Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin
Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With the technical skill and vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano, she performed many styles from popular standards to operatic arias. In 1946, Durbin was the second-highest-paid woman in the United States, just behind Bette Davis; her fan club ranked as the world's largest during her active years. Durbin was a child actress who made her first film appearance with Judy Garland in Every Sunday (1936), and subsequently signed a contract with Universal Studios. She achieved success as the ideal teenaged daughter in films such as Three Smart Girls (1936), One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937), and It Started with Eve (1941). Her work was credited with saving the studio from bankruptcy, and led to Durbin being awarded the Academy Juvenile Award in 1938. As she matured, Durbin grew dissatisfied with the girl-next-door roles assigned to her and attempted to move into sophisticated non-musical roles with film noir Christmas Holiday (1944) and the whodunit Lady on a Train (1945). These films, produced by frequent collaborator and second husband Felix Jackson, were not as successful; she continued in musical roles until her retirement. Upon her retirement and divorce from Jackson in 1949, Durbin married producer-director Charles Henri David and moved to a farmhouse near Paris. She withdrew from public life, granting only one interview on her career in 1983.
Known For Acting
Most Rating 1.02
Birthday 1921-12-04
Place of Birth Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Also Known As Edna Mae Durbin,
Lady on a Train
1945

Lady on a Train

It Started with Eve
1941

It Started with Eve

Christmas Holiday
1944

Christmas Holiday

Nice Girl?
1941

Nice Girl?

Mad About Music
1938

Mad About Music

First Love
1939

First Love

That Certain Age
1938

That Certain Age

One Hundred Men and a Girl
1937

One Hundred Men and a Girl

Something in the Wind
1947

Something in the Wind

The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
1943

The Amazing Mrs. Holliday

Three Smart Girls Grow Up
1939

Three Smart Girls Grow Up

Because of Him
1946

Because of Him

Three Smart Girls
1936

Three Smart Girls

His Butler's Sister
1943

His Butler's Sister

Every Sunday
1936

Every Sunday

Can't Help Singing
1944

Can't Help Singing

Los Angeles Plays Itself
2004

Los Angeles Plays Itself

For the Love of Mary
1948

For the Love of Mary

I'll Be Yours
1947

I'll Be Yours

It's a Date
1940

It's a Date

Hers to Hold
1943

Hers to Hold

Spring Parade
1940

Spring Parade

Up in Central Park
1948

Up in Central Park

The Shining Future
1944

The Shining Future

That's Entertainment!
1974

That's Entertainment!

Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story
2002

Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story

Show-Business at War
1943

Show-Business at War

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
2002

Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song

Hollywood’s Children
1982

Hollywood’s Children

A Friend Indeed
1941

A Friend Indeed

Angels of Mercy
1940

Angels of Mercy

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
2009

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
2009

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing