Irene DunneDHS (born Irene Marie Dunn;[Note 1] December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other genres.
After her father died when she was 14, Dunne's family relocated from Kentucky to Indiana. She was determined to become an opera singer, but when she was rejected by The Met, she performed in musicals on Broadway until she was scouted by RKO and made her Hollywood film debut in the musical Leathernecking (1930). She later starred in the successful musical Show Boat (1936).
Dunne starred in 42 movies and was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress—for her performances in the western drama Cimarron (1931), the screwball comedies Theodora Goes Wild (1936) and The Awful Truth (1937), the romance Love Affair (1939), and the drama I Remember Mama (1948). Dunne is considered one of the finest actresses never to have won an Academy Award. Some critics[who?] feel that her performances have been underappreciated and largely forgotten, often overshadowed by later remakes and better-known co-stars.
After the success of The Awful Truth, she was paired with Cary Grant, her co-star in that movie, two further times; in another screwball comedy, My Favorite Wife (1940), and in the melodrama Penny Serenade (1941). She has been praised by many during her career, and after her death, as one of the best comedic actresses in the screwball genre. The popularity of Love Affair also led to two additional movies with her co-star of that film, Charles Boyer; those were When Tomorrow Comes (1939) and Together Again (1944). Her last film role was in 1952 but she starred in and hosted numerous television anthology episodes until 1962 after having done numerous radio performances from the late 1930s until the early 1950s. She was nicknamed "The First Lady of Hollywood" for her regal manner despite being proud of her Irish-American, country-girl roots.
Irene Marie Dunn was born on December 20, 1898,[1][2] at 507 East Gray Street in Louisville, Kentucky,[9] to Joseph John Dunn, an Irish-American steamboat engineer/inspector for the United States government,[10] and Adelaide Antoinette Dunn (née Henry), a concert pianist/music teacher of German descent from Newport, Kentucky.[11] She was their second child and second daughter,[12] and had a younger brother named Charles;[13][14] Dunne's elder sister died soon after her birth.[12] The family alternated between living in Kentucky and St. Louis[12] due to her father's job offers. He died in April 1913[15][16] from a kidney infection[17] when she was fourteen.[Note 2] She saved all of his letters and remembered, indeed lived by, what he told her the night before he died: "Happiness is never an accident. It is the prize we get when we choose wisely from life's great stores."[Note 3][20]
Following her father's death, Dunne's family moved to her mother's hometown of Madison, Indiana,[22] living on W. Second St.,[23] in the same neighborhood as Dunne's grandparents.[24] Dunne's mother taught her to play the piano as a very small girl — according to Dunne, "Music was as natural as breathing in our house,"[20] — but unfortunately for her, music lessons frequently prevented her from playing with the neighborhood kids.[12] Her first school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream began her interest in drama,[25] so she took singing lessons as well, and sang in local churches and high school plays before her graduation in 1916.[26] Wanting to become a music teacher,[27] she studied at the Indianapolis Conservatory of Music,[28][23] earning a diploma in 1918. Later, she auditioned for the Chicago Musical College when she visited friends during a journey to Gary, Indiana, and won a college scholarship, officially graduating in 1926.[29] Hoping to become a soprano opera singer, she moved to New York after finishing her second year in 1920, but failed two auditions with the Metropolitan Opera Company due to her inexperience and her "slight" voice.[30][31]
Career
1920–1929: Acting beginnings, Broadway debut
Dunne dressed as a ‘‘rabbit’’ for a Broadway show, mid-1920s
Dunne took more singing lessons and then dancing lessons to prepare for a possible career in musical theater.[12] On a New York vacation to visit family friends, she was recommended to audition for a stage musical,[20] eventually starring as the leading role in the popular play Irene,[12] which toured major cities as a roadshow throughout 1921.[3][32] "Back in New York," Dunne reflected, "I thought that with my experience on the road and musical education it would be easy to win a role. It wasn't."[20] Her Broadway debut was December 25 the following year as Tessie in Zelda Sears's The Clinging Vine.[33] She understudied Peggy Wood, playing the role several times in February 1923.[34] She then obtained the leading role when the original actress took a leave of absence in 1924.[20] She replaced Leeta Corder in the lead role of Virginia Warewell in Ginger (1923) for the final few weeks on the production.[35][36] She was also a replacement in Lollipop (1924) on Broadway.[37] Supporting roles in musical theater productions followed in the shows The City Chap (1925),[38][39]Yours Truly (1927)[40] and She's My Baby (1928).[41][42] Her first top-billing, leading role Luckee Girl (1928)[43] was not as successful as her previous projects.[12] She would later call her career beginnings "not great furor."[20] At this time, Dunne added the extra "e" to her surname,[Note 4][5] which had ironically been misspelled as "Dunne" at times throughout her life until this point;[45][46] until her death, "Dunne" would then occasionally be misspelled as "Dunn".[47][48] Starring as Magnolia Hawks in a road company adaptation of Show Boat was the result of a chance meeting with its director Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.[Note 5] in an elevator the day she returned from her honeymoon,[50] when he mistook her for his next potential client, eventually sending his secretary to chase after her.[20][Note 6] A talent scout for RKO Pictures attended a performance,[12] and Dunne signed the studio's contract, appearing in her first movie, Leathernecking (1930),[53] an adaptation of the musical Present Arms.[54] Already in her 30s when she made her first film, she would be in competition with younger actresses for roles, and found it advantageous to evade questions that would reveal her age, so publicists encouraged the belief that she was born in 1901 or 1904;[5][55] the former is the date engraved on her tombstone.[56][12]
Dunne starred in three films each with Charles Boyer and Cary Grant. These pairings were popular with audiences and critics alike.
1930–1949: Hollywood leading lady
The "Hollywood musical" era had fizzled out, so Dunne moved to dramatic roles during the Pre-Code era, leading a successful campaign for the role of Sabra in Cimarron (1931) with her soon-to-be co-star Richard Dix,[57] earning her first Best Actress nomination.[58] A Photoplay review declared, "[This movie] starts Irene Dunne off as one of our greatest screen artists."[59] Other dramas included Back Street (1932)[60] and No Other Woman (1933);[61] for Magnificent Obsession (1935),[62] she reportedly studied Braille and focused on her posture with blind consultant Ruby Fruth.[63] This was after she and Dix reunited for Stingaree (1934),[64] where overall consensus from critics was that Dunne had usurped Dix's star power.[65][66][67] Under a new contract with Warner Bros.,[68] the remake of Sweet Adeline (1934)[68][69] and Roberta (1935)[70] were Dunne's first two musicals since Leathernecking. Roberta also starred dancing partners Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and Dunne sang four songs including "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".[Note 7] In 1936, she starred as Magnolia Hawks in Show Boat (1936), directed by James Whale.[72] Dunne had concerns about Whale's directing decisions,[73] but she later admitted that her favorite scene to film was "Make Believe" with Allan Jones because the blocking reminded her of Romeo and Juliet.[74] It was during this year that Dunne's Warner Bros. contract had expired and she had decided to become a freelance actor,[5] with the power to choose studios and directors.[75] She was apprehensive about attempting her first comedy role as the title character in Theodora Goes Wild (1936),[76] but discovered that she enjoyed the production process,[77] and received her second Best Actress Oscar nomination for the performance.[76]
Magnolia singing "Make Believe" with Gaylord Ravenal made Dunne fantasize she was in Romeo and Juliet. She later said, "Allan and I put our hearts (and lungs) into it [as] if we had really been doing a Shakespearean play."[74]
On her own, Dunne showed versatility through many film genres. Critics praised her comedic skills in Unfinished Business (1941)[94] and Lady in a Jam (1942),[95] despite both movies' negative reception.[96][97] When the United States entered the Second World War, Dunne participated in celebrity war bond tours around the country,[98] announcing at a rally in 1942, "This is no time for comedy. I'm now a saleswoman, I sell bonds."[99] She followed the tour with her only two war films: A Guy Named Joe (1943)[Note 8] and The White Cliffs of Dover (1944).[102] Despite A Guy Named Joe's troubled production and mixed reviews, it was one of the most successful films of the year.[103]Over 21 (1945)[104] was Dunne's return to comedy but the themes of war (such as her character's husband enlisting in the army) immediately dated the story,[105][106] which may have contributed to its lack of success.[107] Strong but ladylike motherly roles in the vein of Cimarron's Sabra would follow throughout her next films,[108] such as Anna Leonowens in the fictionalized biopicAnna and the King of Siam (1946),[109] and mothers Vinnie Day in Life with Father (1947),[110] and Marta Hanson in I Remember Mama (1948).[111] Dunne openly disliked Vinnie's ditziness and had rejected Life with Father numerous times,[112] eventually taking the role because "it seemed to be rewarding enough to be in a good picture that everyone will see."[113] For I Remember Mama, Dunne worked on her Norwegian accent with dialect coach Judith Sater,[114] and wore body padding to appear heavier;[30][115] Marta Hanson was her fifth and final Best Actress nomination.
1950–1962: Declining movie-star power
Dunne's last three films were box-office failures.[116] The comedy Never a Dull Moment (1950) was accused of trying too hard.[117][118] Dunne was excited to portray Queen Victoria in The Mudlark (1950)[119] for a chance to "hide" behind a role with heavy makeup and latex prosthetics.[30][120] It was a success in the UK, despite initial critical concern over the only foreigner in a British film starring as a well-known British monarch,[121] but her American fans disapproved of the prosthetic decisions.[30] The comedy It Grows on Trees (1952) became Dunne's last movie performance,[122] although she remained on the lookout for suitable film scripts for years afterwards.[123] She filmed a television pilot based on Cheaper by the Dozen that was not picked up.[30] On the radio, she and Fred MacMurray respectively played a feuding editor and reporter of a struggling newspaper in the 52-episode comedy-drama Bright Star, which aired in syndication between 1952 and 1953 by the Ziv Company.[124][125] She also starred in and hosted episodes of television anthologies, such as Ford Theatre, General Electric Theater, and the Schlitz Playhouse of Stars. Faye Emerson wrote in 1954, "I hope we see much more of Miss Dunne on TV,"[126] and Nick Adams called Dunne's performance in Saints and Sinners worthy of an Emmy nomination.[127] Dunne's last acting credit was in 1962, but she was once rumored to star in unmaterialized movies named Heaven Train[128] and The Wisdom of the Serpent,[129] and rejected an offer to cameo in Airport '77.[130] In 1954, Hedda Hopper reported a rumor that Dunne would star alongside Robert Mitchum in Charles Laughton's stage adaptation of The Web and the Rock.[131] "I never formally retired," Dunne later explained, "but an awful lot of the girls my age soldiered on in bad vehicles. [I] couldn't run around with an ax in my hand like Bette [Davis] and Joan [Crawford] did to keep things going."[30]
Hollywood retirement
Dunne christens SS Carole Lombard next to Louis B. Mayer. Standing behind her is Clark Gable, Carole Lombard's widower, and Lombard's secretary Madalynne Field.
Dunne was the only actress to be appointed a member of the California Arts Commission between 1967 and 1970.[139][140][141] The three years were spent developing a museum exhibit called "Dimension" for visually impaired visitors[142] which officially opened on January 12, 1970,[140] in the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum,[143][140] and toured California for eleven months.[144] Dunne recorded a talking booklet,[145] explaining the history of the 30 sculptures on display and inviting guests to touch.[144]
Activism
During the Second World War, Dunne joined the Beverly Hills United Service Organization,[146] and co-founded the Clark Gable's Hollywood Victory Committee.[98] It organized servicemen entertainment and war-bond sales tours on behalf of willing Hollywood participants.[Note 9] The National War Savings Program awarded her a certificate for her work from their Treasury Department.[146]
In her retirement, she devoted herself primarily to humanitarianism.[147] Some of the organizations she worked with include the Sister Kenny Foundation,[148] the American Cancer Society[9] (becoming Chairwoman of its Field Army in 1948),[149][150] the Los Angeles Orphanage,[151] the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women,[139] and was Co-Chairman of the American Red Cross.[150][9][152] She was elected president of Santa Monica's St. John's Hospital and Health Clinic[151] in 1950[153] (she resigned in 1966 to work in the developing council)[154] and became a board member of Technicolor in 1965, the first woman ever elected to the board of directors.[155][156] She established an African American school for Los Angeles,[157] negotiated donations to St. John's through box office results,[158][159] and Hebrew University Rebuilding Fun's sponsors committee.[139][160]Harold Stassen appointed her chairwoman for the American Heart Association's[161][9] women's committee on February 7, 1949,[139][157][162] and she held the position until February 28.[163] She appeared in a celebrity-rostered television special Benefit Show for Retarded Children (1955)[47] with Jack Benny as host.[164] Dunne also donated to refurbishments in Madison, Indiana, funding the manufacture of Camp Louis Ernst Boy Scout's gate in 1939[165] and the Broadway Fountain's 1976 restoration.[9][166] In 1987, she founded the Irene Dunne Guild, a foundation which remains "instrumental in raising funds to support programs and services at St. John's."[167] It was reported that the Guild had raised $20 million by the time of her death.[168]
Dunne reflected in 1951: "If I began living in Hollywood today, I would certainly do one thing that I did when I arrived, and that is to be active in charity. If one is going to take something out of a community—any community—one must put something in, too."[169] She also hoped that charity would encourage submissive women to find independence: "I wish women would be more direct. [...] I was amazed when some quiet little mouse of a woman was given a job which seemed to be out of all proportion to her capabilities. Then I saw the drive with which she undertook that job and put it through to a great finish. It was both inspiring and surprising. I want women to be individuals. They should not lean on their husbands' opinions and be merely echoes of the men of the family[.]"[170]
American delegate to the United Nations
In 1957, President Eisenhower appointed Dunne one of five alternative U.S. delegates to the United Nations in recognition of her interest in international affairs and Roman Catholic and Republican causes.[171] Dunne admired the U.N.'s dedication to creating world peace,[172][173] and was inspired by colleagues' beliefs that Hollywood influenced the world.[174] On September 12, she was sworn in with Herman B. Wells, Walter H. Judd, A. S. J. Carnahan, Philip M. Klutznick and George Meany.[175] She held delegacy for two years and addressed the General Assembly twice.[176] She gave her delegacy its own anthem: "Getting to Know You" because "it's so simple, and yet so fundamental in international relations today."[177] Dunne later described her Assembly request for $21 million to help Palestinian refugees as her "biggest thrill,"[178] and called her delegacy career the "highlight of my life."[179] She also concluded, "I came away greatly impressed with the work the U.N. does in its limited field—and it does have certain limits. I think we averted a serious situation in Syria, which might have been much worse without a forum to hear it... And I'm much impressed with the work the U.N. agencies do. I'm especially interested in UNICEF's work with children[,] and the health organization [.]"[180]
Political views
Dunne was a lifelong Republican and served as a member of the Californian delegation in 1948's Republican National Convention and campaigned for Thomas Dewey in the 1944 United States presidential election[181] and Ronald Reagan in the 1966 California gubernatorial election.[182][183] She accepted the U.N. delegacy offer because she viewed the U.N. as apolitical.[184][185] She later explained: "I'm a Nixon Republican, not a Goldwater one.[Note 10] I don't like extremism in any case. The extreme rights do as much harm as the extreme lefts."[187] Her large input in politics created an assumption that she was a member of the "Hollywood right-wing fringe," which Dunne denied, calling herself "foolish" for being involved years before other celebrities did.[184]
Dunne's father frequently told Dunne about his memories of traveling on bayous and lazy rivers.[188] Dunne's favorite family vacations were riverboat rides and parades, later recalling a voyage from St. Louis to New Orleans,[189] and watching boats on the Ohio River from the hillside.[190][188] She admitted, "No triumph of either my stage or screen career has ever rivaled the excitement of trips down the Mississippi on the riverboats with my father."[20]
Dunne was popular with co-workers off-camera, earning a reputation as warm and approachable, and having a "poised, gracious manner"[203] like royalty,[136] which spilled into her persona in movies. On observing life behind the scenes of a typical day of filming in Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler noted, "There is something about Irene Dunne that makes every man in the room unconsciously straighten his tie."[204] Dunne earned the nickname "The First Lady of Hollywood"[136] because "she was the first real lady Hollywood has ever seen," said Leo McCarey,[205] with Gregory La Cava adding, "If Irene Dunne isn't the first lady of Hollywood, then she's the last one."[206] Ironically, this title had been bestowed on her when she was a little girl when an aunt cooed "What a little lady!"[203] When approached about the nickname in 1936, Dunne admitted it had grown tiresome but approved if it was meant as "the feminine counterpart of 'gentleman'";[207] a later interview she did have with the Los Angeles Times would ironically be titled "Irene Dunne, Gentlewoman."[173]
Her fashion tastes were often the talk of newspapers,[208][209] and Best Dressed lists featured her as one of the most stylish celebrities in the world.[210][211] Dunne explained in a 1939 fashion-advice interview that her husband was partially responsible because he was equally stylish, but also chooses outfits based on personality, color scheme and the context of where the outfits will be worn.[209]McCall's magazine later revealed Dunne chose outfits specifically designed for her by Mainbocher and Jean Louis because she did not like buying clothes in stores.[191]
One of Dunne's later public appearances was in April 1985, when she attended the unveiling of a bronze bust in her honor at St. John's Hospital and Health Clinic. The artwork, commissioned by the hospital from artist Artis Lane, has a plaque reading "IRENE DUNNE First Lady Of Saint John's Hospital and Health Center Foundation."[212][213]
Relationships
Between 1919 and 1922, Dunne was close to Fritz Ernst, a businessman based in Chicago who was 20 years older than she, and a member of one of the richest families in Madison, Indiana.[214] They frequently corresponded while Dunne was training for musical theater but when Fritz proposed, Dunne declined, due to pressure from her mother and wanting to focus on acting.[214] They remained friends and continued writing letters until Ernst died in 1959.[215]
Dunne with husband, Dr. Francis Griffin
At a New York, Biltmore Hotel supper party in 1924, Dunne met Northampton, Massachusetts-born dentist[216] Francis Griffin.[20][217] According to Dunne, he preferred being a bachelor, yet tried everything he could to meet her.[20] To her frustration, he did not telephone her until over a month later, but the relationship strengthened and they married in Manhattan on July 13, 1927.[218] They had constantly argued about the state of their careers if they ever got married,[20] with Dunne agreeing to consider theater retirement sometime in the future and Griffin agreeing to support Dunne's acting.[219] Griffin later explained: "I didn't like the moral tone of show business. [...] Then Ziegfeld signed her for Show Boat and it looked like she was due for big things. Next came Hollywood and [she] was catapulted to the top. Then I didn't feel I could ask her to drop her career. [I] really didn't think marriage and the stage were compatible but we loved each other and we were both determined to make our marriage work."[220]
When Dunne decided to star in Leathernecking, it was meant to be her only Hollywood project, but when it was a box-office bomb, she took an interest in Cimarron.[20] Soon after, she and her mother moved to Hollywood and maintained a long-distance relationship with her husband and brother in New York until they joined her in California in 1936.[221] A family friend described their dynamic as "like two pixies together,"[191] and they remained married until Griffin's death on October 14, 1965,[222][223] living in the Holmby Hills in a "kind of French Chateau"[224] they designed.[225][Note 12] A hobby they both shared was astronomy.[226][227] Griffin explained the marriage had lasted so long because: "When she had to go on location for a film I arranged my schedule so I could go with her. When I had to go out of town she arranged her schedule so she could be with me. We co-operate in everything. [...] I think a man married to a career woman in show business has to be convinced that his wife's talent is too strong to be dimmed or put out. Then, he can be just as proud of her success as she is and, inside he can take a bow himself for whatever help he's been."[220] Due to Dunne's privacy,[Note 13] Hollywood columnists struggled to find scandals to write about her—an eventual interview with Photoplay included the disclaimer, "I can guarantee no juicy bits of intimate gossip. Unless, perhaps she lies awake nights heartsick about the kitchen sink in her new home. She's afraid it's too near to the door. Or would you call that juicy? No? No, I thought not."[228] When the magazines alleged that Dunne and Griffin would divorce, Griffin released a statement denying any marital issues.[229]
After retiring from dentistry, Griffin became Dunne's business manager[130] and helped negotiate her first contract.[230] The couple became interested in real estate, later investing in the Beverly Wilshire[130] and throughout Las Vegas[231] (including co-founding and chairing the board of Huntridge Corporation),[232][233][234][235] and partnering with Griffin's family's businesses (Griffin Equipment Company and The Griffin Wellpoint Company.)[220] Griffin sat as a board member of numerous banks,[220] but his offices were relocated from Century City to their home after his death, when Dunne took over as president.[187] They had one daughter, Mary Frances (née Anna Mary Bush; 1935[Note 14] – 2020),[237] who was adopted by the couple in 1936 (finalized in 1938) from the New York Foundling Hospital, run by the Sisters of Charity of New York.[238][236]
Crypt of Irene Dunne at Calvary Cemetery (notice incorrect birth year)
Dunne died at the age of 91 in her Holmby Hills home on September 4, 1990,[168] and was entombed four days later[247] next to her husband in the Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles.[56] She had been unwell for a year with an irregular heartbeat, and became bedridden about a month before.[5] The funeral was private with family friend Loretta Young being the only celebrity allowed to attend.[248][247] Her personal papers are housed at the University of Southern California.[249]
Although known for her comedic roles, Dunne admitted that she never saw comedy as a worthy genre, even leaving the country to attend the London premiere of Show Boat[262] with her husband and James Whale to get away from being confronted with a script for Theodora Goes Wild.[49] "I never admired a comedienne," she said retrospectively, "yet it was very easy for me, very natural. It was no effort for me to do comedy at all. Maybe that's why I wasn't so appreciative of it."[77] She ascribed her sense of humor to her late father,[203] as well as her "Irish stubbornness."[17] Her screwball comedy characters have been praised for their subversions to the traditional characterisation of female leads in the genre, particularly Susan (Katharine Hepburn) in Bringing Up Baby and Irene (Carole Lombard) in My Man Godfrey. "Unlike the genre's stereotypical leading lady, who exhibits bonkers behaviour continuously, Dunne's screwball heroine [in Theodora Goes Wild] chooses when she goes wild," writes Wes D. Gehring,[263] who also described Dunne's screwball as situational because her characters often obfuscate wackiness to attract the male lead, and could turn it off when needed.[264]
Biographers and critics argue that Dunne's groundedness made her screwball characters more attractive than those of her contemporaries. In his review for My Favorite Wife, Bosley Crowther wrote that a "mere man is powerless" to "her luxurious and mocking laughter, her roving eyes and come-hither glances."[265] Maria DiBattista points out that Dunne is the "only comic actress working under the strictures of the Production Code" who ends both of her screwball movies alongside Cary Grant with a heavy implication of sharing a bed with him, "under the guise of keeping him at bay."[266] Frankie Teller claimed Dunne's sexiness had been overshadowed by her melodramatic movies until The Awful Truth was released.[267] Meanwhile, outside of comedy, Andrew Sarris theorized that Dunne's sex appeal is due to the common narrative in her movies about a good girl "going bad."[268] Dunne's backstage "First Lady" reputation furthered Sarris' sex appeal claims, admitting the scene when she shares a train carriage with Preston Foster in Unfinished Business was practically his "rite of passage" to a sex scene in a film,[268] theorizing that the sex appeal of Dunne came from "a good girl deciding thoughtfully to be bad."[268] On the blatant eroticism of the same train scene, Megan McGurk wrote, "The only thing that allowed this film to pass the censors was that good-girl Irene Dunne can have a one-night stand with a random because she loves him, rather than just a once-off fling. For most other women of her star magnitude, you could not imagine a heroine without a moral compass trained on true north. Irene Dunne elevates a tawdry encounter to something justifiably pure or blameless. She's just not the casual sex type, so she gets away with it."[269]
The Los Angeles Times referred to Dunne's publicity in their obituary as trailblazing, noting her as one of the first actors to become a freelancer in Hollywood during its rigid studio system through her "non-exclusive contract that gave her the right to make films at other studios and to decide who should direct them,"[75] and her involvement with the United Nations as a decision that allowed entertainers from movies and television to branch out into philanthropy and politics, such as Ronald Reagan and George Murphy.[75][270]
Dunne later said, "Cary Grant always said that I had the best timing of anybody he ever worked with."[77]Lucille Ball admitted at an American Film Institute seminar that she based her comedic skills on Dunne's performance in Joy of Living,[271]Joan Leslie called her an "outstanding example as a woman and a star."[272]Charles Boyer described her having "an irrepressible youthfulness"[198] and Ralph Bellamy described working in three films with her as "like a three-layered cake with candles[. She was] truly professional, extremely talented, and socially attractive and beautiful."[272] When asked about life after retiring from baseball, Lou Gehrig stated he would want Dunne as a screen partner if he ever became a movie actor.[273]Charles Mendl once called her one of the most attractive and fascinating women in the world "who has beauty as an accomplished actress and sophisticated conversationalist."[274] Dunne told James Bawden in 1977: "Now don't you dare call me normal. I was never a Pollyanna. There was always a lot of Theodora in me."[30]
In 2006, a historical marker was erected on 105 E. Main Street, Madison (Jefferson County, Indiana) to honor her contributions to the state of Indiana.[275]
Awards and nominations
Dunne looking at her Laetare Medal with her husband and daughter, Mary Frances, at the University of Notre Dame in 1949.
Dunne with Cardinal McIntyre at Loyola University's graduation ceremony in 1958. She attended to accept her honorary Law degree and give a commencement speech.
Dunne received five Best Actress nominations during her career: for Cimarron (1931), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), The Awful Truth (1937), Love Affair (1939) and I Remember Mama (1948); she was the first actor to lose against the same actor in the same category twice, losing to Best Actress winner Luise Rainer in 1936 and 1937.[276] When asked if she ever resented never winning, Dunne pointed out that the nominees she was up against had strong support, believing that she would never have had a chance, especially when Love Affair was against Gone with the Wind.[30] "I don't mind at all," she told Joyce Haber, "Greta Garbo never got an Oscar either [and] she's a living legend."[4]
"Lovely to Look At" was the only song Dunne performed in a non-musical movie that entered the Billboard charts, peaking at number 20 in early June 1935.[303][304]
Decca Records released Dunne's only album, titled Irene Dunne in Songs from the Pen of Jerome Kern,[Note 17] which contained recordings of six show tunes composed by Jerome Kern. It was recorded between July 16 and August 24, 1941, with Victor Young's orchestra,[309] making Dunne another singing movie star to create a Jerome Kern album.[310]
References
Notes
^According to Dunne's baptism record, her full name is "Irene Maria Dunn,"[1][3] however, some news reports (including an interview)[4] have written "Marie" instead of "Maria."[5][4][6] Her birth record does not include her middle name,[2] and the 1900 census writes "Irene M. Dunn,"[7] whereas the 1920 census only writes "Dunn, Irene."[8] Whichever is a spelling error is unknown.
^Joseph Dunn's death has also been reported as happening in 1909 when Dunne was eleven,[18][3] but this was most likely at the time when Dunne was trying to conceal her real age from the Hollywood media.
^The full quote: "Happiness is never an accident. It is the prize we get when we choose wisely from life's great stores. So don't reach out wildly for this and that and the other thing. You'll end up empty-handed if you do. Make up your mind what you want. Go after it. And be prepared to pay well for it.[19] I hope that you'll go after the rooted things: the self-respect that comes when we accept our share of responsibility. Satisfying work. Marriage. A home. A family. For these are the things that grow better with time, not less. These things are the bulwarks of happiness."[20] Dunne only quoted the last three sentences to American Magazine in 1944.[21]
^Dunne later told the audience of a film retrospective that she initially considered the stage name "Irene Barkley", after an uncle.[44]
^Ziegfeld's father founded Chicago Musical College.[49]
^Magnolia Hawks had been a dream role for Dunne and she had bought the sheet music of the musical to practice,[51] so this story was jokingly disputed by American Magazine with the comment: "Neither you not I nor [her husband] would ever suspect that she deliberately went to Florenz Ziegfeld [Jr] and suggested that she'd like to play Magnolia in the road company."[52]
^Credited as "(When Your Heart's on Fire) Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", according to the movie's official song sheet.[71]
^A Guy Named Joe was released in December 1943,[100] but the AFI Catalog website writes that it was released in March 1944.[101]
^Considered out-of-date, the home was demolished after Dunne's death.[23]
^Dunne's indifference about giving interviews was revealed to be the result of shyness. She did not like attending Hollywood parties and was paranoid about interviewers asking about an uncomfortably invasive topic, describing it as like living in a glass house.[193] "There are talented people who can talk amusingly, charmingly, blithely about themselves to friends, acquaintances and strangers on the slightest provocation [and I] find myself not only enjoying but envying them," she later explained.[193] This apathy was interpreted as snobbery, at first, and is partially why her "ladylike" reputation stuck.[193]
^Initially reported as "Lady",[244] the true rank is actually "Dame," but "Lady" is sometimes used colloquially. See Order of the Holy Sepulchre#Ranks for more information.
^Also known as Songs by Jerome Kern,[305]Jerome Kern Songs,[306]Irene Dunne in Songs by Jerome Kern,[307] and Irene Dunne Souvenir Album.[308]
Citations
^ abc"Irene Maria Dunn". Baptism Record. Louisville, Kentucky: Saint Martin of Tours Church. 262. (birthdate recorded as December 20, 1898; baptism recorded as six days later)
^ abc"[Irene] Dunn". Kentucky Birth Register. Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. 3086. December [20], 1898
^ abcHaber, Joyce (March 16, 1975). "The Sweet Smell of Irene Dunne". Los Angeles Times. p. 33. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
^"DUNNE, Irene Marie; 88; Louisville KY>Los Angeles CA; Albuquerque J (NM); 1990-9-5; clh". Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995–Current. Albuquerque: The Obituary Daily Times. September 5, 1990.
^"Magisterial District 7, Precincts 26, 23 Louisville city Ward 10". Twelfth Census of the United States. National Archives and Records Administration. June 13, 1900. 36. Dunn, Irene M.
^"Madison; Ward 3". Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920 – Population. Jefferson (Indiana). Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census: 6A. January 7, 1920. 27.
^ ab"Alma Mater to Give Irene Dunne Degree". The Central New Jersey Home News. June 11, 1945. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Irene Dunne, who once wanted to teach music but who bypassed that vocation to become a starring actress in motion pictures, will be awarded an honorary degree of doctor of music by the Chicago Musical College.
^"Irene Dunne Retrospective". Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. March 24, 1975.
^Webb, Anah (December 4, 1918). "Bedford Girl". The Bedford Daily. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Musical numbers on the program will be given by the following Indiana girls: Miss Wynota Cleaveland of Crawfordsville, Miss Anah Webb of Bedford, Miss Irene Dunne of Madison, Miss Lillian Prass of Lafayette...
^Beatty, Jerome (1944). "Lady Irene". American Magazine. No. November 1944. p. 118.
^"Leathernecking". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
^"Present Arms". Shamokin News-Dispatch. May 17, 1930. p. 5. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^Charles Champlin (December 5, 1985). "Critic at Large: Irene Dunne: Always a Lady of the House". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020. Depending on which film source you read, Irene Dunne will be 81, 84 or 87 on Dec. 20. The official birth year is 1904, which makes her almost 81 and which she says sternly is correct, although in all events, "We do not think about Dec. 20. It is a day I choose to disregard."
^ abcdEllenberger, Allan R. (2001). "Cavalry". Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 18. ISBN978-0786409839. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
^"Cimarron". Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020. It was nominated for Best Direction, Best Actor (Richard Dix), Best Actress (Irene Dunne) and Best Cinematography.
^"Actress Prepares to Portray Blind Role". Times. November 1935.
^"Stingaree". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
^Thornton Delehanty (May 18, 1934). "Irene Dunne and Richard Dix in 'Stingaree'". New York Post. p. 13. [Stingaree] is a preposterous tale, with Mr. Dix doing his best to prevent it from being even faintly credible.
^"Stars of "Cimarron" Now in "Stingaree"". The Greenwood Commonwealth. July 14, 1934. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020. The role [of Stingaree] gives [Richard] Dix an opportunity to return to the adventurous, twinkly-eyed roles he enacted in the early days of his success. Miss Dunne, opposite, has her first opportunity to exploit thoroughly her beautiful voice.
^ ab"Irene Dunne Signed by Warners". New York Herald Tribune. August 21, 1934. Sweet Adeline was announced as Irene Dunne's first starring vehicle under her new Warner Bros. contract.
^"Sweet Adeline". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
^"Roberta". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
^"Show Boat". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
^Curtis, James (1998). James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters. Boston: Faber and Faber. pp. 269–270. [Irene Dunne said:] James Whale wasn't the right director. He was more interested in atmosphere and lighting and he knew so little about [riverboat] life.
^ abLivingstone, Beulah (September 21, 1936). "The Story of Irene Dunne". Table Talk. p. 14.
^"The Awful Truth". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
^"AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"My Favorite Wife". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
^Creelman, Eileen (May 31, 1940). "A Bright Farce, 'My Favorite Wife'". New York Sun. p. 22. [The plot of My Favorite Wife] has anything to do with its very obvious resemblance to another [Leo] McCarey comedy, The Awful Truth.
^Wilson, Robert, ed. (1971). The Film Criticism of Otis Ferguson. Philadelphia Temple University Press. p. 302. [My Favorite Wife is a] no-nonsense-sequel to The Awful Truth.
^"Penny Serenade". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
^ ab"Fantasies Omitted". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 21, 1939. There is something missing in When Tomorrow Comes [...] Indeed, [director John M. Stahl] has woven together the elements for a romance that is as near to actuality and as far from affection as that of the Love Affair starring effort [...] There isn't the sparkling wit of Love Affair...
^"Knickerbocker Star Jeanne Crain; Loew's Brings Dunne, Boyer". The Tennessean. November 19, 1944. p. 16–B. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020. Billed as an exciting and hilarious love affair, [Together Again] bought forth from the publicity department with this paragraph: 'Their eyes meet again! Their lips meet again! Their hearts meet again in this year's most glorious...enchanting...daring romantic comedy. What love! What laughter!'
^"'Favorite Wife' at Memoria". Boston Post. June 21, 1940. Miss Dunne and Mr. Grant make the perfect team for romantic comedy [and] they are both charming people.
^Parsons, Louella O. (August 11, 1939). "Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer Engaging in Romantic Film, "When Tomorrow Comes"". Los Angeles Examiner. I don't know any more romantic pair on the screen than Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer.
^"Lady in a Jam". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
^"[Lady In a Jam review]". The New Yorker. July 22, 1942. On the whole, [Lady In a Jam] shouldn't happen to Irene Dunne.
^Crowther, Bosley (September 2, 1941). "[Unfinished Business review]". The New York Times. p. 20. Under the circumstances, the actors do exceedingly well. Miss Dunne, even though she must combine the naivete of Cinderella with the devastating wit of a Dorothy Parker, is charming.
^Steinberg, Cobbett (1978). Reel Facts: The Movie Book of Records. Vintage Books. p. 342. ISBN978-0394724164.
^"Over 21". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
^Winsten, Archer (August 17, 1645). "Over 21 Comes Late to Radio City Music Hall". The New York Post. p. 12. [Over 21] must now get along as a film at the Music Hall without [the] benefit of timeliness.
^Cameron, Kate (August 17, 1945). "Gaiety Is Keynote of Music Hall Film". New York Daily News. p. 34. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. With people everywhere thinking, planning, talking and breathing peace, [it] is a bit startling to [suddenly transport] back to the early days of the war.
^Cameron, Kate (November 22, 1950). "Never a Dull Moment – A Zany Comedy". Daily News. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020. There are some engagingly-homely touches in the comedy, but for the most part, it is given over to slapstick antics and strains too hard for its comic effects.
^Emerson, Faye (April 21, 1954). "Faye Emerson Writes on Radio and TV". Albuquerque Tribune.
^Parsons, Louella (October 12, 1962). "Hollywood". Anderson Daily Bulletin. What makes me feel so bad is that Miss Dunne is so wonderful as the movie actress with an incurable disease she is sure to be in the running for an Emmy award.
^"Stars Shine in Gala Fashion Revue for March of the Dimes". The News and Observer. February 2, 1953. p. 8. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Basil O'Connor, president of the Foundatioin, opened the show. Irene Dunne introduced the 1953 March of Dimes Poster Children...
^Humphrey, Hal (July 11, 1955). "'Disneyland' Dedication to Draw Notables". Oakland Tribune. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020. Irene Dunne, a personal friend of [Walt] Disney, will christen the Mark Twain, a 105-foot sternwheeler which plies its way around a three-quarter mile canal in Frontierland.
^"Liberty Ship Carole Lombard Sent Down Ways". Los Angeles Times. January 16, 1944. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020. Best of Luck – Capt. Gable, Louis B. Mayer, head of M.G.M., and Irene Dunne, waving farewells as the S.S. Carole Lombard slides down ways of Calship yards.
^"Art Perception through the Sense of Touch". San Francisco Chronicle-Examiner. January 4, 1970. The purpose of the show was to make art more accessible to the blind and give the sighted a new perspective.
^M.H. de Young Memorial Museum., Sachko, D., California Arts Commission., & Touring Art Gallery for the Sighted and the Blind. (1969). Dimension, an exhibition of sculpture for the sighted and the blind. Exhibition: San Francisco, Jan. 12 – Feb. 22.
^Irene Dunne. "If You Want Success...". Screenland. No. July 1951. More recently, I've worked with heart and cancer foundations, Red Cross and especially the St. John's Hospital for which our premiere of "The Mudlark" raised $137.000 for a new building wing.
^"Film Premiere to Help: St. John's Hospital Addition Advanced". Los Angeles Times. February 10, 1963. p. 2. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. The premiere [of How the West Was Won] is sponsored by the St. John's Hospital Foundation. [...] Irene Dunne, who became president of the St. John's Hospital Foundation in 1951, was instrumental in arranging the benefit premiere.
^ ab"IHB: Irene Dunne". May 19, 2006. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Bell (1958): 'Says Irene: "You never for a moment forget that war and peace and life itself are at stake. When I go back home after this session of the General Assembly, I'll be an enthusiastic saleslady for the U.N. as an essential force [for] world peace in this age of atoms and outer-space moons."'
^Bell (1958): '"There are a great many thoughtful people in Hollywood," Irene says, "especially among the writers, directors, and technicians. I think they are aware of Hollywood's impact on people all over the world, but even they have no idea of how tremendous that impact is. I know now—from talking with the other U.N. delegates. And I'm going home and try to tell the people back there what an important contribution Hollywood can make, or how much harm it can do."'
^Critchlow, Donald T. (2013). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. Cambridge University Press. p. 67. ISBN9781107650282.
^Critchlow, Donald T. (2013). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. Cambridge University Press. p. 192. ISBN9781107650282.
^McCall's (1964): "Ever since my United Nations work, for instance, they've been saying that I've gone into politics. The United Nations is a nonpolitical body."
^"Manhattan". Index to Marriages. 8. New York: New York City Municipal Archives: 372, 588. Retrieved June 4, 2020 – via Ancestry.com. (Dunne and Griffin's marriage license code is 19627; Dunne's name is on page 372, and Griffin's name is on page 588)
^"Francis D Griffin". California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: California Department of Health Services. Retrieved June 4, 2020 – via Ancestry.com.
^"Irene Dunne's Husband Dies". The Sacramento Bee. October 16, 1965. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020. Dr. Francis D. Griffin, 79, husband of actress Irene Dunne, has died of a heart ailment. He died Thursday night in the couple's home after a long illness.
^Orr, Robin (February 24, 1969). "Portrait of a Lady". Oakland Tribune.
^Frye (2004): "When Irene and her husband, Frank Griffin, who was a dentist, arrived in Hollywood in 1930, they bought a lot in Holmby Hills for $10[,]000 and built a two-story house on it for $40[,]000."
^Hamilton, Sara (1936). "This Is Really Irene Dunne". Photoplay. No. April 1936.
^"Press". Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Fed up with speculations about a pending divorce, Frank finally issued a statement [...] At last Hollywood had to accept a working, happy marriage.
^Clarke, Norm (2004). Vegas Confidential: 1,000 Naked Truths. Las Vegas, Nev.: Stephens Press. p. 220. ISBN9781932173260 – via Google Books. Huntridge Theater — It was opened on October 10, 1944, by film star Irene Dunne, and, for a brief time, Loretta Young was a partner.
^Robin Orr (February 24, 1969). "Portrait Of A Lady". Oakland Tribune. p. 23. Francis W. [sic] Griffin, Miss Dunne inherited the board chairmanship of the Huntridge Corp., a real estate development firm, after her husband's death two years ago.
^"Irene Dunne: Front Liner". The San Francisco Examiner. February 24, 1969. p. 19. She's also on the board of Technicolor, Inc., chairman of the Huntridge Corporation, a member of the Fine Arts Council of Notre Dame University.
^"Actress Irene Dunne's Grandson Is Baptized". The Catholic Advance. August 29, 1958. p. 5. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020. Father Chase says that Miss Dunne attends Mass and receives Communion daily. "When I was stationed in Los Angeles," he declares, "she missed only two days out of an entire year."
^Callan, Mary Ann (December 17, 1958). "Pope Honors Southlanders". Los Angeles Times. Two active Catholics in the entertainment world, Irene Dunne and Dennis Day, were given the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem by Pius XII in 1953.
^"Actress and Singer Honored by the Church". The Tablet. December 20, 1953. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020. Honored with Miss Dunne was her husband, Dr. Francis S. [sic] Griffin...
^"[unknown]". Daily Variety. September 11, 1990. p. 2. Loretta Young was the only celebrity in attendance at Irene Dunne's funeral. Irene's business manager, John Larkin, said she did not want the event turned into a circus, therefore only thirty people were invited. Even President Ronald Reagan was refused when he called to request an invitation.{{cite magazine}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
^Fristoe (1985), p. 1, ARTS: "Louisville native Irene Dunne is such a good actress that she never won an Academy Award[. This] is easily explained. Like her frequent co-stars Cary Grant and Charles Boyer, Miss Dunne was so consistently splendid she was always taken for granted at Oscar time."
^Flynn, Hazel (December 24, 1963). ""Move Over, Darling" Is a Riotous Comedy". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Move Over, Darling is a remake of a hit filmed years ago. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne played it originally, I believe.
^Jewell, Richard B.; Harbin, Vernon (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House. p. 148. ISBN978-0517546567.
^"One of the screen's first ladies...as seen by one of the nation's first artists. A revealing, intimate portrait". Motion Picture Magazine. Vol. 72. p. 50. Few Hollywood stars have been awarded honorary degrees. Even fewer can add M.D. to their names. Were Irene Dunne the boastful kind, she could brag about both of these distinctions, for Chicago Musical College made her an M.D. ...
^"Dr. Irene Dunne". The Portsmouth Herald. June 11, 1945. p. 2. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^"[UNTITLED]". The Windsor Star. June 8, 1959. p. 9. IRENE BOWS - The film actress, Irene Dunne kneels to kiss the ring of Most Rev. Thomas A. Connolly, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Seattle, at Seattle University commencement exercises. Archbishop Connolly conferred an honorary doctor-of-laws degree on Miss Dunne.
^"Irene Dunne Honored". The Daily Chronicle. June 6, 1949. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. The Los Angeles school conferred the degree on the actress yesterday "in recognition of her courageous fidelity to Catholic principles in public and private life" and for her work in cancer research organizations.
^Woodward, Leroy (March 9, 1947). "Platter Clatter". The Owensboro Messenger. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. INTERSTATE stands ready with the musical highlights on record, offering both albums and records. The albums include the following : BING CROSBY'S JEROME KERN SONGS, JEROME KERN SONGS [by] (FRED WARING), JEROME KERN SONGS (IRENE DUNNE), JEROME KERN (AL GOODMAN), JEROME KERN'S SHOW TUNES (AL GOODMAN), JEROME KERN'S MUSIC (CAPITOL ARTISTS)
Birmingham, Stephen (1964). "What Have They Done to... Irene Dunne". McCall's. No. August 1964. p. 100. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Dr. Annette Bochenek (September 3, 2015). "Irene Dunne | Hometowns to Hollywood". Hometowns to Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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