1. Vivian Alferetta Dandridge was an American singer, actress and dancer.
22 Facts About Vivian Dandridge
1. 2.
Vivian Dandridge went on to appear in minor roles on films and television from 1940 through the early 1960s.
3.
Vivian Dandridge died after suffering a stroke on October 26,1991, at age 70.
4.
Vivian Dandridge was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Cyril Vivian Dandridge, and the former Ruby Jean Butler, an aspiring entertainer.
5.
Vivian Dandridge's parents separated shortly before the birth of her sister Dorothy.
6.
Ruby Vivian Dandridge, still clinging to the hopes of a film career for herself and her daughters, bought four bus tickets and moved the family to Los Angeles.
7.
In California, the Vivian Dandridge daughters befriended another girl, Etta Jones, and began to sing together.
8.
Vivian Dandridge attempted to find work in clubs, but many were not interested.
9.
Vivian Dandridge did find employment as an occasional actress in films but did not achieve the same level of success as her sister Dorothy.
10.
Vivian Dandridge appeared in some minor film roles: she co-starred with Frances Dee as native girl Melisse in the 1943 classic I Walked with a Zombie and appeared alongside her sister in 1953's Bright Road, where she played a small role of schoolteacher Ms.
11.
Vivian Dandridge appeared with the Dandridge Sisters in musical sequences of the films The Big Broadcast of 1936, A Day at the Races, It Can't Last Forever, Irene and Going Places.
12.
Vivian Dandridge appeared in the soundie Snow Gets in Your Eyes as a member of the Dandridge Sisters and as the voice of "So White" in the controversial cartoon Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs opposite her mother Ruby Dandridge.
13.
Vivian Dandridge appeared as an uncredited extra in 1943's Stormy Weather.
14.
Vivian Dandridge moved to the Alvin Hotel in New York City, but after this engagement she largely disappeared from show business.
15.
Vivian Dandridge attended the Academy Awards in 1955 with Dorothy Vivian Dandridge when Dorothy was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Carmen Jones.
16.
At this point, Dorothy and Vivian Dandridge did not remain in contact, though Dorothy sometimes provided financial assistance to Vivian Dandridge and her son Michael Wallace.
17.
In 1968, Vivian Dandridge signed a recording contract with Jubilee Records and released a jazz LP, The Look of Love, that same year.
18.
Author Donald Bogle did an interview with Vivian Dandridge discussing her sister and mother in 1991; later that year when Bogle returned, he found that Vivian Dandridge had died of a massive stroke.
19.
Vivian Dandridge was married at least five times: Jack Montgomery, Warren Bracken, Ralph Bledsoe, Forace Stead and Gustav Friedrich.
20.
Vivian Dandridge was romantically linked to actor Emmett "Babe" Wallace, with whom she had a son, Michael Emmett Wallace.
21.
Vivian Dandridge did not attend the funeral of her sister, admitting that it was just too painful to return.
22.
Vivian Dandridge's granddaughter, Nayo Wallace, is an actress, appearing on television series, film and on Broadway.