DESCRIPTION:
RARE OLDIES SOUNDIES WITH MISS DOROTHY DANDRIDGE !!! Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 -- September 8, 1965) was an American actress and singer. Dandridge was the first black actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She performed as a vocalist in venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater.
After many bit parts and a few minor roles, Dandridge landed her first notable film role in Tarzan's Peril (starring Lex Barker) in 1951. She won her first starring role in 1953, playing a teacher in Bright Road, a low-budget film with a nearly all-black cast, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
In 1954 she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Carmen Jones. In 1959 she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Porgy and Bess. In 1999 she was the subject of the HBO biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, starring Halle Berry as Dandridge. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Dandridge was married and divorced twice: first to dancer and entertainer Harold Nicholas (the father of her daughter, Harolyn Suzanne), then to Jack Denison. She died at age 42.