Durbin, Deanna (1921—)
Deanna Durbin's overnight rise to fame as an adolescent movie star began with Three Smart Girls (1936) and One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937). Her box office success was widely credited with saving Universal Studios from bankruptcy. Fans and critics alike were taken by her mature soprano voice and her wholesome, yet feisty, characters. Born Edna Mae Durbin in Winnipeg, Canada, she was dubbed "America's Kid Sister" and in 1939 was awarded a miniature Oscar. Although praised for her successful transition to adult roles in the 1940s, her popularity declined. In 1948, she permanently traded her13-year, 21-film career for a private life in France with her third husband, French filmmaker Charles David, and their family.
Further Reading:
"Deanna Durbin." Current Biography. New York, H. W. Wilson Co., 1941, 246-248.
Scheiner, Georganne. "The Deanna Durbin Devotees: Fan Clubs and Spectatorship." Generations of Youth: Youth Cultures and History in Twentieth-Century America, edited by Joe Austin and Michael Nevin Willard. New York, New York University Press, 1998, 81-94.
Shipman, David. "Nostalgia: Deanna Durbin." Film and Filming. December 1983, 24-27.
Zierold, Norman J. The Child Stars. London, MacDonald, 1965, 190.
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