Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (The Love Parade, Love Me Tonight, The Merry Widow and One Hour With You) and Nelson Eddy (Naughty Marietta, Rose-Marie, and Maytime). During the 1930s and 1940s she starred in 29 feature films, four nominated for Best Picture Oscars (The Love Parade, One Hour with You, Naughty Marietta and San Francisco), and recorded extensively, earning three gold records. She later appeared in opera, concerts, radio, and television. MacDonald was one of the most influential sopranos of the 20th century, introducing opera to film-going audiences and inspiring a generation of singers.
For the attorney and author of 'Project Girl', see Janet McDonald.
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald
- Actress
- singer
- radio host
- philanthropist
1909–1959
Nelson Eddy (1935–65, her death)
Blossom Rock (sister)
- 2 RCA Red Seal gold records (one for "Indian Love Call"/"Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life"[2])
- 1 RIAA gold record for Favorites in Hi-Fi[3]
- Screen Actors Guild award for Maytime
- Hollywood Walk of Fame
Vocals (soprano)
- RCA Victor
- RCA Red Seal Records
- His Master's Voice
- Disque Gramophone
Early years[edit]
MacDonald was born Jeannette Anna McDonald[4] on June 18, 1903, at her family's Philadelphia home at 5123 Arch Street.[5] She was the youngest of the three daughters of Anna May (née Wright) and Daniel McDonald, a factory foreman[6] and a salesman for a contracting household building company,[7] respectively, and the younger sister of character actress Blossom Rock (born Edith McDonald), who was most famous as "Grandmama" on the 1960s TV series The Addams Family. She was of Scottish, English, and Dutch descent.[8] The extra N in her given name was later dropped for simplicity's sake,[4] and A added to her surname to emphasize her Scottish heritage.[4] She began dancing lessons with local dance instructor Caroline Littlefield, mother of American ballerina/choreographer Catherine Littlefield, when very young, performing in juvenile operas, recitals, and shows staged by Littlefield around the city, including at the Academy of Music.[9] She later took lessons with Al White and began touring in his kiddie shows, heading his "Six Little Song Birds" in Philadelphia at the age of nine.[10]
Controversy[edit]
Autobiography[edit]
MacDonald began developing an autobiography in the 1950s. She wanted her readers to both be inspired by her career and understand how she had coped with balancing a public and personal life.[159] In one early version she intended to candidly discuss Nelson Eddy but dropped that idea when Eddy feared public fallout.[160] She hired and fired other ghostwriters and wrote a manuscript solo but it was rejected by the publisher for being "too genteel";[161] MacDonald refused to include many personal details about Eddy and she deleted already typed pages admitting to one single pregnancy that ended in miscarriage. Her last ghost writer, Fredda Dudley Balling, noted that MacDonald was too ill to work more than a couple hours a day, so a final draft was never completed. The unfinished manuscript was published and annotated in 2004.[162] MacDonald said that publishers wanted her to spice up her story. She refused to gossip about her colleagues and said she did not live that kind of life. In the last year of her life, despite declining health, she still was trying to find a publisher. An early version of the book, written with James Brough, is in the Cinematic Arts Library, Doheny Memorial Library, University of Southern California.[163]