Christina Elizabeth "Dixie" Dunbar[1] (January 19, 1919 – August 29, 1991) was an American singer, film actress,[2] and dancer.
Dixie Dunbar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Christina Elizabeth Dunbar January 19, 1919 Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | August 29, 1991 (aged 72) Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1934–1938 |
| Spouse(s) | Gene Snyder (m. 1941; div. 1952) Robert M. Herndon (m. 1954; div. 1957) Jack L. King (m. 1958; died 1979[citation needed]) |
Early life and career
editBorn in Montgomery, Alabama, Dunbar grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She began studying dancing as a child and went on to sing and dance in nightclubs.[1]
In 1934, she was Ray Bolger's dancing partner in the revue Life Begins at 8:40, which was staged in Boston.[3] She also performed in that show on Broadway in 1934-35 and the Broadway productions of Yokel Boy (1939–40)[4] and George White's Scandals (1934).[1]
Dunbar's film debut also came in George White's Scandals (1934).[1] During the 1930s she appeared in a number of Twentieth Century Fox films, including two Jones Family films.[citation needed]
After she left Broadway and films, she returned to nightclubs, performing for a while before she retired.[1] In the early 1950s, she performed in television commercials for Old Gold cigarettes, dancing enclosed in a representation of a cigarette pack with only her legs visible.[5]
Personal life and death
editDunbar married three times: to choreographer Gene Snyder from 1941 to 1952,[6][7][8] to Robert M. Herndon from 1954 to 1957,[9][10] and to Jack L. King from October 1958 until his death.[11]
She died on August 29, 1991, in Miami Beach, Florida, aged 72. She had had a series of heart attacks.[5]
Selected filmography
edit- George White's Scandals (1934)
- Educating Father (1936)
- Sing, Baby, Sing (1936)
- One in a Million (1936)
- King of Burlesque (1936)
- Girls' Dormitory (1936)
- Pigskin Parade (1936)
- Sing and Be Happy (1937)
- Walking Down Broadway (1938)
- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
- Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Hischak, Thomas S. (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical. Oxford University Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-19-533533-0. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- ^ Green, Stanley (1999). Hollywood Musicals Year by Year. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 50.
- ^ "Shubert tries out revue in Boston". The New York Times. August 7, 1934. p. 20. Retrieved December 18, 2020 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Dixie Dunbar". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "Dixie Dunbar, 72; Dancer Had First Film Role at 15". Los Angeles Times. November 7, 1991. p. A 32. Retrieved July 11, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Winchell, Walter (February 14, 1941). "On Broadway". The Dayton Herald. p. 14. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
- ^ Wilson, Earl (September 19, 1952). "Earl Wilson". Los Angeles Daily News. p. 24. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
- ^ [ "Marriage Over: Dixie Dunbar to Resume Career"]. The Atlanta Journal. December 23, 1952. p. 21. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
- ^ "Dixie Dunbar Snyder, Robert M. Herndon Wed". New York Herald Tribune. December 12, 1954. p. 72. ProQuest 1318064214.
The ceremony was performed in Christ Church, Methodist, by the Rev. Arthur W. Goodhand. [...] Mr. Herndon attended Hotchkiss School and was a motion picture director for eleven years in Hollywood. He is now assistant director of 'Seven Wonders of the World,' the new Lowell Thomas production in cinerama.
- ^ Walker, Danton (September 24, 1957). "Broadway: Manhattan Memoranda". New York Daily News. p. C16. ProQuest 2279712375.
Dixie, however, is back in the news. Three years ago she 'retired' to run a lounge in Hallandale, Fla., after marrying Bob Herndon, but she's back in New York with a divorce and is Dick Harvey's constant companion at the Harwyn.
- ^ "Florida Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VJKS-3BM : 28 November 2014), Jack L King, Oct 1958; from "Florida, Marriage Collection, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2006); citing Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida; and Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research.
External links
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