Dorothy Dandridge
On September 8, 1965, Dandridge Was Found Dead In Her Hollywood Home -- An Apparent Suicide Resulting From A Drug Overdose. Born On November 9, 1922, In Cleveland, Ohio, Dandridge Entered Show Business During The 1930's With Her Sister, As Part Of A Song-And Dance Team Billed As "The Wonder Children."
After Leaving High School, Dandridge, Her Sister, Vivian And Etta Jones Formed A Trio And Called The Dandridge Sisters. They Performed At Venues Such The Apollo Theater And The Cotton Club In Harlem. As A Teenager She Made Her On-Screen Debut In A 1935 Our Gang Short. In 1937 She Appeared In The Marx Brothers Feature, A Day At The Races. Throughout The 1940's Dandridge Continued To Play Bit Parts On Screen And Sing In Night Clubs, To Support Herself.
In 1954, She Got What Would Become Her Signature Role, In Carmen Jones, An All-Black Version Of The Opera, Carmen. The Film Costarred Harry Belafonte And Pearl Bailey. Dandridge Became The First Black American To Earn An Oscar Nomination, As Best Actress, For Carmen. She Was The Third Black American To Earn An Academy Award Nomination In Any Category, Overall (Hattie McDaniel And Ethel Waters Received Nominations Previously). Among Her Other Accomplishments: Dandridge Was The First Black Woman To Appear At The Las Vegas Frontier And Waldolf-Astoria And The First Black Woman To Appear On The Cover Of Life Magazine.Dorothy Dandridge's Next Great Movie Role After Carmen Jones, Was Playing Opposite Sidney Poitier, In Porgy And Bess.
Academy Award-Winning Actress, Halle Berry Paid Tribute To Dandridge In The HBO Film, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
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