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Deanna Durbin

Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With the technical skill and vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano, she performed many styles from popular standards to operatic arias.

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 Studios. She achieved success as the ideal teenaged daughter in films such as Three Smart Girls (1936), One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937), and It Started with Eve (1941). 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; she continued in musical roles until her retirement. 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), Died April 17, 2013 (Paris)

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  
(Results 26-50 of 63 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Durbin, Deanna," accessed April 26, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/313255.

Durbin, Deanna. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/313255.

"Durbin, Deanna." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 26 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/313255

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