Swell Dames # 113 – Dorothy Lamour

Dorothy Lamour
In addition to being Miss New Orleans in 1931, Dorothy Lamour worked as a Chicago elevator operator; band vocalist for her first husband, band leader Herbie Kaye; and radio performer. In 1936 she donned her soon-to-be-famous sarong for her debut at Paramount, The Jungle Princess (1936), and continued to play female Tarzan-Crusoe-Gauguin-girl-with make-up parts through the war years and beyond. The most famous of these was in the popular Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road" pictures - a strange combination of adventure, slapstick, ad-libs and Hollywood inside jokes. Of these she said, "I was the happiest and highest-paid straight woman in the business." As she aged, however, the quality of her films dropped. Among her serious films were Johnny Apollo (1940) and A Medal for Benny (1945).

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Swell Dames # 112 – Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge was modern, dignified and refined in person as well in films like Bright Road and The Harlem Globetrotters. That’s a contrast to the sexy nightclub routines she became famous for. She considered herself an actor more than a singer and these appearances were a specific kind of performance. In 1955, she became the first black woman to be nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for the rebellious principal character in Carmen Jones. Otto Preminger, her director and lover, advised her that as a movie star she should not take supporting roles. But few leading roles in Hollywood were forthcoming. After taking a break of a few years at the peak of her career, she went on to star in European films and smaller productions, before dying in 1965 at the age of 42. This season shines a light on the diverse range of roles Dandridge embraced throughout her career.

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Swell Dames # 109 – Ann Richards

Ann Richards was a better singer than she was often given credit for, but her career fell short of its potential. She was self-taught on piano and started taking singing lessons when she was ten. Richards began singing professionally in the San Francisco Bay area and played a short stint with Charlie Barnet. She joined Stan Kenton's band for a few months in 1955; they were married and she was a part-time singer throughout their marriage (which lasted until 1961). Richards recorded a few pleasing and swinging albums on her own for Capitol, Atco, and Vee Jay. She died by suicide in 1982, at the age of 46.

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