Dorothy Dandridge
A Biography
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Narrated by:
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Donald Bogle
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Matthew J. Turner
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By:
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Donald Bogle
About this listen
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.
“An ambitious, rigorously researched account of the long-ignored film star and chanteuse.... Bogle has fashioned a resonant history of a bygone era in Hollywood and passionately documented the contribution of one of its most dazzling and complex performers." (New York Times Book Review)
In the segregated world of 1950s America, few celebrities were as talented, beautiful, glamorous, and ultimately influential as Dorothy Dandridge. Universally admired, she was Hollywood's first full-fledged Black movie star. Film historian Donald Bogle offers a panoramic portrait of Dorothy Dandridge’s extraordinary and ultimately tragic life and career, from her early years as a child performer in Cleveland, to her rise as a nightclub headliner and movie star, to her heartbreaking death at 42.
Bogle reveals how this exceptionally talented and intensely ambitious entertainer broke down racial barriers by integrating some of America's hottest nightclubs and broke through Tinseltown’s glass ceiling. Along with her smash appearances at venues such as Harlem’s famed Cotton Club, Dorothy starred in numerous films, making history with her role in Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones, playing opposite Harry Belafonte. Her performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress - the first Oscar nod for a woman of color.
But Dorothy’s wealth, fame, and success masked a reality fraught with contradiction and illusion. Struggling to find good roles professionally, uncomfortable with her image as a sex goddess, coping with the aftermath of two unhappy marriages and a string of unfulfilling affairs, and overwhelmed with guilt for her disabled daughter, Dorothy found herself emotionally and financially bankrupt - despair that ended in her untimely death.
Woven from extensive research and unique interviews, as magnetic as the woman at its heart, Dorothy Dandridge captures this dazzling entertainer in all her complexity: her strength and vulnerability, her joy and her pain, her trials and her triumphs.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
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- Unabridged
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Now Tom Santopietro has written the ultimate Sound of Music fan audiobook with all the inside dope, from behind-the-scenes stories of the filming in Austria and Hollywood to new interviews with Johannes von Trapp and others. Santopietro looks back at the real-life story of Maria von Trapp, goes on to chronicle the sensational success of the Broadway musical, and recounts the story of the near cancellation of the film when Cleopatra bankrupted 20th Century Fox.
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A must for super-fans
- By Simone on 07-29-17
By: Tom Santopietro
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Orson Welles's Last Movie
- The Making of The Other Side of the Wind
- By: Josh Karp
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 1970, legendary but self-destructive director Orson Welles returned to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe and decided it was time to make a comeback movie. It was about a legendary self-destructive director who returns to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe. Welles swore it wasn't autobiographical.
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Engaging and human portrait of Welles
- By TrevorTrujillo on 06-20-20
By: Josh Karp
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Legs Are the Last to Go
- By: Diahann Carroll
- Narrated by: Diahann Carroll
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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With wisdom that only aging gracefully can bestow, Diahann Carroll talks frankly about her four marriages as well as her other relationships, including her courtship with Sidney Poitier; racial politics in show business; and the personal cost, particularly to her family, of being a pioneer.
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Magnificent
- By Rhonda G. on 04-02-21
By: Diahann Carroll
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In Black and White
- The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
- By: Wil Haygood
- Narrated by: Kevin Free
- Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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This biography of entertainment legend Sammy Davis, Jr. is an enthralling portrait of one of the most recognizable figures from the golden age of American show business. Davis, a guarded man who protected his private life with great vigor, lived an extraordinary life in the limelight, while also forging new uncharted paths across racial lines.
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Sammy Plus
- By James Gordon on 07-02-06
By: Wil Haygood
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You Might Remember Me
- The Life and Times of Phil Hartman
- By: Mike Thomas
- Narrated by: Corey Snow
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Both joyous tribute and serious biography, Mike Thomas' You Might Remember Me is a celebration of Phil Hartman's multi-faceted career and an exhaustively reported, warts-and-all examination of his often intriguing and sometimes complicated life - a powerful, humor-filled and disquieting portrait of a man who was loved by many, admired by millions and taken from them far too early.
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I Will Remember You Phil Hartman
- By Roxanna on 12-19-14
By: Mike Thomas
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Unsinkable
- A Memoir
- By: Debbie Reynolds, Dorian Hannaway
- Narrated by: Debbie Reynolds
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The definitive memoir by legendary actress and performer Debbie Reynolds - an entertaining and moving story of enduring friendships and unbreakable family bonds, of hitting bottom and rising to the top again - that offers a unique and deeply personal perspective on Hollywood and its elite, from the glory days of MGM to the present.
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Loved Loved loved IT!
- By Virginia on 12-07-17
By: Debbie Reynolds, and others
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Street Gang
- The Complete History of Sesame Street
- By: Michael Davis
- Narrated by: Caroll Spinney
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
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When the first episode aired on Nov. 10, 1969, Sesame Street revolutionized the way education was presented to children on television. It has since become the longest-running children's show in history, and today reaches 8 million pre-schoolers on 350 PBS stations and airs in 120 countries. Street Gang is the compelling and often comical story of the creation and history of this media masterpiece and pop culture landmark.
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An important subject, but hardly gripping
- By Scott T. Hards on 09-24-10
By: Michael Davis
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American Rebel
- The Life of Clint Eastwood
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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From the New York Times best-selling author Marc Eliot comes the definitive biography of one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful actors, producers, and directors in the history of American motion pictures. Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often tumultuous arc of Eastwood's life and career, from his days as a disaffected college dropout, to his rise to fame as the archetypal loner, to his acceptance into the pantheon of the Academy as a multiple Oscar Award winner.
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I learned the hard way.
- By Ty Pritchard on 07-23-10
By: Marc Eliot
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You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried
- The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation
- By: Susannah Gora
- Narrated by: Kelli Tager
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The landscape that the Brat Pack memorialized is rich with cultural themes and significance, and has influenced an entire generation who still believe that life always turns out like an '80s movie. You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried takes us back to that era, through Susannah Gora's interviews with key players such as Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, and John Cusack, and mines all the material from the movies to the music to the way the films were made to show how they helped shape our visions for romance, friendship, society, and success.
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Brings me back to my teenage years! Fantastic Narration! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- By Amazmama on 06-24-22
By: Susannah Gora
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Steve McQueen
- A Biography
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and '70s with now-classics such as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Bullit, Steve McQueen is renowned as one of the most exciting actors ever to come out of Hollywood. Now, in Steve McQueen: A Biography, best-selling author Marc Eliot gives unique insight into McQueen's life, from his films to his three marriages, many affairs, and struggles with addictions.
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Snooze
- By Cill on 10-27-11
By: Marc Eliot
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What listeners say about Dorothy Dandridge
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Golden2Golden
- 09-25-22
Rest In Power Dorothy Dandridge.
A Must Read. A Wonderful Book about Old Black Hollywood at it's Best. Love it.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-09-23
What a ride…
My goodness. I so hope Dorothy Dandridge is in a better place. This was a fantastic read.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-17-23
Amazing story
This story is captivating and have such a wonder insight into the life of Dorothy Dandridge. I have recommended others to listen to the beginning to the end I was hooked on it, one of the best biographies think of ever read or listen to.
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- selina marie tyson
- 11-08-23
Soul catching
I never knew much but her, but her beauty and she was such an icon but hearing story and putting myself in her shoes , soul grabbing, I pray she has found happiness in afterlife
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- Jerel Simmons
- 11-20-21
Very well done
This was an excellent and very thorough telling of Dorothy Dandridge’s story. Thank you! It would be great if a movie was made based on this book as the HBO movie on Dandridge only covered a small fraction of what this amazing book presents.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Melanie Thomas
- 06-13-23
Learned So Much- Well Done Donald Bogle
I learned so much about Ms. Dandridge that wasn’t included in the movie. I enjoyed learning so much about her life. Donald Bogle did a wonderful job on this. I’ll always be an appreciative fan on his work.
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- Bab's Prince
- 02-14-23
Serious editing needed
I’ve long been fascinated by Dorothy Dandridge. I was really looking forward to learning more about her and expected to learn a lot in 39 hours of listening. While I did learn more than I knew about her struggles and successes, I don’t think I’ve ever worked through a more tedious, flat 30+ hours.
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- Linda
- 09-07-24
Long boring passages where Nothing happens
Repetitive.Too drawn out. Could have been half this length. I liked the Hollywood backstories, best part of the book. So many of Dorothy’s insecurities. Found I often just drifted off because the book did not hold my interest in large areas.sort of depressing. Such a beautiful lady in constant torment.
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