Vivian Dandridge
*Vivian Dandridge was born on this date in 1921. She was a Black singer, actress, and dancer.
Vivian Alferetta Dandridge was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Cyril Dandridge. She was the older sister of actress and singer Dorothy Dandridge and the daughter of actress Ruby Dandridge. Her parents separated shortly before the birth of her sister Dorothy.
Initially, her mother put her two girls to work performing acrobatics, songs, and skits. She billed them as the "Wonder Children". Realizing the potential success of her girls (and acknowledging that her chance of stardom in the entertainment industry was at best limited), Ruby and her girlfriend Geneva Williams decided to have her daughters embark on a tour of the United States. Under Neva's tutelage, the Wonder Children earned $400–$500 per appearance during the late 1920s, touring through Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and other states.
Neva accompanied the girls on piano, acted as their manager, and was a particularly aggressive disciplinarian. Both Dorothy and Vivian suffered from her frequent and severe angry outbursts. Dorothy and Vivian did not attend regular school until the 8th grade; instead, they relied on tutors as the family's primary breadwinners. After the stock market crash in 1929, the Wonder Children were unemployed.
She moved the family to Los Angeles. After immersing herself into the professional community of Black Hollywood, Ruby found limited opportunities for herself or her girls. After Clarence Muse, a working Black actor in Hollywood (who befriended the family), told Ruby that her daughters were unlikely to meet with success in California, she enrolled them in a dancing school run by Laurette Butler. Vivian was one of the Dandridge Sisters musical group with Etta Jones and sister Dorothy from 1934 until 1940.
In 1955, Dandridge replaced Thelma Carpenter in the Broadway play Ankles Aweigh, but after this engagement, she largely disappeared from show business. Dandridge attended the Academy Awards in 1955 with her sister when she was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Carmen Jones. By 1956, friends and family members were concerned for Dandridge's welfare as she moved away and went into seclusion. Her sister hired a private detective and discovered she was in southern France, trying to find work, and residing in New York City.
At this point, Dorothy and Vivian did not remain in contact, though Dorothy sometimes provided financial assistance to Vivian and her son, Michael Wallace. Other than the occasional telegram, Dorothy and Vivian remained estranged. Upon Dorothy's death in 1965, she did not attend the funeral, and she disappeared from the public. In 1968, Vivian signed a recording contract and released a jazz LP, The Look of Love, that same year. The album was not successful. She never really achieved the same notable success as her younger sister.
She lived the last eight years in Seattle as Marina Rozell, in a small apartment in the Ross Manor complex overlooking Elliott Bay in the Pike Place Market. Vivian Dandridge died after suffering a stroke on October 26, 1991, at age 70.
