Dorothy Dandridge, Angel Face

Left to Right, Etta, Dorothy and Vivian  

Dorothy was scarred by her childhood. She once said she regretted never having gotten to know her father, a cabinet maker /  draftsman named Cyril Dandridge, who her mother left before Dorothy was born in Cleveland, Ohio.  Cyril was a quiet man, unassuming and sensitive.  Ruby, on the other hand was all energy and chatter. Not a usual match.   Dorothy did not get a chance to find out what her father was like until she was sixteen and performing at New York's Cotton Club.  Through a star of the show, Bill (Bojangles) Robinson, Cyril made arrangements to see Dorothy and Vivian. According to Dorothy, her mother Ruby was both mother and father to her.  Ruby walked out on Cyril shortly after having Vivian.  Cyril did get her to come back and she gave birth to Dottie, then left again. Vivian Dandridge born in 1921.

Vivian Alferetta Dandridge Born: April 22, 1921 Died: October 21, 1991 Actress, Singer, Pianist Vivian at one time became a strict vegetarian.   Vivian was married five times: Jack Montgomery (Actor) (1942-43), (Top) Warren (Warren Bracken) Warren Bracken (Musician)  (?-?)  Ralph Bledsoe (Musician) (1946-47) Forace Stead (1951-53) (was also Vivian's manager at the time)  Vivian divorced him because of his extreme gambling habits.  She claimed that her house painter husband gambled away most of both of their earnings and even pawned some of their belongings to obtain money for gambling .  The couple married in 1951.  They divorced in 1953.  Vivian was 30 and Forace was 31 at the time.  and Gustav Friedrich (1958-?). All of her marriages ended in divorce.  (Emmett Wallace) She was also romantically linked to actor Emmett Wallace (known as "Babe Wallace") with whom she had a son, Micha...

Vivian, Etta, Dorothy The Dandridge Sisters (Top - Vivian, L- Etta, R- Dorothy)  The Dandridge Sisters (Etta, Dorothy, Vivian)                                                      Ruby, Vivian, Dorothy Dorothy Ruby, Vivian, Dorothy Vivian, Ruby, Dorothy Etta Jones, Dorothy and Vivian Etta Jones, Dorothy and Vivian Etta Jones, Dorothy and Vivian Etta, Dorothy and Vivian "Harlem Yodel' Etta, Dorothy, Vivian Etta, Dorothy and Vivian

Lena Horne called Dorothy Dandridge"Our Marilyn Monroe" Click on photos to get full view :) I am so grateful that my mother introduced me to Dorothy Dandridge at a very young age (4years old to be exact). My mom even named me after Dorothy's Carmen Jones, only with a "K" i nstead. Ever since I can remember I have admired her hypnotic beauty and couldn't wait to see her work when I got older. One of the first times I viewed many of her movies was on TNT. Ted Turner honored Black History Month by showing alot of our movies on that channel over ten years ago. When Dorothy was featured, I made su re I taped them. Was fortunate to get the Cain's Hundred episode that Dorothy did (Blue's For A Junkm an). For this I must Thank Ted Turner. Now am an avid fan of TCM. Author Donald Bogle has been featured on there many times giving his opinion and expertise on all of his favorite flix and artists ; Dorothy without question is always one of ...