To my further surprise, he addressed the rumors of their on-set affair in the book, claiming that it was all an innocent mix-up. I hope you dont think I am being too blunt in my commentary, but I was so glad to read what you wrote about. But, like many young stars, Durbin struggled to make the transition from sprightly teen singer to more serious actress with a broader range. Deanna shunned all attempts to return to the public forum in any manner, though she did provide this 1981 photo of herself via her husband to film historian William K. Everson: Only a few photos were taken of Deanna in recent years by tabloid photographers who caught a rare glimpse of her. Deanna Durbin, a singing child movie star of the 1930s, who became one of the world's highest-paid actresses before turning her back on stardom, has died at the age of 91. The actress was born Edna Mae Durbin in Winnipeg, Canada, but moved to California with her British-born parents when she was young. Maybe she didnt think the DNA test was that important, she certainly looked like Clark, and perhaps she (and her family) didnt need and money for royalties, if that were in fact still a reality. Vale Deanna Durbin December 4, 1921 - April 20, 2013. We know that from the Jeanette and Nelson story that wily Hopper knew much of the behind-the-scenes goings on and that included Jeanettes 1938 pregnancy and miscarriage. Musical Film. Shortly afterward she moved to Universal, shepherded there by Rufus Le Maire, a former MGM executive who had switched his allegiance to the rival studio. I was initially surprised to read that about a year after their marriage 6 months or so after the birth of baby Jessica, Felix felt the marriage was over. David turned out to be the someone to take care of her like one of the meaningful songs she once sang. She was 91. She married film director Charles David, and they shunned the spotlight, living in France. At 25, Durbin was the second highest-paid woman in America behind her fellow actress Bette Davis, according to the New York Times, and her fan club ranked as the world's largest during her active years. In fact, he told me that he built an entire new recording booth and setup for Nelsons first (and ultimately last) Universal movie. We will never know, however, with modern technology at least we can enjoy and appreciate her artistry. Her son Peter H. David was quoted as telling The Deanna Durbin Society newsletter that the actress died "a few days ago", thanking her admirers for respecting her privacy. Her son Peter H. David was quoted as telling The Deanna Durbin Society newsletter that the actress died "a few days ago", thanking her admirers for respecting her privacy. Alias confirmed: Nelson and Jeanette Randall?! CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. Did being on location make it easier to carry on their affair? Babe. Were they friends with benefits after working together? 1930s child star Deanna Durbin has died, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The fact was that Joseph Cotten was married to Lenore Kipp and remained married to her until Kipps death in 1960. The two moved to France and had a son. Don't miss a beat. She released more than 50 recordings including Kiss Me Again, My Hero, Annie Laurie, Loves Sweet Song and God Bless America. The following year Deanna married producer/director Charles David (he directed her in 1945s excellent Lady on a Train) and moved with him to France. A very sad Mayday for ussad but inevitable news. For reprint rights |, /celebs/international/reclusive-hollywood-actress-deanna-durbin-dies-at-91/eventshow/19820952.cms, Deanna Durbin, a singing child movie star of the 1930s who became one of the world's highest paid actresses before turning her back on stardom, has died at the age of 91. No other details were given. Durbin and David raised a son, Peter David (born in June 1951), as well as Durbin's daughter Jessica, on a farm outside of Paris. She was 91. Ive READ that he would never agree to DNA testing. This has nothing to do with having a swelled ego or whether you earn money for your work or not. A nostalgic journey to the past to relive the golden days of entertainment! I was so thrilled when she sent me a picture with her autograph. She had custody of Jessica, he was ordered to repay some monies hed borrowed from her and their pre-nup had them both keeping their own individual incomes. That is really not so different from her characters. Embarrassment expanded to humiliation, and humiliation exploded into anger. My favourite anecdotes about Durbin concern Cant Help Singing, and I do hope theyre true when the costume designer (Walter Plunkett?) On April 30, 2013, a newsletter published by the Deanna Durbin Society reported that Durbin died "in the past few days", quoting her son, Peter H. David, who thanked her admirers for respecting her privacy. That Joseph Cotten would not have left his wife for Deanna if he indeed was the father of her child would have been very painful for Deanna, if indeed he was her great love. Edna Mae Durbin was born Dec. 4, 1921, (some sources say 1922) in Winnipeg, Canada, but the family soon moved to Southern California because of her fathers health. Third husband of singer and actress Deanna Durbin. May she rest in peace and sing with the angels. With the technical skill and vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano, she performed many styles from popular standards to operatic arias. By the time she was making Hers to Hold, Vaughn was off to the war as a Naval officer. In Deannas films, she was the main draw and the leading men were secondary. I could see the wariness in Naughty Marietta and the closeness of Sweethearts and so forth. David died in 1999. She toned down her bubbly personality onscreen as she got older but her sincerity and enthusiasm was always there, at least until those last films made after her daughters birth. (Getty Images), Capitalising on her fame, Universal cast Durbin in a series of musical movies including "That Certain Age" and "Mad About Music" which made the actress with the sweet soprano voice into one of Hollywood's most popular stars. her son Peter H. David said in a fan club newsletter published on Tuesday, April . No other details were given. Mr. David once said that he and Ms. Durbin had made a deal that he would protect her from spiders, mosquitoes and reporters., Ms. Durbin, who gave almost no interviews after she left Hollywood, did send reporters a letter in 1958 that read in part: I was a typical 13-year-old American girl. I was saddened to read this news today. This movie is mostly famous as Deanna Durbin's final film before she retired from show business at the age of 26. I looked up what kind of schedule Cotton was on with his films and he was pretty busy during 44 and early 45, but I am sure he could find time to get away when he wanted to. October 5, 2013 @ She replied that I was wrong, and went on with an earful of trite reasonsfree speech, duty to the reading public, etc. 8:47 am, It breaks my heart to hear Deanna Durbin has passed. It wasnt Vaughns fault or my fault that we failed to make a go of our marriage. (Getty Images) May 3, 2013 @ Yes, I said. May 3 update: Richard Simonton kindly gave me permission to reproduce a 1994 letter he wrote to Deanna Durbin and her response. 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. maceddy (Getty Images) Deanna always would say that she isnt the person she played on the screen, that she was another person apart from who she really was. Fans of the Canadian produced series, "Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal" can rejoice. Strange because I am 68 years old and watched all the old movies on TV when I was growing up, but then Universal held up Deannas movies for so long that I had only seen Lady on A Train, which I loved. Both stars returned to the studio that particular night, for different reasons. The Kick was not a boot that would have carried a football over the crossbar, but neither was it a token tap. Maybe even to abundantsurely attendees George W. Bush said after bin Laden's killing that he wanted to stay out of the public eye. The former child star, married Charles David, who directed her in the 1945 film "Lady on a Train," in 1951 and together they had one son, Peter. Deanna Durbin, a singing child movie star of the 1930s who became one of the world's highest paid actresses before turning her back on stardom, has died at the age of 91. The Deanna Durbin Society, based in England, did not report a date or cause of death. (I cant remember the details of his health issues but I did confirm today that Deannas parents lived in those years in Leisure Village (Laguna Hills Village). Sign In Follow Go to TOI Home Photos Movies Celebs Web Stories Fashion Beauty Pageants Awards Events TV Sports News moreli moreli moreli Bollywood ", Three Smart Girls was nominated for the best picture Oscar in 1937. Now that is revealing. May 3, 2013 @ Not just the standing ovation, which was to be expected, but the pure happiness of the celebrity audience in being able to applaud and yell for her. It is to return that love that she has given her first interview in so many years. According to Pat, her friend had nursed Deannas father at some point in his final years or days. Wow. At age 23, Durbin received good reviews for Lady on a Train, a 1945 comedy-murder mystery directed by Charles David, who five years later became her third husband. More information Deanna Durbin with her son Peter David More like this Vintage Hollywood Stars Hollywood Glam Golden Age Of Hollywood Classic Hollywood She looked very much like Clark Gable (and her mother) and she had the same Gable ears although she had plastic surgery so they wouldnt stick out like Gables did. It was never easy for a woman in the limelight to balance the career and personal happiness. View their obituary at Legacy.com. Despite her tendency to plumpness (by Hollywood standards), the studio did not starve her and/or put her on dangerous medications as did MGM with Judy Garland. He indicated that she died "a few days ago," but provided no other details. Take a look at that moment on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDHgg1GUNlo. May 4, 2013 @ I learned from reading your books to watch Jeanette and Nelson during each picture in which you would describe what was going on in their relationship. This marriage was happy and they were together 50 years until Charles David died in 1999. I did not realize that it was a shotgun marriage until doing a bit of research today. She was 91. In 1938, Durbin and another young star, Mickey Rooney, were recognized at the Academy Awards for bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth.. Ms. Durbin had remained determinedly out of public view since 1949, when she retired to a village in France with her third husband. She was a huge box-office star for a short period of time.. He told me that Deanna Durbin was a delightful, energetic, happy teenager. The comparison with Garbo is, I feel, a false one Garbo didnt want to stop being a movie star, events overtook her, and Garbo played with fame in the years of her retirement the impression one gets with Garbo is that she just didnt really know what to do with herself. Films include: Gems of Song - 1949 Up in Central Park - 1948 Something in the Wind - 1947 I'll Be Yours She died in April in France, said family friend Bob Koster, the son of Henry Koster, who directed Durbin in films early in her career. The third marriage was a success: in 1950, at 28, she married Charles David, the 44-year-old French director of Lady on a Train. After starring in 21 feature films, she retired to a French farmhouse. Only a handful of child superstars such as Shirley Temple have achieved that, to my knowledge. Signed by the studio at 13, Ms. Durbin, who already possessed a mature coloratura soprano, soon appeared in a one-reel short, Every Sunday, with another recently signed 13-year-old, Judy Garland, who sang swing while Ms. Durbin sang classical music. In Paris on December 21, 1950, shortly after her 29th birthday, Deanna Durbin married Charles David, the producer-director of both French and American pictures who had guided her through Lady on a Train (1945). Nelson was a bigger box office draw than Allan Jones so the whole film would now be built around Nelson Eddynot a problem in normal circumstances but in Phantom it was off-kilter to the actual story. In the 1988 book The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era, Thomas Schatz wrote that the film, which cost $300,000 to produce, was a bargain price for any musical let alone a runaway hit that vaulted an unknown ingenue to stardom., Boosted by Durbins appearances on Eddie Cantors radio show, Three Smart Girls was the studios biggest hit of the year. Those of us who have studied the Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy story can relate to the difficult personal issues that Deanna Durbin might have faced while in her mid-20s. Like Greta Garbo, she wanted to be left alone. In the mid to late 1940s Pat lived in the Los Angeles area with her mother, who was dating a Hollywood undercover vice squad policeman. Which is maybe why in 1946 Jeanette escaped to the UK on a concert tour and even talked about staying and having her baby there. It was a couple of months after the filming that she filed for divorce in Oct 1943 which was final by December after she had started filming Christmas Holiday. She made her film debut in the 1936 MGM short Every Sunday, with Judy Garland. They may have been impressed with my success. but my fans were the parents, many of whom could not cope with their own youngsters. Capitalising on her fame, Universal cast Durbin in a series of musical movies including "That Certain Age" and "Mad About Music" which made the actress with the sweet soprano voice into one of Hollywood's most popular stars. The source was a newsletter from the British-based Deanna Durbin Society, quoting Durbin's son, Peter H. David. Despite her obvious popularity, Durbin would go on to retire just two years later at the age of 29, making "For The Love Of Mary" her final film. "sweet soprano voice" that charmed American audiences, second-highest paid actress in America in 1946. We were both working on the same film, and our bungalows were just a few buildings apart. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Charles David (109793226)? Whether you are a singer, actor, writer, painter or any other kind of artist, there is a communication that you share with your audience. But she never enjoyed that part of her life. Durbin shared a special Juvenile Award with Mickey Rooney at the 1938 Oscars for their "significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth". Even if they were involved in 1943 the year Deanna divorced her first husband, she did not get pregnant until the spring of 1945. I spent an afternoon with Judy Lewis when we did a joint book signing in Beverly Hills. (Getty Images) See more of : Deanna Durbin 04 / 6 Frankly, I dont know how Loretta Young could live with herself lying to her daughter Judy all those years about being her birth mother and also about Clark Gable being the father. It is a priority for CBC to create a website that is accessible to all Canadians including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Deanna Durbin with her son Peter David Old Hollywood Glamour Golden Age Of Hollywood Deanna Durbin Musical Film Old Movie Stars Babe Celebrity Families She Movie Judy Garland More information . And she continues to enchant with her film library available on DVD to new generations. She argued with her fans that I am not the angelic creature that I seemingly represent. Nelson was far more blunt: I personify a wonderful, nostalgic era for so many people all they want from me is Shortnin Bread and Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life. Im trapped in their thirties! Both Jeanette and Nelson felt restrained by their screen images and were unable to break free in their personal lives. Although she appeared in only one short and 21 feature films in her 12-year Hollywood career, Durbin nevertheless left behind a trove of upbeat productions that made her one of the biggest stars of her era and earned her loyal fans decades after her last film was released in 1948. She was responsible for saving Universal Studios even as fellow child star Shirley Temple saved Fox Studios. According to Brownie, Deannas favorite breakfast was brought to her each day French Fries and ketchup. Hedda was sitting in a cane-bottomed chair, and contact was positive enough to disturb the flower garden on top of one of the outrageous hats for which she was renowned. Her son Peter H. David was quoted as telling The Deanna Durbin Society newsletter that the actress died 'a few days ago', thanking her admirers for respecting her privacy. Brownie had only praise for Nelsons professionalism at Universal and I agreed with him that Nelsons voice was never better recorded on film than in Phantom. The other piece of information came from a friend of Pats, a fellow nurse. Deanna Durbin, who attained worldwide popularity as a child star in the 1930s while starring in a series of musicals, has died. Invalid memorial. She could not have been allowed by Universal to have a child out of wedlock as the scandal would destroy her film career. According to Pats friend, Deannas father told her that Joseph Cotten was the father of his granddaughter, Deannas first child. She was 91. Wondering why Deanna retired so young, I read about some problems she had in 1946 with her brother-in-law who had been her business manager. Strangely enough, in his autobiography immediately after relating the story about Deanna and Hedda Hopper, Joseph Cotten launches right into an admission of his subsequent marital infidelity! I hated being in a goldfish bowl, she said. She was married three times and had a son and a daughter. The actress' son, Peter H. David, was quoted in a Deanna . Felix Jackson produced 7 of Deanna's films from 1943 to 1947. After moving to France in 1949 and settling outside Paris in the village of Neauphle-le-Chteau, Ms. Durbin devoted most of her time to keeping her home, cooking and raising her children. After moving to France in 1949 and settling outside Paris in the village of Neauphle-le-Chteau, Ms. Durbin devoted most of her time to keeping her home, cooking and raising her children. No other details were given. Durbin and the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, who made their first Universal picture in 1940, saved the studio from going down the tubes, according to Rode, the film historian. My wife retired from the film world when we married, David told The Times in 1982. In 1946, Ms. Durbins salary of $323,477 from Universal made her the second-highest-paid woman in America, just $5,000 behind Bette Davis. Soon after, she signed a contract with Universal, changed her name to Deanna, and was cast in a series of musical comedies, reports Variety. Jessica Jackson, and her son, Peter H. David. . Of course Mayer was fuming all through 1937-8 because he had lost the potential Deanna Durbin goldmine. No other details were given. Koster worked closely with the young singer to bring out credible performances. The former child star, married Charles David, who directed her in the 1945 film "Lady on a Train," in 1951 and together they had one son, Peter. This marriage was happy and they were together 50 years until Charles David died in 1999. Her MGM career ended suddenly, however, when Schumann-Heink, who was to play herself as an adult in the movie about her life, died at 75 and the studio did not pick up Ms. Durbins option. I have no idea of whether the paternity claim related to me by Pat Hudson is the truth. You could see the fond childhood memories reflecting on their faces as the camera panned around. Throughout her career, she would perform everything from operatic arias to popular songs. And returning to Jeanette and Nelson again we have read all the warm and fuzzy letters and conversations from the 1940s about their having a child together and what a wonderful child it would be, etc., etc.But realistically, I dont know how Nelson would have dealt with his child being raised with Gene Raymond as the father of record. Read Less, She made her name playing the ideal teenage daughter in "Three Smart Girls" in Read More, She made her name playing the ideal teenage daughter in "Three Smart Girls" in 1936 and in its profitable follow-up the next year, "One Hundred Men and a Girl", which was credited with saving Universal studios from bankruptcy. 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