IRENE DUNNE
BORN: Dec. 20,1898 Not 1901 or 1904
DIED: Sept. 4, 1990
AGED: 91 years
DIED FROM: Congestive Heart Failure
REAL NAME: Irene Dunn ..yeah, she just added the E
NICKNAME: The First Lady of Hollywood, “Missy”
MARRIED: once to Francis Griffin until his death in 1965
AFFAIRS: Before she married, she had a relationship with Fritz Ernst
CHILDREN: 1 daughter, adopted
OSCAR WINS: None! Considered one of the worst oversights in Oscar history
OSCAR NOMINATIONS: 5 times- “Cimarron”, “Theodora Goes Wild”, “The Awful Truth”, “Love Affair”, “I Remember Mama”
TALENT: beautiful operatic voice, playing golf
KNOWN FOR: her comedic skills, her graciousness and openness to everyone on set; always on the best dressed list. She loved Jean Louis and would order outfits from him.
Irene Dunne was the quintessential lady of the silver screen who could act in anything she was given from Drama and Romance to comedy in which she excelled at. She was not a typical comedienne because she always kept her ladylike demeanour, but she could make you laugh just the same. One of her favourite leading men was Cary Grant and he, equally, loved working with her. He considered her the best in comedic timing. She was also held in high esteem by Charles Boyer, whom she starred with in her favourite film, “Love Affair”. She loved her dad, who died when she was only 12 years old but she kept all his letters and notes. Her favourite quote that her dad told her, before he died was, “Happiness is never an accident. It is the prize we get when we choose wisely from life’s great stores.” She was always gracious and approachable to everyone on the film set. She did have to rebuff repeated advances from Spencer Tracy when they were working on the film,”A Guy Named Joe”. She was good friends with Carole Lombard so when she died in a plane crash, Dunne was given the honour to christen a ship the SS Carole Lombard with Clark Gable( Lombard’s Widower) behind Dunne.
She was a life long Republican who campaigned for Eisenhower to be in office and she also campaigned for Ronald Reagan but she always said she is not an extremist and would never have campaigned for Goldwater. Her friends were Loretta Young, Bob Hope, James Stewart, Roddy McDowell and Charles Boyer. Eisenhower appointed her as a delegate for the United Nations. She also lent herself to many causes giving her time and money to many causes and hospitals. In fact, there is a bust of her at the St. John’s Hospital and Health Clinic for all the contributions she did for that hospital.
She loved her husband, her child, her later work with charities and her acting. She loved singing and keeping her life private. She seemed to be a wonderful person.
FILMS
1. Cimarron-1931
2. The Great Lover- 1931
3. Backstreet-1932
4. Roberta-1935
5. Magnificent Obsession-1935
6. Show Boat-1936
7. Theodora Goes Wild-1936
8. The Awful Truth-1937
9. Love Affair-1937
10. My Favourite Wife-1940
11. Penny Serenade-1941. I love this movie
12. A Guy Named Joe-1943
13. White Cliffs of Dover-1944
14. Anna And The King of Siam-1946
15. Life With Father-1947
16. I Remember Mama-1948
