DANA ANDREWS
BIRTH: January 1, 1909
DEATH: December 17, 1992
AGED: 83 yrs
DIED FROM: pneumonia and heart failure. Suffered from Alzheimers as well.
REAL NAME: Carver Dana Andrews
MARRIED: twice, the first wife died from pneumonia in less than 2 yrs of marriage. 2nd marriage last until his death.
CHILDREN: 4 kids; 1 from the first wife.
FAMOUS SIBLING: Steve Forrest
AFFAIRS: Carmen Miranda, apparently. I would need to read more to confirm this.
TALENT: singing, operatic voice
KNOWN FOR: talking about his alcoholism including ads about this. Great advocate when few stars spoke about their issues. He also worked for womens' rights in the acting field. He also made tons of money in Real Estate.
This man should be better known and right along side the A players like James Stewart, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper and Spencer Tracy but, unfortunately, he is not known unless you love film history and old movies. He was never nominated for an Oscar which is a crime and he was never given more musicals because he had a trained, singing operatic voice. The one musical he made, his voice was dubbed because the higher ups didn’t know Dana could sing. Dana didn’t correct them because he felt that the person dubbing him needed the job.
He came from a family with 13 kids ( parents must really love each other, again and again and again). He really wanted to be an actor so he hitch-hiked to California to make it big. After working in basic jobs, he finally got into films and married. He was a happy camper with a wife and son but, in less than 29 years his wife died from pneumonia. He was now a widow with a young son but he steadily climbed up the ladder and remarried. The 1940s was his peak but he was also an alcoholic who had more than one DUI. He and his wife separated for a time which might be when he had a brief affair with Carmen Miranda..maybe. The good news is he finally sought help, became sober and became one of the first famous advocates for the National Council on Alcoholics and Drug Dependence. He and his wife reunited and they had 3 children but, sadly, his first son, from his first marriage, died from a cerebral hemorrhage when only in his 20s. Dana was also one of the first vocal advocates for women who were sexually manipulated in the industry. He was a steadfast and true gentleman, I think.
One fun point is the film, “Zero Hour” was the basis for the comedic film, “Airplane” and I need to see that movie since I love that comedy.
This man suffered some sad losses but he straightened out and was an early vocal advocate for AA and women's issues in the industry. He could play a romantic lead, a tough guy, and even comedy albeit hecwas more the straight man. He should have been nominated and won for his role in The Best Years of our Lives but he never was noticed which is so very sad. You should check some of his films out. Here are films that I ranked from my favourite to lesser but also films I have yet to see.
FILMS
1 The Best Years of Our Lives- 1946
2. The Ox-Bow Incident- 1942
3. Laura- 1944
4. State Fair-1945
5. A Walk In The Sun- 1948
6. Ball of Fire- 1941
7. Up In Arms-1944
8. Elephant Walk- 1954
9. The Purple Heart-1944-need to see!
10. Fallen Angel- 1945
11. Boomerang- 1947
12. Zero Hour- 1957- Airplane based their movie on this film.
I remember Dana Andrews well. He was wonderful in The Best Years of Our Lives and so many other movies. I didn't know he sang. It's a pity the studio overlooked his talent.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I'm not familiar with Andrews, so I learned something today.
ReplyDeleteMy mom always had a love for his work even though he seemed to be so overlooked. I believe I have only seen The Best Years of Our lives but he was pretty great! Didn't realize he died on my birthday though (not the year of course) but I learned something new today too!
ReplyDeleteHi Birgit!
ReplyDeleteAgree with you that he deserves to be better known (a common lament about many Golden Age stars sadly). Also about the lack of a nomination for Best Years (alongside the always wonderful but also never nominated Myrna Loy). He deserved another nomination for The Ox-Bow Incident. I think they fall into that group-including Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, Joseph Cotton, Donald Sutherland and Alan Rickman-who always did superior work so when excellence is expected it's hard to stand out.
I remember his commercials for AA which I didn't fully grasp the impact of at the time, but recall my parents and grandparents talking about and how they thought it was great that he was doing them. That actually put him on my radar since when I saw a couple of his films as a kid I recognized him, though he was far more weathered in the ads.
I agree with a good deal of your list placement on his films, you MUST catch up with Zero Hour! Not only is it instantly recognizable as the inspiration for Airplane! it's got my girl Linda Darnell as his costar.
I've seen all his important films, I'm missing a few later low budget numbers and some TV work. My top 10 would be (ranked in regards to his performance):
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)
Laura (1944)
Fallen Angel (1945)
While the City Sleeps (1956)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
Boomerang (1947)
Elephant Walk (1954)
Canyon Passage (1946)
Zero Hour! (1957)
I've heard of him, but I haven't seen many of his films. He sounds like he was a great guy... once he got sober. I'm sure he was miserable to be around when he was drinking.
ReplyDelete