Trivia of Dorothy Dandridge

Trivia of Dorothy Dandridge (9 November 1922 - 8 September 1965)

*She was raised by her mother since her parents separated before she was born. She did not attend school in her early years and instead, was trained to sing and dance with her elder sister, Vivian.Dandridge’s career can be traced to her childhood when, in 1934, she began to perform with her sister as part of an act her mother called The Wonder Children. Later, they were joined by their friend Etta Jones, and the trio, under the new name of Dandridge Sisters, began to tour the U.S., performing at nightclubs, theaters, and Baptist churches.

*As a teenager, Dandridge began earning small roles in a number of films. She and her sister appeared in the Marx Brothers classic A Day at the Races (1937), as well as Going Places (1938), with Louis Armstrong.

*In 1953 she bagged the most remarkable film of her career, ‘Carmen Jones’.Outstanding performance of Dandridge in the title role in ‘Carmen Jones’ not only earned her critical acclaim and established her as a sex symbol but also fetched her nomination for Academy Award for Best Actress.Directed and written by Otto Preminger and released on October 28, 1954, the film became a critical and huge commercial success worldwide garnering $9.8 million at the box-office. Reportedly, Director Otto Preminger and Dorothy Dandridge developed a romance and a long-term relationship during and after the shooting of the movie.

*Dandridge had trouble finding film roles that suited her talents. She wanted strong leading roles but found her opportunities limited because of her race.She appeared in several poorly received racially and sexually charged dramas, including Island in the Sun (1957), also starring Belafonte and Joan Fontaine, and Tamango (1958), in which she plays the mistress of the captain of an enslaved ship.Among the missed opportunities from this period, Dandridge turned down the supporting role of Tuptim in The King and I (1956), because she refused to play an enslaved person.

*Her last notable film was Otto Preminger directed musical ‘Porgy and Bess’ (released on June 24, 1959). Dandridge earned Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for essaying the role of Bess in the film. It is considered by many as her finest performance.

*She was first choice for the role of Cleopatra (1963) but ultimately the role went to Elizabeth Taylor.

*In the 1960s Dandridge’s life and career were wracked by divorce, personal bankruptcy, and the absence of offers of work.On September 8, 1965, Dandridge was found dead in her home at age 42. Initially reported to be the result of an embolism, additional findings pointed to an overdose of an antidepressant. Dandridge had little more than $2 in her bank account at the time of her death.