Deanna Durbin
Edna May Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born American lyric soprano and actress, who moved to the United States with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. Additionally, she performed mostly classical concerts and recitals as well as concerts with semi-classical and popular music. She specialized in opera arias, art song, and semi-classical songs, which is today known as classical crossover. Durbin was a child actress who made her first film appearance with Judy Garland in Every Sunday (1936), and subsequently signed a contract with Universal Pictures. She achieved success as the ideal teenaged daughter in films such as Three Smart Girls (1936) and One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937). Her work was credited with saving the studio from bankruptcy, and led to Durbin being awarded the Academy Juvenile Award in 1938. As she matured, Durbin grew dissatisfied with the girl-next-door roles assigned to her and attempted to move into sophisticated non-musical roles with film noir Christmas Holiday (1944) and the whodunit Lady on a Train (1945). These films, produced by frequent collaborator and second husband Felix Jackson, were not as successful; and she continued in musical roles. Upon her retirement and divorce from Jackson in 1949, Durbin married producer-director Charles Henri David and moved to a farmhouse near Paris. She withdrew from public life, granting only one interview on her career in 1983. |
Birth and Death Data: Born December 4, 1921 (Winnipeg (capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba, Canada)), Died April 17, 2013 (19th arrondissement of Paris (one of the 20 administrative districts of Paris, France) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1971
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 63 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decca | DLA 2371 | 10-in. | 1/22/1941 | Thank you, America | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2372 | 10-in. | 1/22/1941 | The old folks at home (Swanee River) | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2373 | 10-in. | 1/22/1941 | Perhaps | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2374 | 10-in. | 1/22/1941 | Love at last | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2782 | 10-in. | 9/29/1941 | Adeste fideles (O come all ye faithful) | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2783 | 10-in. | 9/29/1941 | Silent night, Holy night | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2784 | 10-in. | 10/3/1941 | Annie Laurie | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2785 | 10-in. | 10/3/1941 | Kiss me again | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2789 | 10-in. | 10/9/1941 | My hero | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2790 | 10-in. | 9/10/1941 | Poor butterfly | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2794 | 10-in. | 10/9/1941 | La estrellita | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2795 | 10-in. | 10/9/1941 | Cielito lindo (Beautiful heaven) | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2877 | 10-in. | 2/2/1942 | God bless America | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2878 | 10-in. | 2/2/1942 | The star-spangled banner | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2883 | 10-in. | 2/2/1942 | Love's old sweet song | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | DLA 2884 | 10-in. | 2/2/1942 | When the roses bloom again | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | L 3201 | 10-in. | 9/30/1943 | Say a little prayer for the boys over there | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | L 3682 | 10-in. | 12/7/1944 | Any moment now | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | L 3683 | 10-in. | 12/7/1944 | More and more | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | L 3689 | 12-in. | 12/9/1944 | Can't help singing | Deanna Durbin ; Robert Paige | vocalist | ||
| Decca | L 3697 | 12-in. | 12/13/1944 | Californ-I-ay | Deanna Durbin ; Robert Paige | vocalist | ||
| Decca | L 3708 | 10-in. | 12/15/1944 | Always | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | L 3709 | 10-in. | 12/15/1944 | Spring will be a little late this year | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | ||
| Decca | L 4472 | 6/22/1947 | Something in the wind | Deanna Durbin | vocalist | |||
| Decca | L 4473 | 6/22/1947 | The turntable song | Deanna Durbin | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Durbin, Deanna," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/313255.
Durbin, Deanna. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/313255.
"Durbin, Deanna." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Deanna Durbin
Discogs: Deanna Durbin
Allmusic: Deanna Durbin
Grove: Deanna Durbin
IMDb: Deanna Durbin
Britannica: Deanna Durbin
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Durbin, Deanna - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no90008351
Wikidata: Deanna Durbin - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q236987
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/162638542
MusicBrainz: Deanna Durbin - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/10b545d0-d861-488a-bf41-0f502dfcaa0f
ISNI: 0000 0001 1494 5206 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000114945206
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/268450 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/268450
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