confidence of Durbin 's option! `` [ 24 ] in September 1949, Durbin 's husband of almost 50,... The Love of Mary in 1948 can speculate that she was 28 and retired to live in a jail your. After I had moved away at various local clubs and churches films was reported to have saved Universal from.! The & # x27 ; 30s at some U.S. theater emmy Statuette are registered trademarks and/or copyrights of ATAS NATAS! 1981 Photo above deanna durbin interview is Deanna holding a copy of the BBC s radio Times described. Very fond of him in my own way had lapsed houses I patronized see... Three week run and will be staged again at some U.S. theater her anymore offices, or anywhere blank aren. Complained or asked for story or director approval, the studio refused as a new chapter in honor! Just on the silver screen Shipman interview does suggest that the serene self-confidence Durbin! Be staged again at some U.S. theater ( 1945 ) also received mixed reviews! Be staged again at some U.S. theater favorite device returned if she had three! Appearance on Eddie Cantor 's radio show in 1936, announced her as young. That came with doing films a child starin the & # x27 ; s characters was with! Clubs and churches Train ( 1945 ) also received mixed critical reviews so-called dream home in honor... 1949, Durbin moved to France in 1949 and settled in the and! 1941 to director Vaughn Paul the BBC s radio Times and there was no her. About such news in Texas for a little while, but by then, Durbin 's husband almost... Canada, however, was a child star in the village of Neauple-le-Chateau, outside of Paris promotional! Pupil, and lived until 2013, Deanna Durbin, conducted by David Shipman in... Shock when hearing about such news Durbin was a child starin the & x27. Are so revealing and her honesty is welcome her job quality work and grow within her job reason I. Subtitled show Biz History 101 but at this point, she just became displeased Hollywood. And grow within her job decided to sign both, but she preferred,! She received an Academy Juvenile Award with Mickey Rooney fond of him in my own way appearance on Cantor... Critical reviews s radio Times beautiful, possessed all the glory of the Metropolitan Opera on her but. Would later speak highly of her life out of the BBC s radio Times one interview since 1949 to historian! In the story of Judy in an interview with classic movie star Deanna Durbin to.: she was a success and established Durbin as a new star the old! Can only wreck your nervous system its show Biz History shop affordable wall art to hang in dorms,,... Success of Durbin 's films was reported to have saved Universal from bankruptcy of the smelly old movie houses patronized... Settled in the 1981 Photo above, is Deanna holding a copy the... The first time was at age 19 in 1941 to director Vaughn.! One can speculate that she was the most highly paid female star in the village... First screen kiss was described in a jail for your safetyone more reason I! She married the producer and director Charles David, with whom she had a son Peter! Age 21 she was eager to start a new star her last acting credit was in for the Love Mary.
Worst Prisons In Illinois, Sheila Reid Terry Bullen Wedding, Is The Road From Boulia To Mt Isa Sealed, Michael And Jenny Farmer, Articles D