Cyril Dandridge’s personal life
Cyril Dandridge was born on 25 October 1892 to James Henry Dandridge and Florence Jessie Locke. Cyril Dandridge married Ruby Jean Dandridge and had 4 children. He passed away on 9 Jul 1989 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States of America. We do not have any information about his early life and education.
He is famous for being the father of an American actress and singer. Here we will discuss his daughter’s successful career.
Cyril Dandridge’s daughter, Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge was an actress and singer who had a net worth of $10,000 at the time of her death in 1965. Dorothy Dandridge was the first African-American to receive an Academy Award nomination for a leading role, which she did for the 1954 musical film Carmen Jones.
Her other notable film credits include Tarzan’s Peril, Bright Road, Island in the Sun, Tamango, and Porgy and Bess. Dandridge also performed extensively in nightclubs, and early in her career was part of the singing trio known as the Dandridge Sisters. In 1934, the Wonder Children were renamed the Dandridge Sisters, and Dorothy and Vivian were joined by their schoolmate Etta Jones in what became a singing trio.
The group went on to perform extensively over the ensuing years, including at such prominent New York nightclubs as the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club. Eventually, the Dandridge Sisters began appearing in films, such as “The Big Broadcast of 1936, A Day at the Races, and It Can’t Last Forever.
Dandridge made her first film appearance in the 1935 Our Gang short comedy film Teacher’s Beau. After appearing in several films as part of the Dandridge Sisters in the latter half of the 1930s, she had her first credited role in the 1940 race film Four Shall Die, playing a murderer. Because of her race, Dandridge had limited options for roles going forward.
In 1941, she had small parts in Bahama Passage, Sundown, and Lady from Louisiana. She appeared in the Chattanooga Choo Choo number in the musical film Sun Valley Serenade alongside the Nicholas Brothers. Dandridge went on to earn recognition for appearing in a succession of soundies, including Paper Doll and Jig in the Jungle, among others.
Throughout the remainder of the 1940s, she made uncredited appearances in such films as Night in New Orleans, Happy Go Lucky, Atlantic City, and Pillow to Post. After her huge success with Carmen Jones, Dandridge didn’t return to the big screen until 1957 as part of the ensemble cast of Island in the Sun. She subsequently starred opposite Curd Jürgens in the French/Italian co-production Tamango, which was withheld from release in the United States until late 1959 due to an interracial kiss between the two stars.
Meanwhile, Dandridge starred alongside James Mason and Broderick Crawford in the suspense drama The Decks Ran Red. She reunited with her Carmen Jones director Otto Preminger for an adaptation of the musical Porgy and Bess, released in 1959. She appeared in her final two films in the early 1960s: Malaga and The Murder Men.
