
Dorothy Dandridge
The Life and Legacy of One of Hollywood’s First Successful Black Actresses
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $5.42
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kelly McGee
About this listen
“If I were white, I could capture the world.” (Dorothy Dandridge)
The bright summer sun shined blissfully on a secluded valley tucked into the romantic Costa del Sol in southern Spain. Water bubbled friskily over a rocky streambed as trees swayed in the gentle tropical breeze and dappled the banks in playful shadows.
A closer look reveals a man and a woman entwined on the rocky shore in an intimate embrace. The man trembles with longing as he bends over the woman, his parted lips just inches from hers. She eagerly folds her arms around him, her fingertips passionately digging into the skin on his back as she draws him closer.
Suddenly, a director’s voice rings out, “Cut!” The man was white. The woman was black, and in Hollywood in 1959, that was still taboo. The steamy scene was being shot for the film Malaga, and Dorothy Dandridge, the actress in the scene, had just shared Hollywood’s controversial first interracial kiss on screen, a year earlier.
Despite this distinction and other more notable accomplishments, many people today are not familiar with the groundbreaking actress, even though she was among the most charismatic and beautiful actresses of the era. Her alluring nightclub acts set pulses pounding across the globe, and she was Hollywood’s first black leading actress.
Sadly, all of it came at a high price. Dorothy bore the scars of a tormented childhood, endured the fallout from multiple failed relationships, suffered professional and financial setbacks, and battled ongoing alcohol and prescription drug abuse. Throughout all that, racism was the most tenacious demon she had to fight. Dorothy came of age in an era when society and the entertainment world largely held to demeaning racial stereotypes. Though she appeared in 15 movies, her career was overshadowed by the work of contemporary white screen legends such as Grace Kelly, Judy Garland, and Marilyn Monroe.
Dorothy, understandably, believed she could have become so much more if she had been born white. As she poignantly put it, “What was I? That outdated ‘tragic mulatto’ of earlier fiction? Oddly enough, there remains some validity in this concept, in a society not yet integrated. I wasn’t fully accepted in either world, black or white. I was too light to satisfy Negroes, not light enough to secure the screen work, the roles, the marriage status available to a white woman.”
Nevertheless, Dorothy made great strides for the black community and blazed trails for minority entertainers. She confronted racial stereotypes, overcame prevailing cinematic conventions, and set attendance records throughout her entire career. She attained genuine stardom as the lead in the 1954 film Carmen Jones, and her portrayal earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, the first such Oscar nod for a black woman.
Dorothy Dandridge: The Life and Legacy of One of Hollywood’s First Successful Black Actresses profiles the arduous rise and abrupt fall of Dorothy’s radiant stardom.
©2020 Charles River Editors (P)2020 Charles River EditorsListeners also enjoyed...
-
William Powell: The Life and Legacy of One of Early Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Actors
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Bill Hare
- Length: 1 hr and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While actors like Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant remain household names, and actresses like Greta Garbo are still widely remembered, few had careers that enjoyed the success of William Powell. In a career spanning several decades, Powell would receive three Oscar nominations for Best Actor for critically acclaimed movies, so it is somewhat ironic that he is mostly remembered today for his association with the more famous Myrna Loy. Together, they starred in 14 films, including the 1934 box office hit, The Thin Man.
-
-
Poorly slapped together
- By Anonymous User on 11-03-24
-
Hazel Scott
- The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist
- By: Karen Chilton
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The acclaimed author of I Wish You Love, Karen Chilton explores the life of legendary jazz performer and civil rights activist Hazel Scott. A well-researched tribute to a woman of immense achievement, Hazel Scott abounds with fascinating detail of a not-too-distant time in American history.
-
-
Loved Every Minute of It
- By Melanie Thomas on 10-31-23
By: Karen Chilton
-
Natalie Wood
- A Life
- By: Gavin Lambert
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From her starring roles as a skeptical child in the perennial classic Miracle on 34thStreet and a troubled adolescent in Rebel Without a Cause to mature roles in Splendor in the Grass and West Side Story, actress Natalie Wood transfixed the world with her hypnotic brown eyes. Yet behind the beautiful façade lurked a fragile, sparkling, generous, funny woman traumatized by her childhood and beset by personal demons.
-
-
a mom story
- By M. Gobet on 10-30-15
By: Gavin Lambert
-
Possessed
- The Life of Joan Crawford
- By: Donald Spoto
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Donald Spoto has brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous Hollywood stars and entertainment icons. In Possessed, his subject is the inimitable Joan Crawford, one of the most electrifying divas of the Golden Age of American film. A more thorough, revealing, and sympathetic portrait of the often maligned movie star - most notably lambasted, perhaps, in the scandalous best seller, Mommie Dearest - Possessed is a fascinating study of the real Joan Crawford, a remarkable actress, businesswoman, mother, and lover.
-
-
Waste of money
- By bkw74 on 07-19-21
By: Donald Spoto
-
The Castle on Sunset
- Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont
- By: Shawn Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since 1929, Hollywood’s brightest stars have flocked to the Chateau Marmont as if it were a second home. An apartment building-turned-hotel, the Chateau has been the backdrop for generations of gossip and folklore: where director Nicholas Ray slept with his 16-year-old Rebel Without a Cause star Natalie Wood; Jim Morrison swung from the balconies; John Belushi suffered a fatal overdose; and Lindsay Lohan got the boot after racking up nearly $50,000 in charges in less than two months. Much of what has happened inside the Chateau’s walls has eluded the public eye - until now.
-
-
Was enjoying it until...
- By leigh on 04-22-20
By: Shawn Levy
-
Audrey Hepburn
- A Biography
- By: Warren G. Harris
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning with her harsh childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland, Warren Harris chronicles Audrey Hepburn's meteoric rise to Hollywood stardom: her chance encounter with Colette that led to the lead role in the Broadway version of Gigi, and her first starring role in Roman Holiday, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Hepburn played opposite the top leading men, worked for the best directors, and picked from a wide range of roles.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Lisa on 12-09-18
By: Warren G. Harris
-
William Powell: The Life and Legacy of One of Early Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Actors
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Bill Hare
- Length: 1 hr and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While actors like Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant remain household names, and actresses like Greta Garbo are still widely remembered, few had careers that enjoyed the success of William Powell. In a career spanning several decades, Powell would receive three Oscar nominations for Best Actor for critically acclaimed movies, so it is somewhat ironic that he is mostly remembered today for his association with the more famous Myrna Loy. Together, they starred in 14 films, including the 1934 box office hit, The Thin Man.
-
-
Poorly slapped together
- By Anonymous User on 11-03-24
-
Hazel Scott
- The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist
- By: Karen Chilton
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The acclaimed author of I Wish You Love, Karen Chilton explores the life of legendary jazz performer and civil rights activist Hazel Scott. A well-researched tribute to a woman of immense achievement, Hazel Scott abounds with fascinating detail of a not-too-distant time in American history.
-
-
Loved Every Minute of It
- By Melanie Thomas on 10-31-23
By: Karen Chilton
-
Natalie Wood
- A Life
- By: Gavin Lambert
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From her starring roles as a skeptical child in the perennial classic Miracle on 34thStreet and a troubled adolescent in Rebel Without a Cause to mature roles in Splendor in the Grass and West Side Story, actress Natalie Wood transfixed the world with her hypnotic brown eyes. Yet behind the beautiful façade lurked a fragile, sparkling, generous, funny woman traumatized by her childhood and beset by personal demons.
-
-
a mom story
- By M. Gobet on 10-30-15
By: Gavin Lambert
-
Possessed
- The Life of Joan Crawford
- By: Donald Spoto
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Donald Spoto has brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous Hollywood stars and entertainment icons. In Possessed, his subject is the inimitable Joan Crawford, one of the most electrifying divas of the Golden Age of American film. A more thorough, revealing, and sympathetic portrait of the often maligned movie star - most notably lambasted, perhaps, in the scandalous best seller, Mommie Dearest - Possessed is a fascinating study of the real Joan Crawford, a remarkable actress, businesswoman, mother, and lover.
-
-
Waste of money
- By bkw74 on 07-19-21
By: Donald Spoto
-
The Castle on Sunset
- Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont
- By: Shawn Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since 1929, Hollywood’s brightest stars have flocked to the Chateau Marmont as if it were a second home. An apartment building-turned-hotel, the Chateau has been the backdrop for generations of gossip and folklore: where director Nicholas Ray slept with his 16-year-old Rebel Without a Cause star Natalie Wood; Jim Morrison swung from the balconies; John Belushi suffered a fatal overdose; and Lindsay Lohan got the boot after racking up nearly $50,000 in charges in less than two months. Much of what has happened inside the Chateau’s walls has eluded the public eye - until now.
-
-
Was enjoying it until...
- By leigh on 04-22-20
By: Shawn Levy
-
Audrey Hepburn
- A Biography
- By: Warren G. Harris
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning with her harsh childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland, Warren Harris chronicles Audrey Hepburn's meteoric rise to Hollywood stardom: her chance encounter with Colette that led to the lead role in the Broadway version of Gigi, and her first starring role in Roman Holiday, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Hepburn played opposite the top leading men, worked for the best directors, and picked from a wide range of roles.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Lisa on 12-09-18
By: Warren G. Harris
-
Another Nice Mess
- The Laurel & Hardy Story
- By: Raymond Valinoti
- Narrated by: Jack de Golia
- Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Arguably the greatest comedy duo in show business history, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy delighted filmgoers and theatregoers for over 30 years. The public not only found Laurel's serene simpleton and Hardy's pompous buffoon hilarious, but they also thought of them as friends. Laurel and Hardy may have been nitwits, but they were loveable nitwits.
-
-
Two Hours + of Biography
- By Jim on 05-13-15
By: Raymond Valinoti
-
Buster Keaton
- Cut to the Chase
- By: Marion Meade
- Narrated by: Douglas R. Pratt
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Buster Keaton (1895-1966) was a brilliant comedian and filmmaker who conceived, wrote, directed, acted, and even edited most of his ten feature films and nineteen short comedies, which are perhaps the finest silent pictures ever made. With a face of stone and a mind that engineered breathtakingly intricate moments of slapstick, Keaton has become an icon of the American cinema. Marion Meade's definitive biography explores his often brutal childhood acting experiences, the making of his masterpieces, his shame at his own lack of education, his life-threatening alcoholism, and his turbulent marriages.
-
-
Great book, hampered by sloppy narration.
- By DMM on 02-26-15
By: Marion Meade
-
Get Happy
- The Life of Judy Garland
- By: Gerald Clarke
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She lived at full throttle on stage, screen, and in real life, with highs that made history and lows that finally brought down the curtain at age 47. Judy Garland died over 30 years ago, but no biography has so completely captured her spirit - and demons - until now. From her tumultuous early years as a child performer to her tragic last days, Gerald Clarke reveals the authentic Judy in a biography rich in new detail and unprecedented revelations.
-
-
A good book, but...
- By Donna Deal on 08-27-21
By: Gerald Clarke
-
When Women Invented Television
- The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today
- By: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was the Golden Age of Radio and powerful men were making millions in advertising dollars reaching thousands of listeners every day. When television arrived, few radio moguls were interested in the upstart industry and its tiny production budgets, and expensive television sets were out of reach for most families. But four women - each an independent visionary - saw an opportunity and carved their own paths, and in so doing invented the way we watch TV today.
-
-
Must Read T.V.
- By cindy on 05-18-21
-
Dark Star
- A Biography of Vivien Leigh
- By: Alan Strachan
- Narrated by: Alasdair Buchan
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vivien Leigh was perhaps the most iconic actress of the 20th century. As Scarlett O’Hara and Blanche Du Bois she took on some of the most pivotal roles in cinema history. Yet she was also a talented theatre actress with West End and Broadway plaudits to her name. In this ground-breaking new biography, Alan Strachan provides a completely new full-life portrait of Leigh, covering both her professional and personal life.
-
-
So much more to this actress and kind friend
- By Slimer on 10-19-20
By: Alan Strachan
-
Elizabeth and Monty
- The Untold Story of Their Intimate Friendship
- By: Charles Casillo
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Elizabeth Taylor was cast opposite Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun, he was already a movie idol, with a natural sensitivity that set him apart. At 17, Elizabeth was known for her ravishing beauty rather than her talent. Directors treated her like a glamorous prop. But Monty took her seriously, inspiring and encouraging her. In her words, "That's when I began to act". To Monty, she was "Bessie Mae", a name he coined for her earthy, private side. The press clamored for a wedding, convinced this was more than friendship. The truth was even more complex.
-
-
Very interesting, albeit slightly demeaning
- By Anthony Abato on 10-25-21
By: Charles Casillo
-
Dorothy Dandridge
- A Biography
- By: Donald Bogle
- Narrated by: Donald Bogle, Matthew J. Turner
- Length: 26 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Available once again, the definitive biography of the pioneering Black performer - the first nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award - who broke new ground in Hollywood and helped transform American society in the years before Civil Rights movement - a remarkable woman of her time who also transcended it.
-
-
Serious editing needed
- By Bab's Prince on 02-14-23
By: Donald Bogle
-
Carrie Fisher
- A Life on the Edge
- By: Sheila Weller
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A remarkably candid biography of the remarkably candid - and brilliant - Carrie Fisher. Sourced by friends, colleagues, and witnesses to all stages of Fisher’s life, Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge is an empathic and even-handed portrayal of a woman who - as Princess Leia, but mostly as herself - was a feminist heroine, one who died at a time when we need her blazing, healing honesty more than ever.
-
-
Need a different narrator or director?
- By Brad on 12-24-19
By: Sheila Weller
-
Ava Gardner
- A Life in Movies
- By: Kendra Bean, Anthony Uzarowski
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ava is a tribute to a legendary life. Authors Kendra Bean and Anthony Uzarowski take a closer look at the Academy Award-nominated actress' life and famous screen roles. They also shed new light on the creation and maintenance of her glamorous image, her marriages, and friendships with famous figures such as Ernest Hemingway, John Huston, and Tennessee Williams.
-
-
An enjoyable shorter book about Ava
- By Kindle Customer on 04-18-21
By: Kendra Bean, and others
-
Lucy and Desi
- The Legendary Love Story of Television's Most Famous Couple
- By: Warren G. Harris
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After eight years on the air, Desi Arnaz did not love Lucy any more. On screen, they were dynamite, a comedy pairing more successful than any Hollywood had ever produced. But when the cameras stopped rolling, they fought, screamed and threatened each other more each season. Finally, an argument in Desi's production office turned violent. Lucy hurled a cocktail glass past his head, and Desi demanded a divorce. He moved out that night. After nearly 20 years, America's favorite couple was finished.
-
-
loved it!!!
- By iris on 01-13-17
By: Warren G. Harris
-
Still Here
- The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch
- By: Alexandra Jacobs
- Narrated by: Andréa Burns
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Still Here is the first full telling of Elaine Stritch’s life. Rollicking but intimate, it tracks one of Broadway’s great personalities from her upbringing in Detroit during the Great Depression to her fateful move to New York City, where she studied alongside Marlon Brando, Bea Arthur, and Harry Belafonte. We accompany Elaine through her jagged rise to fame, to Hollywood and London, and across her later years, when she enjoyed a stunning renaissance, punctuated by a turn on the popular television show 30 Rock.
-
-
Phenomenal account of a Broadway Icon
- By Donna Deal on 12-30-19
By: Alexandra Jacobs
-
The Way We All Became the Brady Bunch
- How the Canceled Sitcom Became the Beloved Pop Culture Icon We Are Still Talking About Today
- By: Kimberly Potts
- Narrated by: Chloe Cannon
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Way We All Became the Brady Bunch, TV and pop culture writer Kimberly Potts will draw upon her deep knowledge of and appreciation for The Brady Bunch and television and pop culture history, as well as her contacts, connections, and experience, to provide an industry insider narrative of The Brady Bunch. With fresh interviews, The Way We All Became the Brady Bunch will examine the show's lasting effects on its audience and take listeners behind the scenes and into the lives of our most beloved characters.
-
-
Who is Mark Brady?
- By R. Dack on 12-23-19
By: Kimberly Potts
I absolutely loved this read. The life story and a
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Miss judgement in people and husbands.
The struggles in judgment
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not what I expected
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.