Wholesome teenaged singing lead of the late 1930s and early 40s who became an instant star with the release of her first feature, "Three Smart Girls" (1936), and shared a Special Academy Award with Mickey Rooney in 1938 "for bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth." Durbin, who possessed a lovely, light operatic voice and considerable charm as an actress and comedienne, matured gracefully onscreen and kept Universal Studios afloat during some of its darkest days. Her finest films were largely among the first ten she made, most of which were produced by Joseph Pasternak and were often directed by Henry Koster. Although Durbin would in later years sometimes wryly disparage her star image as that of "Little Miss Fix-It Who Bursts Into Song", she also brought some welcome spice to her sweet, sunshiny image, brightening such highly enjoyable fare as "100 Men and a Girl" (1937), "Mad About Music" (1938), "First Love" (1939), "Three Smart Girls Grow Up" (1939) and "It Started with Eve" (1941).
Although Durbin's adult films included such quality items as "Christmas Holiday" (1944, a dark film noir helmed by Robert Siodmak), "Lady on a Train" (1945) and "Something in the Wind" (1947) and Durbin herself could be as wonderful as ever, there was a general decline in the material she was offered and the studio sometimes did not manage to adjust her star persona successfully as she matured. Durbin retired in 1948, partially due to weight problems and changing styles in the musical film, but also because of her decreasing interest in her career. Her third husband was Charles David, who had directed her in "Lady on a Train". Durbin retired to France and has declined all offers to return to the world of entertainment.
Family
FATHER: James Durbin. Became US citizen when he moved to California.
MOTHER: Ada Durbin. Became US citizen when she moved to California.
SISTER: Edith Durbin. Older.
DAUGHTER: Jessica Jackson.
SON: Peter David.
Companion
HUSBAND: Vaughn Paul. Married on April 18, 1941; divorced on December 14, 1943.
COMPANION: Joseph Cotten. Actor. Reportedly had bried affair in 1943 during filming of "Hers to Hold".
HUSBAND: Felix Jackson. Married on June 13, 1945; divorced on October 27, 1949.
HUSBAND: Charles Henri David. Director. Married on December 21, 1950; directed Durbin in delightful comic film noir, "Lady on a Train" (1945).
Milestone
1936: Singing debut on the "Eddie Cantor Radio Hour"
1936: Short film acting debut in "Every Sunday"
1937: Feature film debut in "Three Smart Girls"
1939: Considerable publicity attended the release of "First Love", in which the young Robert Stack gave the 18-year-old Durbin her first screen kiss
Screen image began to adjust to more adult roles in "The Amazing Mrs. Holliday" (1942) and the rather more successful film noir, "Christmas Holiday" (1944)
1948: Last film, "Up in Central Park"
Education
Bret Harte Junior High School
Manchester Grammar School
Richard
Happy Birthday(12/4)! Miss Durbin
I had heard of Deanna Durbin years ago, but only recently have I viewed several of her movies. Needless to ...
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jean hupfel
deanna durbin/the "bestist" singer
i can remember going to the movies when i was a lot younger and sitting thru deanna durbins movies atleast ...
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