Carmen Miranda

Colorful Carmen Miranda in a newly restored kodachrome sitting that was originally featured (flipped) on the November 1939 issue of CLICK magazine – (view below in comments section). She was born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha on February 9, 1909, near Porto, Portugal. Miranda rose like a comet in the show business firmament. At the age of 15 in Rio de Janeiro she was a singing sensation. Her records made while she was still in her teens sold like hotcakes throughout South America. Lee Shubert, New York producer and theatre owner, brought Miranda to the United States. He saw her entertaining at the Casino Urqua in Rio and signed her for his Broadway musical, “The Streets of Paris,” in 1939. She took Broadway by storm and became a star overnight. A motion-picture contract with 20th Century-Fox followed in 1940. Her first picture, “Down Argentine Way” (1940) was a repeat of her Broadway triumph. She made nine feature films in her five years at Fox, including such great musical hits as “That Night in Rio” (1941), “Weekend in Havana” (1941), “Springtime in the Rockies” (1942) and “Greenwich Village” (1944) and an equal number for other companies. She also co-starred with Groucho Marx in the 1947 film “Copacabana” (1947) and with Jane Powell in “A Date with Judy” (1948). After that Miranda didn't make a film until “Nancy Goes to Rio” (1950). Then another break, until she returned with “Scared Stiff” (1953), her final performance on the big screen. Miranda continued to stay busy, singing on the nightclub circuit and appearing on the relatively new medium of television. On August 4, 1955, Miranda suffered a heart attack during a video taping of “The Jimmy Durante Show” (1954), although she didn't realize it at the time. She went home after attending a party, and early the next morning (August 5), suffered the final fatal heart attack. Miranda was only 46 years old. Her body was flown to her adopted country of Brazil, where her death was declared a period of national mourning.

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