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Jeanette MacDonald

January 01, 1970

For the attorney and author of 'Project Girl', see Janet McDonald.
Not to be confused with Jane McDonald.

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.

Jeanette MacDonald
MacDonald in 1934
Born
Jeannette Anna McDonald[1]

(1903-06-18)June 18, 1903
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJanuary 14, 1965(1965-01-14) (aged 61)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Other namesJeanette MacDonald
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • radio host
  • philanthropist
Years active1909–1959
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1937)​
PartnerNelson Eddy (1935–65, her death)
RelativesBlossom Rock (sister)
Awards
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)Vocals (soprano)
Labels

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]

Acting career edit

Broadway edit

 
MacDonald backstage in a costume for the Broadway show Sunny Days (1928)

In November 1919, MacDonald joined her older sister Blossom in New York. She took singing lessons with Wassili Leps[11] and landed a job in the chorus of Ned Wayburn's The Demi-Tasse Revue, a musical entertainment presented between films at the Capitol Theatre on Broadway. In 1920, she appeared in two musicals: Jerome Kern's Night Boat as a chorus replacement, and Irene on the road as the second female lead; future film star Irene Dunne played the title role during part of the tour,[12] and Helen Shipman played the title role during the other part of the tour. In 1921, MacDonald played in Tangerine as one of the "Six Wives."[13] In 1922, she was a featured singer in the Greenwich Village revue Fantastic Fricassee,[14] for which good press notices brought her a role in The Magic Ring the next year.[15] MacDonald played the second female lead in this long-running musical which starred Mitzi Hajos.[15] In 1925, MacDonald again had the second female lead opposite Queenie Smith in Tip Toes, a George Gershwin hit show.[16]

The following year, 1926, found MacDonald still in a second female lead in Bubblin' Over, a musical version of Brewster's Millions.[17] She finally landed a starring role in Yes, Yes, Yvette in 1927.[18] Planned as a sequel to producer H.H. Frazee's No, No, Nanette, the show toured extensively, but failed to please the critics when it arrived on Broadway. MacDonald also played the lead in her next two plays: Sunny Days[19] in 1928 in her first show for the producers Lee and J.J. Shubert, for which she received rave reviews; and Angela (1928),[20] which the critics panned. Her last play was Boom Boom in 1929, with her name above the title; the cast included young Archie Leach, who would later become Cary Grant.[21]

While MacDonald was appearing in Angela,[20] film star Richard Dix spotted her and had her screen-tested for his film Nothing but the Truth.[22] The Shuberts, however, would not let her out of her contract to appear in the film, which starred Dix and Helen Kane (the "Boop-boop-a-doop girl").[22] In 1929, famed film director Ernst Lubitsch was looking through old screen tests of Broadway performers and spotted MacDonald.[23] He cast her as the leading lady in The Love Parade, his first sound film, which starred Maurice Chevalier.

Film career edit

Paramount, controversial move to Fox Film Corporation edit

In the first rush of sound films during 1929 and 1930, MacDonald starred in six films—the first four for Paramount Studios. Her first, The Love Parade (1929), directed by Ernst Lubitsch and co-starring Maurice Chevalier, was a landmark of early sound films, and received a Best Picture nomination.[24] MacDonald's first recordings for RCA Victor were two hits from the score: "Dream Lover" and "March of the Grenadiers."[25] The Vagabond King (1930) was a lavish two-strip Technicolor film version of Rudolf Friml's hit 1925 operetta.[26] Broadway star Dennis King reprised his role as 15th-century French poet François Villon, and MacDonald was Princess Katherine.[27] She sang "Some Day" and "Only a Rose." The UCLA Film and Television Archive owns the only known color print of this production.[26]

1930 was an extremely busy year for Paramount and MacDonald. Paramount on Parade was an all-star revue, similar to other mammoth sound revues produced by major studios to introduce their formerly silent stars to the public. MacDonald's footage singing a duet of "Come Back to Sorrento" with Nino Martini was cut from the release print due to copyright reasons with Universal Studios, which had recently acquired the copyright to the song for an upcoming movie, King of Jazz.[28] Let's Go Native was a desert-island comedy directed by Leo McCarey,[29] co-starring the likes of Jack Oakie and Kay Francis.[30] Monte Carlo became another highly regarded Lubitsch classic, with British musical star Jack Buchanan as a count who disguises himself as a hairdresser in order to woo a scatterbrained countess (MacDonald). MacDonald introduced "Beyond the Blue Horizon," which she recorded three times during her career, including performing it for the Hollywood Victory Committee film Follow the Boys.[31]

 
MacDonald with Maurice Chevalier in a promotional still for The Merry Widow (1934)

In hopes of producing her own films, MacDonald went to United Artists to make The Lottery Bride in 1930. Despite music by Rudolf Friml, the film was not successful.[32] MacDonald next signed a three-picture deal with the Fox Film Corporation, a controversial move in Hollywood; every other studio was far superior in the eyes of many, from their budgets to the fantastical entertainment of their films.[33] Oh, for a Man! (1930) was more successful; MacDonald portrayed a temperamental opera singer who sings Wagner's "Liebestod"[34] and falls for an Irish burglar played by Reginald Denny. In 1931, Don't Bet on Women was a non-musical drawing-room comedy in which a playboy (Edmund Lowe) bets his happily married friend (Roland Young) that he can seduce his friend's wife (MacDonald). Annabelle's Affairs (1931) was a farce, with MacDonald as a sophisticated New York playgirl who does not recognize her own miner husband, played by Victor McLaglen, when he turns up five years later. Although highly praised by reviewers at the time,[35] only one reel of this film survives.[34]

MacDonald took a break from Hollywood in 1931 to embark on a European concert tour, performing at the Empire Theater in Paris[36] (Mistinguett and Morris Gest were said to have been in the crowd)[36] and at London's Dominion Theatre,[37] and was invited to dinner parties with British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and French newspaper critics. She returned to Paramount the following year for two films with Chevalier. One Hour with You in 1932 was directed by both George Cukor and Ernst Lubitsch, and simultaneously filmed in French with the same stars, but a French supporting cast.[38] Currently, no surviving print of Une Heure près de toi (One Hour With You) is known. Rouben Mamoulian directed Love Me Tonight (1932), considered by many film critics and writers to be the perfect film musical.[39] Starring Chevalier as a humble tailor in love with a princess played by MacDonald, much of the story is told in sung dialogue. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart[40] wrote the original score, which included the standards "Mimi," "Lover," and "Isn't It Romantic?"[40]

MGM, Nelson Eddy partnership edit

 
From the trailer for The Merry Widow (1934)

In 1933, MacDonald left again for Europe, and while there signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Her first MGM film was The Cat and the Fiddle (1934), based on the Jerome Kern Broadway hit. Her co-star was Ramón Novarro. The plot about unmarried lovers shacking up just barely slipped through the new Production Code guidelines that took effect July 1, 1934.[41] Despite a Technicolor finale—the first use of the new three-color Technicolor process other than Disney cartoons—the film was not a huge success. It lost $142,000.[41] In The Merry Widow (1934), director Ernst Lubitsch reunited Maurice Chevalier and MacDonald in a lavish version of the classic 1905 Franz Lehár operetta. The film was highly regarded by critics and operetta lovers in major U.S. cities and Europe, but failed to generate much income outside urban areas, losing $113,000.[42] It had a huge budget of $1.6 million,[42] partially because it was filmed simultaneously in French as La Veuve Joyeuse, with a French supporting cast and some minor plot changes.[43]

Naughty Marietta (1935), directed by W. S. Van Dyke, was MacDonald's first film in which she teamed with newcomer baritone Nelson Eddy. Victor Herbert's 1910 score, with songs like "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life," "I'm Falling in Love with Someone," "'Neath the Southern Moon," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," and "Italian Street Song," enjoyed renewed popularity.[44] The film won an Oscar for sound recording, and received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.[44] It was voted one of the Ten Best Pictures of 1935 by the New York film critics, was awarded the Photoplay Gold Medal Award as Best Picture of 1935 (beating out Mutiny on the Bounty, which won the Oscar),[45] and in 2004 was selected to the National Film Registry. MacDonald earned gold records for "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life" and "Italian Street Song."[2] The following year, MacDonald starred in two of the highest-grossing films of that year. In Rose-Marie, MacDonald played a haughty opera diva who learns her young brother (pre-fame James Stewart) has killed a Mountie and is hiding in the northern woods; Eddy is the Mountie sent to capture him. Nelson Eddy and she sang Rudolf Friml's "Indian Love Call" to each other in the Canadian wilderness (actually filmed at Lake Tahoe). Eddy's definitive portrayal of the steadfast Mountie became a popular icon.[46] When the Canadian Mounties temporarily retired their distinctive hat in 1970, photos of Eddy in his Rose Marie uniform appeared in thousands of U.S. newspapers. San Francisco (1936) was also directed by W.S. Van Dyke.[47] In this tale of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, MacDonald played a hopeful opera singer opposite Clark Gable as the extra-virile proprietor of a Barbary Coast gambling joint, and Spencer Tracy as his boyhood chum who has become a priest and gives the moral messages.

 
MacDonald and Allan Jones behind the scenes of The Firefly (1937)

In the summer of 1936, filming began on Maytime, co-starring Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, and Paul Lukas, produced by Irving Thalberg. After Thalberg's untimely death in September, production was shut down and the half-finished film scrapped.[48] A new script was filmed with a different storyline and supporting actors (including John Barrymore,[49] whose relationship with MacDonald was strained due to his alcoholism). The 'second' Maytime (1937), was the top-grossing film worldwide of the year, and is regarded as one of the best film musicals of the 1930s.[50] "Will You Remember" by Sigmund Romberg brought MacDonald another gold record.[2]

The Firefly (1937) was MacDonald's first solo-starring film at MGM with her name alone above the title. Rudolf Friml's 1912 stage score was borrowed, and a new song, "The Donkey Serenade," added, adapted from Friml's "Chanson" piano piece.[51] With real-life Americans rushing to fight in the ongoing revolution in Spain, this historical vehicle was constructed around a previous revolution in Napoleonic times.[52] MacDonald's co-star was tenor Allan Jones, who she demanded get the same treatment as she would, such as an equal number of close-ups.[53] The MacDonald/Eddy team had split after MacDonald's engagement and marriage to Gene Raymond, but neither of their solo films grossed as much as the team films, and an unimpressed Mayer used this to point out why Jones could not replace Eddy in the next project.[54] The Girl of the Golden West (1938) was the result, but the two stars had little screen time together, and the main song, "Obey Your Heart," was never sung as a duet.[55] The film featured an original score[56] by Sigmund Romberg,[57] and reused the popular David Belasco stage plot[54] (also employed by opera composer Giacomo Puccini for La fanciulla del West).[56]

 
Eddy and MacDonald from the trailer for Sweethearts (1938)

Mayer had promised MacDonald the studio's first Technicolor feature, and he delivered with Sweethearts (1938), co-starring Eddy. In contrast to the previous film, the co-stars were relaxed onscreen and singing frequently together. The film integrated Victor Herbert's 1913 stage score into a modern backstage story scripted by Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell.[58] MacDonald and Eddy played a husband-and-wife Broadway musical-comedy team who are offered a Hollywood contract. Sweethearts won the Photoplay Gold Medal Award as Best Picture of the Year.[59] Mayer dropped plans for the team to co-star in Let Freedom Ring, a vehicle first announced for them in 1935. Only Eddy starred, whereas MacDonald and Lew Ayres co-starred in Broadway Serenade (1939) as a contemporary musical couple who clash when her career flourishes while his founders. MacDonald's performance was subdued, and choreographer Busby Berkeley, just hired away from Warner Bros., was called upon to add an over-the-top finale in an effort to improve the film.[60] Broadway Serenade did not entice audiences in a lot of major cities,[61] with Variety claiming that New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles' cinema attendances were "sad," "slow,"and "sour."[61]

Following Broadway Serenade, and not coincidentally right after Nelson Eddy's surprise elopement with Ann Franklin, MacDonald left Hollywood on a concert tour and refused to renew her MGM contract. Months later she summoned her manager Bob Ritchie from London to help her renegotiate. After initially insisting that she wanted to film Smilin' Through with James Stewart[62] and Robert Taylor,[63] MacDonald finally relented and agreed to film New Moon (1940) with Eddy, which proved to be one of MacDonald's more popular films.[64] Composer Sigmund Romberg's 1927 Broadway hit provided the plot and the songs: "Lover, Come Back to Me," "One Kiss," and "Wanting You," plus Eddy's version of "Stout Hearted Men." This was followed by Bitter Sweet (1940), a Technicolor film version of Noël Coward's 1929 stage operetta, which Coward loathed, writing in his diary about how "vulgar" he found it.[65] Smilin' Through (1941) was MacDonald's next Technicolor project, the third adaptation filmed in Hollywood,[62] with Brian Aherne and Gene Raymond. Its theme of reunion with deceased loved ones was enormously popular after the devastation of World War I, and MGM reasoned that it should resonate with audiences during World War II, but it failed to make a profit.[66] MacDonald played a dual role—Moonyean, a Victorian girl accidentally murdered by a jealous lover, and Kathleen, her niece, who falls in love with the son of the murderer.[67]

I Married an Angel (1942), was adapted from the Rodgers & Hart stage musical about an angel who loses her wings on her wedding night. The script by Anita Loos suffered serious censorship cuts during filming that made the result less successful.[68] MacDonald sang "Spring Is Here" and the title song. It was the final film made by the team of MacDonald and Eddy. After a falling-out with Mayer, Eddy bought out his MGM contract (with one film left to make) and went to Universal, where he signed a million-dollar, two-picture deal.[69] MacDonald remained for one last film, Cairo (1942), a cheaply budgeted spy comedy co-starring Robert Young as a reporter and Ethel Waters as a maid, whom MacDonald personally requested.[70] Within one year, beginning in 1942, L.B. Mayer released his four highest-paid actresses from their MGM contracts; Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and Jeanette MacDonald. Of those four stars, MacDonald was the only one whom Mayer would rehire.[69]

Final roles edit

 
From the trailer for The Sun Comes Up (1949)

After opening the Metropolitan Opera's membership campaign,[71] MacDonald appeared as herself in Follow the Boys (1944), an all-star extravaganza about Hollywood stars entertaining the troops. The more than 40 guest stars included Marlene Dietrich, W.C. Fields, Sophie Tucker, and Orson Welles.[72] MacDonald is shown during a concert singing "Beyond the Blue Horizon," and in a studio-filmed sequence singing "I'll See You in My Dreams" to a blinded soldier.[31] She returned to MGM after five years off the screen for two films. Three Daring Daughters (1948) co-starred José Iturbi as her love interest.[72] MacDonald plays a divorcée whose lively daughters (Jane Powell, Ann E. Todd, and Elinor Donahue) keep trying to get her back with her ex, but she has secretly remarried. The song "The Dickey Bird" made the hit parade. The Sun Comes Up (1949) teamed MacDonald with Lassie in an adaptation of a short story by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. MacDonald played a widow who has lost her son, but warms to orphan Claude Jarman Jr.[73] It would prove to be her final film.

She frequently attempted a comeback movie, even financing and paying a screenwriter. One of the possible film reunions with Nelson Eddy was to be made in England, but Eddy pulled out when he learned MacDonald was investing her own funds. Eddy preferred to publicly blame the proposed project as mediocre, when in fact MacDonald was uninsurable due to her heart condition. A reunion with Maurice Chevalier was also considered.[74] Other thwarted projects with Eddy were The Rosary,[75] The Desert Song, and a remake of The Vagabond King, plus two movie treatments written by Eddy for them, Timothy Waits for Love and All Stars Don't Spangle. Offers continued to come in, and in 1962, producer Ross Hunter proposed MacDonald in his 1963 comedy The Thrill of It All, but she declined.[76] 20th Century Fox also toyed with the idea of MacDonald (Irene Dunne was briefly considered) for the part of Mother Abbess in the film version of The Sound of Music.[76] It never moved beyond the discussion stages partly because of MacDonald's failing health.

An annual poll of film exhibitors listed MacDonald as one of the top-10 box-office draws of 1936,[77] and many of her films were among the top-20 moneymakers of the years they were released.[citation needed] In addition, MacDonald was one of the top-10 box-office attractions in Great Britain from 1937 to 1942.[78] During her 39-year career, MacDonald earned two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (for films and recordings) and planted her feet in the wet concrete in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater.[79]

Musical theatre edit

In the mid-1950s, MacDonald toured in summer-stock productions of Bitter Sweet and The King and I.[80] She opened in Bitter Sweet at the Iroquois Amphitheater, Louisville, Kentucky, on July 19, 1954.[81] Her production of The King and I opened August 20, 1956, at the Starlight Theatre.[81] While performing there, she collapsed.[82] Officially, it was announced as heat prostration, but in fact it was a heart seizure.[82] She began limiting her appearances, and a reprisal of Bitter Sweet in 1959 was her last professional stage appearance.[81]

MacDonald and her husband Gene Raymond toured in Ferenc Molnár's The Guardsman. The production opened at the Erlanger Theater in Buffalo, New York, on January 25, 1951, and played in 23 Northeastern and Midwestern cities until June 2, 1951.[83] Despite less-than-enthusiastic comments from critics, the show played to full houses for virtually every performance. The leading role of "The Actress" was changed to "The Singer" to allow MacDonald to add some songs. While this pleased her fans, the show closed before reaching Broadway.

In the 1950s, talks with respect to a Broadway return occurred. In the 1960s, MacDonald was approached about starring on Broadway in a musical version of Sunset Boulevard.[76] Harold Prince recounts in his autobiography visiting MacDonald at her home in Bel Air to discuss the proposed project.[76] Composer Hugh Martin also wrote a song for the musical, entitled "Wasn't It Romantic?"[76]

MacDonald also made a few nightclub appearances.[84] She sang and danced at The Sands and The Sahara in Las Vegas in 1953, The Coconut Grove in Los Angeles in 1954, and again at The Sahara in 1957, but she never felt entirely comfortable in their smoky atmospheres.[84]

Music career edit

 
MacDonald dressed in an American Women's Voluntary Services uniform (c. 1942)

Concert tours, World War II charity work edit

Starting in 1931 and continuing through the 1950s, MacDonald engaged in regular concert tours between films. Her first European tour was in 1931, where she sang in both France and England.[85] Her first American concert tour was in 1939, immediately after the completion of Broadway Serenade. MacDonald performed at the Mayo Civic Auditorium in Rochester, Minnesota[86] on April 19, 1939, to open that venue before an audience. She sang several times at the Hollywood Bowl[87] and Carnegie Hall.[88] When America joined World War II in 1941, MacDonald co-founded the Army Emergency Relief and raised funds on concert tours.[89] When she was home in Hollywood, she held an open house at her home on Sunday afternoons for GIs.[90] On one occasion, at the request of Lt. Ronald Reagan, she was singing for a large group of men in San Francisco who were due to ship out to the fierce fighting in the South Pacific. She closed with "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and 20,000 voices spontaneously joined in.[91] She auctioned off encores for donations and raised almost $100,000 for the troops[92] (over $1.5 million, adjusted for inflation).[90] President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who considered MacDonald and Eddy two of his favorite film stars, awarded her a medal. She also did command performances at the White House for President Dwight D. Eisenhower.[93]

Opera edit

 
MacDonald rehearsing with Armand Tokatyan for Roméo et Juliette in Montreal, 1943

Unlike Nelson Eddy, who came from opera to film, MacDonald in the 1940s yearned to reinvent herself in opera. She began training for this goal with Lotte Lehmann, one of the leading opera stars of the early 20th century. "When Jeanette MacDonald approached me for coaching lessons," wrote Lehmann, "I was really curious how a glamorous movie star, certainly spoiled by the adoration of a limitless world, would be able to devote herself to another, a higher level of art. I had the surprise of my life. There couldn't have been a more diligent, a more serious, a more pliable person than Jeanette. The lessons which I had started with a kind of suspicious curiosity turned out to be sheer delight for me. She studied Marguerite with me—and lieder. These were the ones which astounded me most. I am quite sure that Jeanette would have developed into a serious and successful lieder singer if time would have allowed it."[94]

MacDonald made her opera debut singing Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette in Montreal at His Majesty's Theatre (May 8, 1943).[95] She quickly repeated the role in Quebec City (May 12),[96] Ottawa (May 15 and 17),[96] Toronto (May 20 and 22),[96] and Windsor (May 24).[96] Her U.S. debut with the Chicago Opera Company (November 4, 11 and 15, 1944) was in the same role.[97] She also sang Marguerite in Gounod's Faust with the Chicago Opera. In the summer of 1945, she appeared with the Cincinnati Opera as Juliette in two performances of Roméo et Juliette (July 10 and 25) and one as Marguerite in Faust (July 15). That November, she did two more performances of Roméo et Juliette and one of Faust in Chicago.[83] On December 12, 1951, she did one performance of Faust with the Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company at the Academy of Music.

Claudia Cassidy, the music critic of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "Her Juliet is breathtakingly beautiful to the eye and dulcet to the ear."[98] The same critic reviewed Faust: "From where I sit at the opera, Jeanette MacDonald has turned out to be one of the welcome surprises of the season ... her Marguerite was better than her Juliet ... beautifully sung with purity of line and tone, a good trill, and a Gallic inflection that understood Gounod's phrasing ... You felt if Faust must sell his soul to the devil, at least this time he got his money's worth."[99]

Radio and television edit

 
A promotional photo of MacDonald for Vicks Open House (1937)

MacDonald's extensive radio career may have begun on a 1929 radio broadcast of the Publix Hour. She was on the Academy Awards ceremony broadcast in 1931. She hosted her own radio show, Vicks Open House,[100] from September 1937 to March 1938, for which she received $5,000 a week. However, the time demands of doing a weekly live radio show while filming, touring in concerts, and making records proved enormously difficult, and after fainting on-air during one show, she decided not to renew her radio contract with Vicks at the end of the 26-week season. Thereafter, she stuck to guest appearances.

MacDonald appeared in condensed radio versions of many of her films on programs such as Cecil B. DeMille's Lux Radio Theater, often with Nelson Eddy, and the Railroad Hour, which starred Gordon MacRae. These included The Merry Widow, Naughty Marietta, Rose Marie, Maytime,[101] Sweethearts, Bitter Sweet, Smilin' Through, and The Sun Comes Up, plus other operettas and musicals such as Victor Herbert's Mlle Modiste, Irene,[102] The Student Prince, Tonight or Never with Melvyn Douglas, A Song for Clotilda, The Gift of the Magi, and Apple Blossoms. Other radio shows included The Prudential Family Hour, Screen Guild Playhouse, and The Voice of Firestone, which featured the top opera and concert singers of the time. In 1953, MacDonald sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, broadcast on both radio and TV.

MacDonald sang frequently with Nelson Eddy during the mid-1940s on several Lux Radio Theater and The Screen Guild Theater productions of their films together. She also appeared as his guest several times on his various radio shows such as The Electric Hour and The Kraft Music Hall. He was also a surprise guest when she hosted a war-bonds program called Guest Star, and they sang on other World War II victory shows together. The majority of her radio work in the mid to late 1940s was with Eddy. Her 1948 Hollywood Bowl concert was also broadcast over the air, in which she used Eddy's longtime accompanist, Theodore Paxson.

MacDonald appeared on early TV, most frequently as a singing guest star. She sang on The Voice of Firestone on November 13, 1950.[103] On November 12, 1952, she was the subject of Ralph Edwards' This Is Your Life.[104] Her surprise guests included her sisters, a sailor she danced with at the Hollywood Canteen, her former English teacher, her husband and the clergyman who married them, and Nelson Eddy appeared as a voice from her past, singing the song he sang at her wedding; his surprise appearance brought her to tears. Shortly thereafter, she appeared as the mystery guest on the December 21, 1952, episode of What's My Line?[103] After the panelists guessed her identity, she told John Daly she was in New York for the holidays and would have a recital at Carnegie Hall on January 16. On February 2, 1956, MacDonald starred in Prima Donna,[105] a television pilot for her own series, written for her by her husband Gene Raymond. The initial show featured guest stars Leo Durocher and Larraine Day, but it failed to find a slot. In December 1956, MacDonald and Eddy made their first TV appearance as a team on the Lux Video Theatre Holiday Special. In 1957, Eddy and she appeared on Patti Page's program The Big Record, singing several songs.[3] On Playhouse 90 (March 28, 1957), MacDonald played Charley's real aunt to Art Carney's impersonation in "Charley's Aunt."[105]

Personal life edit

 
MacDonald (right) with her sisters Blossom Rock (middle) and Elsie (left) (c. 1920s)

When MacDonald was born, her father quickly doted on her.[106] Although he had hoped for a son who would pursue "an American dream" life that he believed he had failed to live himself, he advised his three daughters to do this instead.[106] MacDonald was the only daughter in the family that had inherited both her father's red hair and blue-green eyes,[7] although she often admired her sisters' beauty, such as Blossom's dimples[107] and her elder sister Elsie's (1893[106]—1970[108]) blonde hair and blue eyes.[109] Elsie could play the piano, and taught toddler MacDonald a variety of popular waltzes and Stephen Foster's compositions.[110] At this time, MacDonald discovered that she was an extrovert who enjoyed socializing with friends and performing for others, admitting that "[I] needed people to watch and applaud me as much as I needed food and drink."[111] At the end of her first performance in the local church as a child, "I paused ever so slightly and then, when I realized they needed prodding, I promptly began clapping my hands and said to the congregation, 'Now everybody's got to clap!'"[110]

MacDonald cited the number thirteen as her lucky number.[112] Her characters always had a name beginning with M, the first letter of her surname and the 13th letter of the English alphabet, a ritual upon which she had insisted.[112] Interestingly, thirteen became a recurring number throughout her life, such as the thirteen-year gap between her overseas tours in Europe;[113] principal photography for The Merry Widow had taken thirteen weeks to film;[112] her first movie, The Love Parade, was the number-one box-office draw for 13 weeks;[114] MacDonald performed opera for the first time for a screen test thirteen years after meeting Newell (who was also on set);[115] the thirteen-year gap between her and sister Blossom's death;[108] and husband Gene Raymond's birthday was August 13.[116]

 
MacDonald (right), with Harriet Kriesler, Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson at the Stork Club in 1944

On sets, MacDonald would never lip-sync, instead singing along to song playbacks during filming, which Lew Ayres discovered when he starred alongside her in Broadway Serenade, whereupon he was supplied with earplugs after the volume nauseated him.[117]

 
MacDonald playing with three of her dogs in the Twin Gables garden. Despite being allergic to dogs, MacDonald has been quoted saying, "A MacDonald home without dogs is like ham without eggs." (c. mid-to-late 1930s)[118]

A recurrent issue throughout MacDonald's career was her health. Her handwritten letter from August, 1929 indicates that MacDonald, age 26, had recently suffered a heart attack.[119] She also suffered from stage fright throughout her life to the point that her therapist told her to imagine that all of the members of the audience were lettuce.[86] Due to her heart condition, she could not carry a pregnancy to term; she had blackouts and fainting spells, became stressed to the point of not being able to eat, and was frequently in and out of hospitals and trying different treatments (one being massage therapy),[120] which only worked for a limited time. A few years before her death, MacDonald became a Religious Scientist.[121] Her illnesses would not allow her to perform early morning filming shoots, much to her colleagues' annoyance.[122]

MacDonald was a Republican, but she mostly avoided commenting on politics. When approached by the House Un-American Activities Committee about whether she had heard any gossip about Communist activity in Hollywood, she replied, "As at any focal point, there are some belligerents, but they are no more numerous than in any other community."[123] Neither she nor Gene Raymond were ever considered or subpoenaed for a HUAC hearing;[124] in a radio interview, MacDonald was quoted as saying, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" in response to what her opinion was on the investigations.[124] She fired her manager Charles Wagner for anti-Semitic abuse of her Jewish friend Constance Hope,[125] and declared during the 1940 presidential election, "I sing for Democrats and Republicans, black and white, everyone, and I just can't talk politics."[126]

Relationships edit

MacDonald met Jack Ohmeis (1901-1967)[127] at a party during her appearance in Tangerine.[128] He was an architecture student at New York University and the son of a successful bottle manufacturer.[128] His family was hesitant about the relationship, assuming that MacDonald was a gold-digger, but accepted her after they met.[129] She and Ohmeis became engaged a year later,[130] but their future plans and aspirations forced them to go their separate ways;[130] the sudden death of MacDonald's father was another factor in the break-up.[131] Unfortunately, the Ohmeis family would lose a lot of their fortune after the Wall Street Crash, so MacDonald loaned money to Jack, and he repaid her as soon as he could, which was as late as the 1950s.[129] MacDonald next dated Irving Stone (1901-1968)[132] from around 1926–28; they met when she was touring in Chicago in The Magic Ring.[132] Stone, who lived in Milwaukee, was the nephew of the founder of the Wisconsin Boston Store, and worked in the family business. Few details were known of Stone's romance with MacDonald until the discovery of hundreds of pages of handwritten love letters she wrote to him that were found in his apartment after his death, which happened three years after her death.[119]

MacDonald eventually dated a Wall Street rep named Robert Ritchie (died 1972[108]), 12 years her senior,[133] who claimed that he was the son of a fallen millionaire.[134] They traveled with MacDonald's family to Hollywood, and he became a press agent for MGM. Rumors circulated that they were engaged and/or secretly married,[135] since Ritchie was by MacDonald's side during her European tour and they lived together[136]—MacDonald even signing her return address as "JAR" (Jeanette Anna Ritchie)[135] and referring to him as her "darling husband."[135] Despite Ritchie's family claiming that he was married to MacDonald but the marriage had been annulled in 1935,[135] he never confirmed the claims.[135] He later relocated to Europe as an MGM representative, becoming responsible for recruiting Greer Garson, Hedy Lamarr, and Luise Rainer.[137]

 
MacDonald with husband Gene Raymond in the late 1950s

MacDonald married Gene Raymond in 1937.[138] She met him at a Hollywood party two years earlier at Roszika Dolly's home;[139] MacDonald agreed to a date, as long as it was at her family's dinner table.[139] Despite the strong relationship, Raymond's mother did not like MacDonald, attempting to snub her a few times (such as arranging her son with Janet Gaynor as a plus-one at a charity ball),[140] and did not attend the wedding.[138] The Raymonds lived in a 21-room Mock Tudor mansion named Twin Gables with their pet dogs and their horse White Lady, which Raymond gave to MacDonald as a birthday present;[141] after MacDonald's death, it was briefly owned by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and Papas.[142] MacDonald often worried about her husband's self-esteem; his acting career was constantly shaky, and RKO Pictures eventually sold out his contract when he had two movies left to make with them in the 1950s.[143] Although she appreciated his support, MacDonald wished that their success was equal.[144]

Raymond was sometimes mistaken for Nelson Eddy by MacDonald's fans and passersby, which MacDonald later admitted that she never liked: "Of course we always laughed it off—sometimes Gene even obliged by signing Nelson's name—but no one will ever know the agonies I suffered on such occasions. More than anything else in the world those days, I wanted to see him receive as much acclaim as I, to spare him these humiliations."[144] When she reunited with Chevalier in 1957, he asked her why she had retired from films, to which she replied, "Because for exactly twenty years I've played my best role, by his [Raymond's] side. And I'm perfectly happy."[3]

Death edit

 
MacDonald's crypt, marked as "Jeanette MacDonald Raymond" in her handwriting. The birth year is incorrect because studios had made her appear younger. When Raymond died in 1998, his remains were placed in the same crypt with hers, with his name added.

MacDonald died at the Houston Methodist Hospital from heart failure on January 14, 1965, with Raymond by her hospital bed.[145] Two years before, she had been assigned Dr. Michael DeBakey, who had recently operated successfully on the Duke of Windsor, in the hope that he could save her.[146] Despite the surgery, MacDonald became ill with pleurisy the week after, and was in Houston Methodist Hospital for over a month.[147] In December 1964, her condition worsened and she was rushed to UCLA Medical Center.[148] DeBakey suggested open-heart surgery, and Raymond brought MacDonald into the hospital January 12.[148] On the afternoon of the 14th, Raymond was at her bedside massaging her feet when she died. He said that their last conversation was when MacDonald said, "I love you," and he replied, "I love you too;" she then sighed deeply, and her head hit the pillow.[145]

The funeral took place on January 18.[149] Along with close family and widower Raymond, it was notably attended by a handful of MacDonald's costars (such as Eddy, Allan Jones, Chevalier, Joe E. Brown, Spencer Tracy, Lloyd Nolan, etc.), representatives of her fan club, former presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, Senator George Murphy, former vice-president Richard Nixon, future governor & president Ronald Reagan, and Mary Pickford; Dr. Gene Emmet Clark of the Church of Religious Science officiated.[149] Newsreel footage shows Nelson Eddy as the last person to exit the church, with Lauritz Melchior and other celebrities offering him condolences. MacDonald was interred in a pink-marbled crypt[150] at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, which reads "Jeanette MacDonald Raymond." Hers is next to Nat King Cole, and George Burns and Gracie Allen.[150]

Honors and commemorations edit

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, MacDonald has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6157 Hollywood Blvd. For her contribution to recording, MacDonald has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1628 Vine Street.[151]

MacDonald was crowned as the Queen of the Movies in 1939 with Tyrone Power as her king. The ceremony was filmed and presented by Ed Sullivan.[152]

MacDonald was awarded an honorary doctor of music degree from Ithaca College in 1956.[153]

MacDonald was named Philadelphia's Woman of the Year in 1961.[154] Of the award, she said, "It is strange how awards, decorations, doctorates, etc., can be conferred from various parts of the country, and even the world. And yet, the funny satisfaction of being recognized in one's home town seems to be a more gratifying recognition than all."[155]

Posthumous edit

Shortly after MacDonald's death, surviving classmates from her high school contributed a $150 donation in her name to the Children's Heart Hospital of Philadelphia.[156]

The USC Thornton School of Music built a Jeanette MacDonald Recital Hall in her honor.[157]

A bronze plaque for MacDonald was unveiled in March 1988 on the Philadelphia Music Alliance's Walk of Fame in Raymond's presence.[158]

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]

Relationship with Nelson Eddy edit

 
Nelson Eddy and MacDonald from the trailer for the film Sweethearts (1938)

Despite public denials from the stars themselves of any personal relationship between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, documentation shows otherwise. In a handwritten 1935 letter by Nelson to "Dearest Jeanette," written on his letterhead, Nelson Eddy writes: "I love you and will always be devoted to you."[164]

In the biography Sweethearts by Sharon Rich, the author presents MacDonald and Eddy as continuing an adulterous affair after their marriages. Rich, who was a close friend of MacDonald's older sister Blossom Rock, also knew Gene Raymond, and documents that the relationship lasted—with a few breaks—until MacDonald's death. Newsreel footage from MacDonald's funeral shows Eddy as the last person exiting the chapel, circled by other celebrities, such as Lauritz Melchior, who offer him condolences.[165]

MacDonald had a reported eight pregnancies by Eddy, the first while they were filming Rose Marie. This was before she had an intimate relationship with Gene Raymond. Raymond was physically unable to father children, and MacDonald alluded to this fact in her unfinished autobiography, writing that she returned from her Hawaii honeymoon with Raymond with the knowledge and accurate admittance that "The MacRaymonds had no children."[166] Nevertheless, MacDonald had additional, later, documented and visible pregnancies while married to Raymond, all of which ended in miscarriage.

 
Jeanette MacDonald visibly pregnant with Nelson Eddy from the trailer for the film Sweethearts (1938)

Rich's findings also included documentation that Raymond physically and emotionally abused MacDonald, and had affairs as early as their honeymoon when MacDonald allegedly discovered Raymond in bed with Buddy Rogers.[167] Raymond was arrested three times, the first in January 1938, as verified by a court document,[168] and also in England during his army service,[169] for his behavior.[170] Raymond's wedding to MacDonald, orchestrated by Louis B. Mayer, forced MacDonald to become Raymond's "beard," and the 1938 arrest resulted in Mayer blacklisting him in Hollywood for almost two years.

Biographer E. J. Fleming also alleged that Eddy had confronted Raymond for abusing MacDonald, who was visibly pregnant with Eddy's child[171] while filming Sweethearts, which ended with Eddy attacking him and leaving him for dead, though newspapers reported Raymond was recovering from a fall down the stairs.[172]

At that time Mayer adamantly refused to allow MacDonald to annul her marriage and elope. The situation ended with MacDonald losing her baby at nearly 6 months.[173] The boy was named Daniel Kendrick Eddy, and Nelson buried him (or his ashes) on private property in Ojai, California.[173]

Other co-stars and friends verified the MacDonald/Eddy relationship.[174][175][176]

Over the decades, MacDonald and Eddy privately occupied several homes together. In 1938, they had a small Burbank house located at 812 S. Mariposa Street in Burbank. In the 1940s, Nelson leased and remodeled for himself and MacDonald the old cowboy bunkhouse at 1330 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills. Starting in 1947, they used 710 N. Camden Drive, which had been the home of MacDonald's mother until her death. They also alternately stayed at favorite hotels and homes across the country owned by celebrity friends including Lily Pons and Irene Dunne. In 1963, MacDonald and Raymond moved into two adjoining apartments at the Wilshire Comstock in Westwood, on the 8th floor in the East building. Nelson Eddy had his own apartment on the 7th floor of the West building, and allowed MacDonald to decorate it; they used it as a rendezvous spot until she was too weak to walk the few yards over to his building. (After Eddy's death, his widow Ann learned of the apartment and moved into it.)[177]

Forbidden to marry early on by MGM studio boss Louis B. Mayer, MacDonald and Eddy performed a mock wedding ceremony at Lake Tahoe while filming Rose Marie. They considered that "by God's laws" they were married, although they were never able to do so legally. Every autumn, they returned to Lake Tahoe to renew their vows. As late as 1948, MacDonald's desk diary has a "Lake Tahoe" entry.[178] After their 1943 visit, Eddy wrote a lengthy diary entry about their trip and his love for her, calling her "my wife," which he did in private to the end of her life.[179]

Credits edit

Filmography edit

Main article: Jeanette MacDonald on screen and stage

Discography edit

Main article: Jeanette MacDonald discography
 
MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in the recording studio proofreading music sheets for Favorites in Stereo (c. 1956 – c. 1958)

MacDonald performed and recorded more than 50 songs during her career, working exclusively for RCA Victor in the United States. She also did some early recordings for HMV in England and France while she was there on a concert tour in 1931. She earned three gold records,[2] one for the LP album, Favorites in Stereo[3] that she did with Nelson Eddy in 1959.[180]

Concerts edit

Date Location Set list Notes Ref
August 10, 1943 Emil Blatz Temple of Music, Milwaukee "Le Roi de Thulé", "The Jewel Song", "The Waltz Song", "Les Filles de Cadiz", and "Badinage" Performed with the Music Under the Stars Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jerzy Bojanowski [97]
August 9, 1945 The Hollywood Bowl Performed with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski [97]
August 18, 1948 The Hollywood Bowl Performed with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy [97]
January 13, 1949 War Memorial Opera House Performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Monteux [97]
July 27, 1950 Robin Hood Dell Performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Golschmann [97]
July 19, 1951 Lewisohn Stadium Performed with the Stadium Concerts Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Smallens [97]
July 26, 1952 Robin Hood Dell Performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf [97]
July 2, 1954 Red Rocks Theater Performed with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Saul Caston [97]
July 16, 1957 Emil Blatz Temple of Music, Milwaukee Performed with the Music Under the Stars Orchestra, conducted by John Anello [97]

Tours edit

Title Location(s) Opening date Closing date Selected set list Notes Ref.
Jeanette MacDonald, en personne Empire Theatre, Paris (France) September 4, 1931 c. September 18, 1931[a] "Dream Lover" (Schertzinger/Grey), "Un Jour" (Friml), "Beyond the Blue Horizon" (Whiting/Harling/Robin), "Riveiens" (Fragson), "Marche des Grenadiers" (Schertzinger) [189]
Jeanette MacDonald, In Person Dominion Theatre, London (England) September 21, 1931 c. October 5, 1931[a] "Dream Lover" (Schertzinger/Grey), "Un Jour" ("Some Day"; Friml), "Beyond the Blue Horizon" (Whiting/Harling/Robin), "Riveiens" (Fragson), "Marche des Grenadiers" (Schertzinger) [189]
Jeanette MacDonald, dans une creation scenique (Rex Theatre) Paris, Lille, Lyons, Marseilles, Strasbourg, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Geneva, and Lausanne February 3, 1933 n/a "Aimez-moi ce soir", "Reviens", "Parlez-moi d'amour", "N'est-ce pas poétique?", "Le Chanson de Vilia", "J'aime d'amour", "Marche des Grenadiers"
  • This was a mixture of a concert and a stage play, which was entirely in French
  • Also featured The New Wayburn Rhythm Dancers, The Rex Appeal Girls, and The Mangan-Tillerex Dancers
 [189]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg and 20 other cities (USA) March 16, 1939 n/a "Lehn' Deine Wang an Meine Wang" (A. Jensen), "Ich Liebe Dich" (E. Grieg), "My Old Kentucky Home" (S. Foster), "Comin' Thro the Rye" (G. H. Clutsam), "The Jewel Song" (from Faust), "Sempre Libera" (G. Verdi), "J'ai pleuré en rêve" (G. Hüe), "From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water" (C. W. Cadman), "Daddy's Sweetheart" (L. Lehmann), and "When I Have Sung My Songs" (E. Charles) [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 30 cities (USA) Spring 1940 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 11 cities (USA) Fall 1940 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 13 cities (USA) Winter 1941 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 14 cities (USA) Fall 1942 " " For the Army Emergency Relief fund [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 7 cities (USA) Summer 1943 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 20 cities (USA) Fall 1943 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 14 cities (USA) Spring 1944 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 20 cities (USA) Fall 1944 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 17 cities (USA) Fall 1945 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital England, Scotland and Wales (7 cities) Summer 1946 " " It was roughly at this point when other songs were included in the concerts, such as "Oh, Charlie Is My Darling", "Beau Soir", "The Last Rose of Summer", "Down in the Glen", and "Ah! non credea mirarti" [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 18 cities (USA) Spring 1948 " " " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital (US Air Force Holiday Variety Show) 16 cities (Western Europe) Late 1949 Early 1950 " " "" [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 13 cities (USA) Spring 1950 " " " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 7 cities (USA) Fall 1950 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 14 cities (USA and Canada) Fall 1952 " " [96]
Jeanette MacDonald at The Sahara The Sahara Hotel, Las Vegas March 10, 1953 n/a[a] Supporting acts: Mickey Sharp (comic), Yvonne Moray (singer), and The Harem Dancers [83]
The First Lady of Song, Jeanette MacDonald Sands Hotel, Las Vegas October 28, 1953 n/a[b] "There's No Business Like Show Business", "Ouvre ton coueur", "Indian Love Call", "Giannina Mia", "Chansonette", "The Donkey Serenade", "Ebb Tide", and "Un bel di".
  • Supporting acts: The Nicholas Brothers, comic Eddie Garson, and The Girls of the Sands
  • MacDonald also danced with Bill Alcorn and Jack Mattis
 [83]
The First Lady of Song, Jeanette MacDonald Cocoanut Grove, Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles) January 20, 1954 n/a[a] "There's No Business Like Show Business", "Ouvre ton coueur", "Indian Love Call", "April in Paris"/"I Love Paris"/C'est Magnifique" (medley), "Chansonette", "The Donkey Serenade", "Ebb Tide", and "Un bel di". " " [81]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b c d Two weeks later
  2. ^ Three weeks later

Citations edit

  1. ^ Sweethearts, 2001, p. 486 photograph of baptismal record.
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  6. ^ Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 7.
  7. ^ a b Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 5.
  8. ^ Montiel, Pierre. "The Iron Butterfly :: Early Years". Legendary Jeanette MacDonald. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  9. ^ Skeel, Sharon. Catherine Littlefield: A Life in Dance, Oxford University Press, 2020.
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  21. ^ Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 62-3.
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  50. ^ Mosher, John (March 27, 1937). "Maytime". The New Yorker. New York, NY. p. 70. Altogether, it's possible that this is one of the best and most competently handled operettas that Hollywood has turned out
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  90. ^ a b "Biography [Jeanette MacDonald] - Miss MacDonald's". MissMacDonalds.com.
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  97. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 352.
  98. ^ Rich (2001), p. 330
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  118. ^ Miss Jeanette MacDonald [@MissMacDonalds] (February 20, 2018). ""A MacDonald home without dogs is like ham without eggs." She had as many as five dogs living with her at Twin Gables. Here are some shots of Jeanette and her pups at home over the years" (Tweet). Retrieved May 15, 2019 – via Twitter.
  119. ^ a b Jeanette MacDonald: The Irving Stone Letters
  120. ^ Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 102n.
  121. ^ Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 315-6.
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  127. ^ I'll See You Again 2019a, p. 37.
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  131. ^ Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 44.
  132. ^ a b I'll See You Again 2019a, p. 39.
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  134. ^ Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 58.
  135. ^ a b c d e "Robert G. Ritchie". LegendaryJeanetteMacDonald.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
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  150. ^ a b Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 331.
  151. ^ "Hollywood Walk of Fame". Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  152. ^ Miss Jeanette MacDonald [@MissMacDonalds] (May 6, 2018). "Celebrating Tyrone Power (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) on his birthday. #BornOnThisDay Here are Tyrone and Jeanette being crowned King and Queen of The Movies in 1939! #botd #TyronePower #JeanetteMacDonald" (Tweet). Retrieved May 15, 2019 – via Twitter.
  153. ^ Hollywood Diva, 1998, pp. 310–1.
  154. ^ Miss Jeanette MacDonald [@MissMacDonalds] (February 27, 2018). "This lovely article chronicles a few of the acts that led to Jeanette MacDonald becoming #WomanOfTheYear in her hometown of Philadelphia, which she described as being "a more gratifying recognition than all". Her smile throughout the night shows the sincerity in her words" (Tweet). Retrieved May 15, 2019 – via Twitter.
  155. ^ Brookhouser, Frank (1960). "Man About Town".
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  160. ^ Rich, Sharon (2014). Sweethearts., p. 488
  161. ^ Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 317.
  162. ^ Rich, Sharon (2004). Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography: The Lost Manuscript.
  163. ^ McCormick, Maggie (2019). I'll See You Again, Volume 3: After the War.
  164. ^ "Nelson Eddy's "Dearest Jeanette…I love you" handwritten 1935 letter to Jeanette MacDonald! – Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy Home Page". Maceddy.com. June 23, 2015.
  165. ^ "Nelson Eddy: "The most miserable day of my life" (Jeanette MacDonald's funeral)". Maceddy.com. July 8, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  166. ^ Rich, Sharon (2004). Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography: The Lost Manuscript.
  167. ^ "Gods and Foolish Grandeur: Gene Raymond, Buddy Rogers, and three rather odd Hollywood marriages". Godsandfoolishgrandeur.blogspot.com. November 10, 2013.
  168. ^ "Jeanette MacDonald | Nelson Eddy Biography – Part 3 – Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy Home Page". Maceddy.com. April 30, 2012.
  169. ^ Rich 1994, p. 303
  170. ^ Rich, Sharon (1994). Sweethearts. Donald Fine. p. 448. ISBN 1-55611-407-9.
  171. ^ "Jeanette MacDonald pregnancy screenshot – Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy Home Page". Maceddy.com. March 10, 2015.
  172. ^ Fleming, E.J. (2004). The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 180. ISBN 0786420278.
  173. ^ a b Rich, Sharon (2014). Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Affair Onscreen and Off Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
  174. ^ "Sandy Reiss Interview". Maceddy.com. April 28, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  175. ^ "Rise Stevens Interview". Maceddy.com. April 28, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  176. ^ "Miliza Korjus Interview". Maceddy.com. April 28, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  177. ^ Mac/Eddy Today, Issue #72
  178. ^ "Lake Tahoe trip, 1948 – Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy Home Page". Maceddy.com. February 20, 2017.
  179. ^ "An Excerpt from "Sweethearts" – Sharon Rich". Sharonrich.com.
  180. ^ . RIAA. 2015. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  181. ^ "Jeanette MacDonald – MacDonald In Song". Discogs. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  182. ^ "Religious Songs sung by Jeanette MacDonald". Library of Congress. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  183. ^ "Jeanette MacDonald's Operetta Favorites". Library of Congress. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  184. ^ "Jeanette MacDonald - Romantic Moments". Discogs. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  185. ^ "Jeanette MacDonald - Favorites". Discogs. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  186. ^ "Favorites in Stereo". Discogs. December 7, 1965. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  187. ^ "Jeanette MacDonald - Smilin' Through". Discogs. December 7, 1960. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  188. ^ "Jeanette MacDonald Sings Songs of Faith and Inspriation". Discogs. December 7, 1963. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  189. ^ a b c Hollywood Diva, 1998, p. 350.

References edit

  • Barclay, Florence L., The Rosary by Florence L. Barclay, new introduction by Sharon Rich, comments by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, Bell Harbour Press, 2005. This 1910 #1 best seller featured two singers in a "Jane Eyre" plot, and the heroine's nickname was Jeanette. Eddy chose it as a possible film vehicle for himself and MacDonald in 1948. This edition features a new introduction with excerpts from their written correspondence of 1948, in which the film project was discussed.
  • Castanza, Philip, The Films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, Citadel Press, 1978.
  • Eddy, Nelson, "All Stars Don't Spangle" movie treatment for himself and MacDonald, reprinted in its entirety in Mac/Eddy Today magazine, issue #50.
  • Hamann, G.D. (Ed.), Collections of contemporary newspaper and magazine references in the following: Jeanette MacDonald in the 30s. (141 pp.), Jeanette MacDonald in the 40s (100 pp.), Nelson Eddy in the 30s and 40s (128 pp.), and Filming Today Press, 2005, Hollywood, California (www.GDHamann.com).
  • Knowles (Dugan), Eleanor, The Films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, Booksurge Llc, 2006.
  • Rich, Sharon (2002). Jeanette MacDonald: The Irving Stone Letters. Bell Harbour Press. ISBN 0-9711998-4-1. Letters by MacDonald are reproduced and annotated. MacDonald dated Stone in 1927–28 and remained friends afterwards, so most of these are love letters. In one letter from August 1929 she tells Stone she is recovering from a heart attack.
  • Rich, Sharon (2004). Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography: The Lost Manuscript. Bell Harbour Press. ISBN 0-9711998-8-4. The complete, typewritten autobiography with MacDonald's handwritten editing, deletions and comments noted throughout. Annotated and with original letters from MacDonald's collaborator on the project.
  • Rich, Sharon (2001). Nelson Eddy: The Opera Years. Bell Harbour Press. ISBN 0-9711998-0-9.
  • Rich, Sharon (2001). Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Affair Onscreen and Off Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Bell Harbour Press. ISBN 0-9711998-1-7. This is an updated edition of Rich, Sharon, Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Affair - On-screen and Off - Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, Donald I. Fine, 1994. Footnotes are from 2001 edition. Updated again in 2014.
  • Skeel, Sharon. (2020) Catherine Littlefield: A Life in Dance. Oxford University Press.
  • Turk, Edward Baron (1998). Hollywood Diva: A Biography of Jeanette MacDonald. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-22253-3.
  • McCormick, Maggie (2019a). I'll See You Again: The Bittersweet Love Story and Wartime Letters of Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond, Volume 1: The War - and Before. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-62933-436-3.
  • McCormick, Maggie (2019b). I'll See You Again: The Bittersweet Love Story and Wartime Letters of Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond, Volume 2: The Letters. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-62933-448-6.
  • McCormick, Maggie (2019c). I'll See You Again: The Bittersweet Love Story and Wartime Letters of Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond, Volume 3: After the War. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-62933-450-9.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jeanette MacDonald.

January 01, 1970
jeanette, macdonald, attorney, author, project, girl, janet, mcdonald, confused, with, jane, mcdonald, jeanette, anna, macdonald, june, 1903, january, 1965, american, singer, actress, best, remembered, musical, films, 1930s, with, maurice, chevalier, love, par. For the attorney and author of Project Girl see Janet McDonald Not to be confused with Jane McDonald 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 Jeanette MacDonaldMacDonald in 1934BornJeannette Anna McDonald 1 1903 06 18 June 18 1903Philadelphia Pennsylvania U S DiedJanuary 14 1965 1965 01 14 aged 61 Houston Texas U S Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale CaliforniaOther namesJeanette MacDonaldOccupationsActresssingerradio hostphilanthropistYears active1909 1959SpouseGene Raymond m 1937 wbr PartnerNelson Eddy 1935 65 her death RelativesBlossom Rock sister Awards2 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 MaytimeHollywood Walk of FameMusical careerGenresOpera Operetta Musical theaterInstrument s Vocals soprano LabelsRCA Victor RCA Red Seal Records His Master s Voice Disque Gramophone Contents 1 Early years 2 Acting career 2 1 Broadway 2 2 Film career 2 2 1 Paramount controversial move to Fox Film Corporation 2 2 2 MGM Nelson Eddy partnership 2 2 3 Final roles 2 3 Musical theatre 3 Music career 3 1 Concert tours World War II charity work 3 2 Opera 4 Radio and television 5 Personal life 5 1 Relationships 6 Death 7 Honors and commemorations 7 1 Posthumous 8 Controversy 8 1 Autobiography 8 2 Relationship with Nelson Eddy 9 Credits 9 1 Filmography 9 2 Discography 9 2 1 Concerts 9 2 2 Tours 10 Footnotes 11 Citations 12 References 13 External linksEarly years editMacDonald 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 nee 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 Acting career editBroadway edit nbsp MacDonald backstage in a costume for the Broadway show Sunny Days 1928 In November 1919 MacDonald joined her older sister Blossom in New York She took singing lessons with Wassili Leps 11 and landed a job in the chorus of Ned Wayburn s The Demi Tasse Revue a musical entertainment presented between films at the Capitol Theatre on Broadway In 1920 she appeared in two musicals Jerome Kern s Night Boat as a chorus replacement and Irene on the road as the second female lead future film star Irene Dunne played the title role during part of the tour 12 and Helen Shipman played the title role during the other part of the tour In 1921 MacDonald played in Tangerine as one of the Six Wives 13 In 1922 she was a featured singer in the Greenwich Village revue Fantastic Fricassee 14 for which good press notices brought her a role in The Magic Ring the next year 15 MacDonald played the second female lead in this long running musical which starred Mitzi Hajos 15 In 1925 MacDonald again had the second female lead opposite Queenie Smith in Tip Toes a George Gershwin hit show 16 The following year 1926 found MacDonald still in a second female lead in Bubblin Over a musical version of Brewster s Millions 17 She finally landed a starring role in Yes Yes Yvette in 1927 18 Planned as a sequel to producer H H Frazee s No No Nanette the show toured extensively but failed to please the critics when it arrived on Broadway MacDonald also played the lead in her next two plays Sunny Days 19 in 1928 in her first show for the producers Lee and J J Shubert for which she received rave reviews and Angela 1928 20 which the critics panned Her last play was Boom Boom in 1929 with her name above the title the cast included young Archie Leach who would later become Cary Grant 21 While MacDonald was appearing in Angela 20 film star Richard Dix spotted her and had her screen tested for his film Nothing but the Truth 22 The Shuberts however would not let her out of her contract to appear in the film which starred Dix and Helen Kane the Boop boop a doop girl 22 In 1929 famed film director Ernst Lubitsch was looking through old screen tests of Broadway performers and spotted MacDonald 23 He cast her as the leading lady in The Love Parade his first sound film which starred Maurice Chevalier Film career edit Paramount controversial move to Fox Film Corporation edit In the first rush of sound films during 1929 and 1930 MacDonald starred in six films the first four for Paramount Studios Her first The Love Parade 1929 directed by Ernst Lubitsch and co starring Maurice Chevalier was a landmark of early sound films and received a Best Picture nomination 24 MacDonald s first recordings for RCA Victor were two hits from the score Dream Lover and March of the Grenadiers 25 The Vagabond King 1930 was a lavish two strip Technicolor film version of Rudolf Friml s hit 1925 operetta 26 Broadway star Dennis King reprised his role as 15th century French poet Francois Villon and MacDonald was Princess Katherine 27 She sang Some Day and Only a Rose The UCLA Film and Television Archive owns the only known color print of this production 26 1930 was an extremely busy year for Paramount and MacDonald Paramount on Parade was an all star revue similar to other mammoth sound revues produced by major studios to introduce their formerly silent stars to the public MacDonald s footage singing a duet of Come Back to Sorrento with Nino Martini was cut from the release print due to copyright reasons with Universal Studios which had recently acquired the copyright to the song for an upcoming movie King of Jazz 28 Let s Go Native was a desert island comedy directed by Leo McCarey 29 co starring the likes of Jack Oakie and Kay Francis 30 Monte Carlo became another highly regarded Lubitsch classic with British musical star Jack Buchanan as a count who disguises himself as a hairdresser in order to woo a scatterbrained countess MacDonald MacDonald introduced Beyond the Blue Horizon which she recorded three times during her career including performing it for the Hollywood Victory Committee film Follow the Boys 31 nbsp MacDonald with Maurice Chevalier in a promotional still for The Merry Widow 1934 In hopes of producing her own films MacDonald went to United Artists to make The Lottery Bride in 1930 Despite music by Rudolf Friml the film was not successful 32 MacDonald next signed a three picture deal with the Fox Film Corporation a controversial move in Hollywood every other studio was far superior in the eyes of many from their budgets to the fantastical entertainment of their films 33 Oh for a Man 1930 was more successful MacDonald portrayed a temperamental opera singer who sings Wagner s Liebestod 34 and falls for an Irish burglar played by Reginald Denny In 1931 Don t Bet on Women was a non musical drawing room comedy in which a playboy Edmund Lowe bets his happily married friend Roland Young that he can seduce his friend s wife MacDonald Annabelle s Affairs 1931 was a farce with MacDonald as a sophisticated New York playgirl who does not recognize her own miner husband played by Victor McLaglen when he turns up five years later Although highly praised by reviewers at the time 35 only one reel of this film survives 34 MacDonald took a break from Hollywood in 1931 to embark on a European concert tour performing at the Empire Theater in Paris 36 Mistinguett and Morris Gest were said to have been in the crowd 36 and at London s Dominion Theatre 37 and was invited to dinner parties with British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and French newspaper critics She returned to Paramount the following year for two films with Chevalier One Hour with You in 1932 was directed by both George Cukor and Ernst Lubitsch and simultaneously filmed in French with the same stars but a French supporting cast 38 Currently no surviving print of Une Heure pres de toi One Hour With You is known Rouben Mamoulian directed Love Me Tonight 1932 considered by many film critics and writers to be the perfect film musical 39 Starring Chevalier as a humble tailor in love with a princess played by MacDonald much of the story is told in sung dialogue Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart 40 wrote the original score which included the standards Mimi Lover and Isn t It Romantic 40 MGM Nelson Eddy partnership edit nbsp From the trailer for The Merry Widow 1934 In 1933 MacDonald left again for Europe and while there signed with Metro Goldwyn Mayer Her first MGM film was The Cat and the Fiddle 1934 based on the Jerome Kern Broadway hit Her co star was Ramon Novarro The plot about unmarried lovers shacking up just barely slipped through the new Production Code guidelines that took effect July 1 1934 41 Despite a Technicolor finale the first use of the new three color Technicolor process other than Disney cartoons the film was not a huge success It lost 142 000 41 In The Merry Widow 1934 director Ernst Lubitsch reunited Maurice Chevalier and MacDonald in a lavish version of the classic 1905 Franz Lehar operetta The film was highly regarded by critics and operetta lovers in major U S cities and Europe but failed to generate much income outside urban areas losing 113 000 42 It had a huge budget of 1 6 million 42 partially because it was filmed simultaneously in French as La Veuve Joyeuse with a French supporting cast and some minor plot changes 43 Naughty Marietta 1935 directed by W S Van Dyke was MacDonald s first film in which she teamed with newcomer baritone Nelson Eddy Victor Herbert s 1910 score with songs like Ah Sweet Mystery of Life I m Falling in Love with Someone Neath the Southern Moon Tramp Tramp Tramp and Italian Street Song enjoyed renewed popularity 44 The film won an Oscar for sound recording and received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture 44 It was voted one of the Ten Best Pictures of 1935 by the New York film critics was awarded the Photoplay Gold Medal Award as Best Picture of 1935 beating out Mutiny on the Bounty which won the Oscar 45 and in 2004 was selected to the National Film Registry MacDonald earned gold records for Ah Sweet Mystery of Life and Italian Street Song 2 The following year MacDonald starred in two of the highest grossing films of that year In Rose Marie MacDonald played a haughty opera diva who learns her young brother pre fame James Stewart has killed a Mountie and is hiding in the northern woods Eddy is the Mountie sent to capture him Nelson Eddy and she sang Rudolf Friml s Indian Love Call to each other in the Canadian wilderness actually filmed at Lake Tahoe Eddy s definitive portrayal of the steadfast Mountie became a popular icon 46 When the Canadian Mounties temporarily retired their distinctive hat in 1970 photos of Eddy in his Rose Marie uniform appeared in thousands of U S newspapers San Francisco 1936 was also directed by W S Van Dyke 47 In this tale of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake MacDonald played a hopeful opera singer opposite Clark Gable as the extra virile proprietor of a Barbary Coast gambling joint and Spencer Tracy as his boyhood chum who has become a priest and gives the moral messages nbsp MacDonald and Allan Jones behind the scenes of The Firefly 1937 In the summer of 1936 filming began on Maytime co starring Nelson Eddy Frank Morgan and Paul Lukas produced by Irving Thalberg After Thalberg s untimely death in September production was shut down and the half finished film scrapped 48 A new script was filmed with a different storyline and supporting actors including John Barrymore 49 whose relationship with MacDonald was strained due to his alcoholism The second Maytime 1937 was the top grossing film worldwide of the year and is regarded as one of the best film musicals of the 1930s 50 Will You Remember by Sigmund Romberg brought MacDonald another gold record 2 The Firefly 1937 was MacDonald s first solo starring film at MGM with her name alone above the title Rudolf Friml s 1912 stage score was borrowed and a new song The Donkey Serenade added adapted from Friml s Chanson piano piece 51 With real life Americans rushing to fight in the ongoing revolution in Spain this historical vehicle was constructed around a previous revolution in Napoleonic times 52 MacDonald s co star was tenor Allan Jones who she demanded get the same treatment as she would such as an equal number of close ups 53 The MacDonald Eddy team had split after MacDonald s engagement and marriage to Gene Raymond but neither of their solo films grossed as much as the team films and an unimpressed Mayer used this to point out why Jones could not replace Eddy in the next project 54 The Girl of the Golden West 1938 was the result but the two stars had little screen time together and the main song Obey Your Heart was never sung as a duet 55 The film featured an original score 56 by Sigmund Romberg 57 and reused the popular David Belasco stage plot 54 also employed by opera composer Giacomo Puccini for La fanciulla del West 56 nbsp Eddy and MacDonald from the trailer for Sweethearts 1938 Mayer had promised MacDonald the studio s first Technicolor feature and he delivered with Sweethearts 1938 co starring Eddy In contrast to the previous film the co stars were relaxed onscreen and singing frequently together The film integrated Victor Herbert s 1913 stage score into a modern backstage story scripted by Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell 58 MacDonald and Eddy played a husband and wife Broadway musical comedy team who are offered a Hollywood contract Sweethearts won the Photoplay Gold Medal Award as Best Picture of the Year 59 Mayer dropped plans for the team to co star in Let Freedom Ring a vehicle first announced for them in 1935 Only Eddy starred whereas MacDonald and Lew Ayres co starred in Broadway Serenade 1939 as a contemporary musical couple who clash when her career flourishes while his founders MacDonald s performance was subdued and choreographer Busby Berkeley just hired away from Warner Bros was called upon to add an over the top finale in an effort to improve the film 60 Broadway Serenade did not entice audiences in a lot of major cities 61 with Variety claiming that New York Chicago and Los Angeles cinema attendances were sad slow and sour 61 Following Broadway Serenade and not coincidentally right after Nelson Eddy s surprise elopement with Ann Franklin MacDonald left Hollywood on a concert tour and refused to renew her MGM contract Months later she summoned her manager Bob Ritchie from London to help her renegotiate After initially insisting that she wanted to film Smilin Through with James Stewart 62 and Robert Taylor 63 MacDonald finally relented and agreed to film New Moon 1940 with Eddy which proved to be one of MacDonald s more popular films 64 Composer Sigmund Romberg s 1927 Broadway hit provided the plot and the songs Lover Come Back to Me One Kiss and Wanting You plus Eddy s version of Stout Hearted Men This was followed by Bitter Sweet 1940 a Technicolor film version of Noel Coward s 1929 stage operetta which Coward loathed writing in his diary about how vulgar he found it 65 Smilin Through 1941 was MacDonald s next Technicolor project the third adaptation filmed in Hollywood 62 with Brian Aherne and Gene Raymond Its theme of reunion with deceased loved ones was enormously popular after the devastation of World War I and MGM reasoned that it should resonate with audiences during World War II but it failed to make a profit 66 MacDonald played a dual role Moonyean a Victorian girl accidentally murdered by a jealous lover and Kathleen her niece who falls in love with the son of the murderer 67 I Married an Angel 1942 was adapted from the Rodgers amp Hart stage musical about an angel who loses her wings on her wedding night The script by Anita Loos suffered serious censorship cuts during filming that made the result less successful 68 MacDonald sang Spring Is Here and the title song It was the final film made by the team of MacDonald and Eddy After a falling out with Mayer Eddy bought out his MGM contract with one film left to make and went to Universal where he signed a million dollar two picture deal 69 MacDonald remained for one last film Cairo 1942 a cheaply budgeted spy comedy co starring Robert Young as a reporter and Ethel Waters as a maid whom MacDonald personally requested 70 Within one year beginning in 1942 L B Mayer released his four highest paid actresses from their MGM contracts Norma Shearer Joan Crawford Greta Garbo and Jeanette MacDonald Of those four stars MacDonald was the only one whom Mayer would rehire 69 Final roles edit nbsp From the trailer for The Sun Comes Up 1949 After opening the Metropolitan Opera s membership campaign 71 MacDonald appeared as herself in Follow the Boys 1944 an all star extravaganza about Hollywood stars entertaining the troops The more than 40 guest stars included Marlene Dietrich W C Fields Sophie Tucker and Orson Welles 72 MacDonald is shown during a concert singing Beyond the Blue Horizon and in a studio filmed sequence singing I ll See You in My Dreams to a blinded soldier 31 She returned to MGM after five years off the screen for two films Three Daring Daughters 1948 co starred Jose Iturbi as her love interest 72 MacDonald plays a divorcee whose lively daughters Jane Powell Ann E Todd and Elinor Donahue keep trying to get her back with her ex but she has secretly remarried The song The Dickey Bird made the hit parade The Sun Comes Up 1949 teamed MacDonald with Lassie in an adaptation of a short story by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings MacDonald played a widow who has lost her son but warms to orphan Claude Jarman Jr 73 It would prove to be her final film She frequently attempted a comeback movie even financing and paying a screenwriter One of the possible film reunions with Nelson Eddy was to be made in England but Eddy pulled out when he learned MacDonald was investing her own funds Eddy preferred to publicly blame the proposed project as mediocre when in fact MacDonald was uninsurable due to her heart condition A reunion with Maurice Chevalier was also considered 74 Other thwarted projects with Eddy were The Rosary 75 The Desert Song and a remake of The Vagabond King plus two movie treatments written by Eddy for them Timothy Waits for Love and All Stars Don t Spangle Offers continued to come in and in 1962 producer Ross Hunter proposed MacDonald in his 1963 comedy The Thrill of It All but she declined 76 20th Century Fox also toyed with the idea of MacDonald Irene Dunne was briefly considered for the part of Mother Abbess in the film version of The Sound of Music 76 It never moved beyond the discussion stages partly because of MacDonald s failing health An annual poll of film exhibitors listed MacDonald as one of the top 10 box office draws of 1936 77 and many of her films were among the top 20 moneymakers of the years they were released citation needed In addition MacDonald was one of the top 10 box office attractions in Great Britain from 1937 to 1942 78 During her 39 year career MacDonald earned two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for films and recordings and planted her feet in the wet concrete in front of Grauman s Chinese Theater 79 Musical theatre edit In the mid 1950s MacDonald toured in summer stock productions of Bitter Sweet and The King and I 80 She opened in Bitter Sweet at the Iroquois Amphitheater Louisville Kentucky on July 19 1954 81 Her production of The King and I opened August 20 1956 at the Starlight Theatre 81 While performing there she collapsed 82 Officially it was announced as heat prostration but in fact it was a heart seizure 82 She began limiting her appearances and a reprisal of Bitter Sweet in 1959 was her last professional stage appearance 81 MacDonald and her husband Gene Raymond toured in Ferenc Molnar s The Guardsman The production opened at the Erlanger Theater in Buffalo New York on January 25 1951 and played in 23 Northeastern and Midwestern cities until June 2 1951 83 Despite less than enthusiastic comments from critics the show played to full houses for virtually every performance The leading role of The Actress was changed to The Singer to allow MacDonald to add some songs While this pleased her fans the show closed before reaching Broadway In the 1950s talks with respect to a Broadway return occurred In the 1960s MacDonald was approached about starring on Broadway in a musical version of Sunset Boulevard 76 Harold Prince recounts in his autobiography visiting MacDonald at her home in Bel Air to discuss the proposed project 76 Composer Hugh Martin also wrote a song for the musical entitled Wasn t It Romantic 76 MacDonald also made a few nightclub appearances 84 She sang and danced at The Sands and The Sahara in Las Vegas in 1953 The Coconut Grove in Los Angeles in 1954 and again at The Sahara in 1957 but she never felt entirely comfortable in their smoky atmospheres 84 Music career edit nbsp MacDonald dressed in an American Women s Voluntary Services uniform c 1942 Concert tours World War II charity work edit Starting in 1931 and continuing through the 1950s MacDonald engaged in regular concert tours between films Her first European tour was in 1931 where she sang in both France and England 85 Her first American concert tour was in 1939 immediately after the completion of Broadway Serenade MacDonald performed at the Mayo Civic Auditorium in Rochester Minnesota 86 on April 19 1939 to open that venue before an audience She sang several times at the Hollywood Bowl 87 and Carnegie Hall 88 When America joined World War II in 1941 MacDonald co founded the Army Emergency Relief and raised funds on concert tours 89 When she was home in Hollywood she held an open house at her home on Sunday afternoons for GIs 90 On one occasion at the request of Lt Ronald Reagan she was singing for a large group of men in San Francisco who were due to ship out to the fierce fighting in the South Pacific She closed with The Battle Hymn of the Republic and 20 000 voices spontaneously joined in 91 She auctioned off encores for donations and raised almost 100 000 for the troops 92 over 1 5 million adjusted for inflation 90 President Franklin D Roosevelt who considered MacDonald and Eddy two of his favorite film stars awarded her a medal She also did command performances at the White House for President Dwight D Eisenhower 93 Opera edit nbsp MacDonald rehearsing with Armand Tokatyan for Romeo et Juliette in Montreal 1943 Unlike Nelson Eddy who came from opera to film MacDonald in the 1940s yearned to reinvent herself in opera She began training for this goal with Lotte Lehmann one of the leading opera stars of the early 20th century When Jeanette MacDonald approached me for coaching lessons wrote Lehmann I was really curious how a glamorous movie star certainly spoiled by the adoration of a limitless world would be able to devote herself to another a higher level of art I had the surprise of my life There couldn t have been a more diligent a more serious a more pliable person than Jeanette The lessons which I had started with a kind of suspicious curiosity turned out to be sheer delight for me She studied Marguerite with me and lieder These were the ones which astounded me most I am quite sure that Jeanette would have developed into a serious and successful lieder singer if time would have allowed it 94 MacDonald made her opera debut singing Juliette in Gounod s Romeo et Juliette in Montreal at His Majesty s Theatre May 8 1943 95 She quickly repeated the role in Quebec City May 12 96 Ottawa May 15 and 17 96 Toronto May 20 and 22 96 and Windsor May 24 96 Her U S debut with the Chicago Opera Company November 4 11 and 15 1944 was in the same role 97 She also sang Marguerite in Gounod s Faust with the Chicago Opera In the summer of 1945 she appeared with the Cincinnati Opera as Juliette in two performances of Romeo et Juliette July 10 and 25 and one as Marguerite in Faust July 15 That November she did two more performances of Romeo et Juliette and one of Faust in Chicago 83 On December 12 1951 she did one performance of Faust with the Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company at the Academy of Music Claudia Cassidy the music critic of the Chicago Tribune wrote Her Juliet is breathtakingly beautiful to the eye and dulcet to the ear 98 The same critic reviewed Faust From where I sit at the opera Jeanette MacDonald has turned out to be one of the welcome surprises of the season her Marguerite was better than her Juliet beautifully sung with purity of line and tone a good trill and a Gallic inflection that understood Gounod s phrasing You felt if Faust must sell his soul to the devil at least this time he got his money s worth 99 Radio and television edit nbsp A promotional photo of MacDonald for Vicks Open House 1937 MacDonald s extensive radio career may have begun on a 1929 radio broadcast of the Publix Hour She was on the Academy Awards ceremony broadcast in 1931 She hosted her own radio show Vicks Open House 100 from September 1937 to March 1938 for which she received 5 000 a week However the time demands of doing a weekly live radio show while filming touring in concerts and making records proved enormously difficult and after fainting on air during one show she decided not to renew her radio contract with Vicks at the end of the 26 week season Thereafter she stuck to guest appearances MacDonald appeared in condensed radio versions of many of her films on programs such as Cecil B DeMille s Lux Radio Theater often with Nelson Eddy and the Railroad Hour which starred Gordon MacRae These included The Merry Widow Naughty Marietta Rose Marie Maytime 101 Sweethearts Bitter Sweet Smilin Through and The Sun Comes Up plus other operettas and musicals such as Victor Herbert s Mlle Modiste Irene 102 The Student Prince Tonight or Never with Melvyn Douglas A Song for Clotilda The Gift of the Magi and Apple Blossoms Other radio shows included The Prudential Family Hour Screen Guild Playhouse and The Voice of Firestone which featured the top opera and concert singers of the time In 1953 MacDonald sang The Star Spangled Banner at the inauguration of President Dwight D Eisenhower broadcast on both radio and TV MacDonald sang frequently with Nelson Eddy during the mid 1940s on several Lux Radio Theater and The Screen Guild Theater productions of their films together She also appeared as his guest several times on his various radio shows such as The Electric Hour and The Kraft Music Hall He was also a surprise guest when she hosted a war bonds program called Guest Star and they sang on other World War II victory shows together The majority of her radio work in the mid to late 1940s was with Eddy Her 1948 Hollywood Bowl concert was also broadcast over the air in which she used Eddy s longtime accompanist Theodore Paxson MacDonald appeared on early TV most frequently as a singing guest star She sang on The Voice of Firestone on November 13 1950 103 On November 12 1952 she was the subject of Ralph Edwards This Is Your Life 104 Her surprise guests included her sisters a sailor she danced with at the Hollywood Canteen her former English teacher her husband and the clergyman who married them and Nelson Eddy appeared as a voice from her past singing the song he sang at her wedding his surprise appearance brought her to tears Shortly thereafter she appeared as the mystery guest on the December 21 1952 episode of What s My Line 103 After the panelists guessed her identity she told John Daly she was in New York for the holidays and would have a recital at Carnegie Hall on January 16 On February 2 1956 MacDonald starred in Prima Donna 105 a television pilot for her own series written for her by her husband Gene Raymond The initial show featured guest stars Leo Durocher and Larraine Day but it failed to find a slot In December 1956 MacDonald and Eddy made their first TV appearance as a team on the Lux Video Theatre Holiday Special In 1957 Eddy and she appeared on Patti Page s program The Big Record singing several songs 3 On Playhouse 90 March 28 1957 MacDonald played Charley s real aunt to Art Carney s impersonation in Charley s Aunt 105 Personal life edit nbsp MacDonald right with her sisters Blossom Rock middle and Elsie left c 1920s When MacDonald was born her father quickly doted on her 106 Although he had hoped for a son who would pursue an American dream life that he believed he had failed to live himself he advised his three daughters to do this instead 106 MacDonald was the only daughter in the family that had inherited both her father s red hair and blue green eyes 7 although she often admired her sisters beauty such as Blossom s dimples 107 and her elder sister Elsie s 1893 106 1970 108 blonde hair and blue eyes 109 Elsie could play the piano and taught toddler MacDonald a variety of popular waltzes and Stephen Foster s compositions 110 At this time MacDonald discovered that she was an extrovert who enjoyed socializing with friends and performing for others admitting that I needed people to watch and applaud me as much as I needed food and drink 111 At the end of her first performance in the local church as a child I paused ever so slightly and then when I realized they needed prodding I promptly began clapping my hands and said to the congregation Now everybody s got to clap 110 MacDonald cited the number thirteen as her lucky number 112 Her characters always had a name beginning with M the first letter of her surname and the 13th letter of the English alphabet a ritual upon which she had insisted 112 Interestingly thirteen became a recurring number throughout her life such as the thirteen year gap between her overseas tours in Europe 113 principal photography for The Merry Widow had taken thirteen weeks to film 112 her first movie The Love Parade was the number one box office draw for 13 weeks 114 MacDonald performed opera for the first time for a screen test thirteen years after meeting Newell who was also on set 115 the thirteen year gap between her and sister Blossom s death 108 and husband Gene Raymond s birthday was August 13 116 nbsp MacDonald right with Harriet Kriesler Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson at the Stork Club in 1944 On sets MacDonald would never lip sync instead singing along to song playbacks during filming which Lew Ayres discovered when he starred alongside her in Broadway Serenade whereupon he was supplied with earplugs after the volume nauseated him 117 nbsp MacDonald playing with three of her dogs in the Twin Gables garden Despite being allergic to dogs MacDonald has been quoted saying A MacDonald home without dogs is like ham without eggs c mid to late 1930s 118 A recurrent issue throughout MacDonald s career was her health Her handwritten letter from August 1929 indicates that MacDonald age 26 had recently suffered a heart attack 119 She also suffered from stage fright throughout her life to the point that her therapist told her to imagine that all of the members of the audience were lettuce 86 Due to her heart condition she could not carry a pregnancy to term she had blackouts and fainting spells became stressed to the point of not being able to eat and was frequently in and out of hospitals and trying different treatments one being massage therapy 120 which only worked for a limited time A few years before her death MacDonald became a Religious Scientist 121 Her illnesses would not allow her to perform early morning filming shoots much to her colleagues annoyance 122 MacDonald was a Republican but she mostly avoided commenting on politics When approached by the House Un American Activities Committee about whether she had heard any gossip about Communist activity in Hollywood she replied As at any focal point there are some belligerents but they are no more numerous than in any other community 123 Neither she nor Gene Raymond were ever considered or subpoenaed for a HUAC hearing 124 in a radio interview MacDonald was quoted as saying Let he who is without sin cast the first stone in response to what her opinion was on the investigations 124 She fired her manager Charles Wagner for anti Semitic abuse of her Jewish friend Constance Hope 125 and declared during the 1940 presidential election I sing for Democrats and Republicans black and white everyone and I just can t talk politics 126 Relationships edit MacDonald met Jack Ohmeis 1901 1967 127 at a party during her appearance in Tangerine 128 He was an architecture student at New York University and the son of a successful bottle manufacturer 128 His family was hesitant about the relationship assuming that MacDonald was a gold digger but accepted her after they met 129 She and Ohmeis became engaged a year later 130 but their future plans and aspirations forced them to go their separate ways 130 the sudden death of MacDonald s father was another factor in the break up 131 Unfortunately the Ohmeis family would lose a lot of their fortune after the Wall Street Crash so MacDonald loaned money to Jack and he repaid her as soon as he could which was as late as the 1950s 129 MacDonald next dated Irving Stone 1901 1968 132 from around 1926 28 they met when she was touring in Chicago in The Magic Ring 132 Stone who lived in Milwaukee was the nephew of the founder of the Wisconsin Boston Store and worked in the family business Few details were known of Stone s romance with MacDonald until the discovery of hundreds of pages of handwritten love letters she wrote to him that were found in his apartment after his death which happened three years after her death 119 MacDonald eventually dated a Wall Street rep named Robert Ritchie died 1972 108 12 years her senior 133 who claimed that he was the son of a fallen millionaire 134 They traveled with MacDonald s family to Hollywood and he became a press agent for MGM Rumors circulated that they were engaged and or secretly married 135 since Ritchie was by MacDonald s side during her European tour and they lived together 136 MacDonald even signing her return address as JAR Jeanette Anna Ritchie 135 and referring to him as her darling husband 135 Despite Ritchie s family claiming that he was married to MacDonald but the marriage had been annulled in 1935 135 he never confirmed the claims 135 He later relocated to Europe as an MGM representative becoming responsible for recruiting Greer Garson Hedy Lamarr and Luise Rainer 137 nbsp MacDonald with husband Gene Raymond in the late 1950s MacDonald married Gene Raymond in 1937 138 She met him at a Hollywood party two years earlier at Roszika Dolly s home 139 MacDonald agreed to a date as long as it was at her family s dinner table 139 Despite the strong relationship Raymond s mother did not like MacDonald attempting to snub her a few times such as arranging her son with Janet Gaynor as a plus one at a charity ball 140 and did not attend the wedding 138 The Raymonds lived in a 21 room Mock Tudor mansion named Twin Gables with their pet dogs and their horse White Lady which Raymond gave to MacDonald as a birthday present 141 after MacDonald s death it was briefly owned by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and Papas 142 MacDonald often worried about her husband s self esteem his acting career was constantly shaky and RKO Pictures eventually sold out his contract when he had two movies left to make with them in the 1950s 143 Although she appreciated his support MacDonald wished that their success was equal 144 Raymond was sometimes mistaken for Nelson Eddy by MacDonald s fans and passersby which MacDonald later admitted that she never liked Of course we always laughed it off sometimes Gene even obliged by signing Nelson s name but no one will ever know the agonies I suffered on such occasions More than anything else in the world those days I wanted to see him receive as much acclaim as I to spare him these humiliations 144 When she reunited with Chevalier in 1957 he asked her why she had retired from films to which she replied Because for exactly twenty years I ve played my best role by his Raymond s side And I m perfectly happy 3 Death edit nbsp MacDonald s crypt marked as Jeanette MacDonald Raymond in her handwriting The birth year is incorrect because studios had made her appear younger When Raymond died in 1998 his remains were placed in the same crypt with hers with his name added MacDonald died at the Houston Methodist Hospital from heart failure on January 14 1965 with Raymond by her hospital bed 145 Two years before she had been assigned Dr Michael DeBakey who had recently operated successfully on the Duke of Windsor in the hope that he could save her 146 Despite the surgery MacDonald became ill with pleurisy the week after and was in Houston Methodist Hospital for over a month 147 In December 1964 her condition worsened and she was rushed to UCLA Medical Center 148 DeBakey suggested open heart surgery and Raymond brought MacDonald into the hospital January 12 148 On the afternoon of the 14th Raymond was at her bedside massaging her feet when she died He said that their last conversation was when MacDonald said I love you and he replied I love you too she then sighed deeply and her head hit the pillow 145 The funeral took place on January 18 149 Along with close family and widower Raymond it was notably attended by a handful of MacDonald s costars such as Eddy Allan Jones Chevalier Joe E Brown Spencer Tracy Lloyd Nolan etc representatives of her fan club former presidents Harry S Truman and Dwight D Eisenhower Senator George Murphy former vice president Richard Nixon future governor amp president Ronald Reagan and Mary Pickford Dr Gene Emmet Clark of the Church of Religious Science officiated 149 Newsreel footage shows Nelson Eddy as the last person to exit the church with Lauritz Melchior and other celebrities offering him condolences MacDonald was interred in a pink marbled crypt 150 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Glendale which reads Jeanette MacDonald Raymond Hers is next to Nat King Cole and George Burns and Gracie Allen 150 Honors and commemorations editFor her contribution to the motion picture industry MacDonald has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6157 Hollywood Blvd For her contribution to recording MacDonald has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1628 Vine Street 151 MacDonald was crowned as the Queen of the Movies in 1939 with Tyrone Power as her king The ceremony was filmed and presented by Ed Sullivan 152 MacDonald was awarded an honorary doctor of music degree from Ithaca College in 1956 153 MacDonald was named Philadelphia s Woman of the Year in 1961 154 Of the award she said It is strange how awards decorations doctorates etc can be conferred from various parts of the country and even the world And yet the funny satisfaction of being recognized in one s home town seems to be a more gratifying recognition than all 155 Posthumous edit Shortly after MacDonald s death surviving classmates from her high school contributed a 150 donation in her name to the Children s Heart Hospital of Philadelphia 156 The USC Thornton School of Music built a Jeanette MacDonald Recital Hall in her honor 157 A bronze plaque for MacDonald was unveiled in March 1988 on the Philadelphia Music Alliance s Walk of Fame in Raymond s presence 158 Controversy editAutobiography 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 Relationship with Nelson Eddy edit nbsp Nelson Eddy and MacDonald from the trailer for the film Sweethearts 1938 Despite public denials from the stars themselves of any personal relationship between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy documentation shows otherwise In a handwritten 1935 letter by Nelson to Dearest Jeanette written on his letterhead Nelson Eddy writes I love you and will always be devoted to you 164 In the biography Sweethearts by Sharon Rich the author presents MacDonald and Eddy as continuing an adulterous affair after their marriages Rich who was a close friend of MacDonald s older sister Blossom Rock also knew Gene Raymond and documents that the relationship lasted with a few breaks until MacDonald s death Newsreel footage from MacDonald s funeral shows Eddy as the last person exiting the chapel circled by other celebrities such as Lauritz Melchior who offer him condolences 165 MacDonald had a reported eight pregnancies by Eddy the first while they were filming Rose Marie This was before she had an intimate relationship with Gene Raymond Raymond was physically unable to father children and MacDonald alluded to this fact in her unfinished autobiography writing that she returned from her Hawaii honeymoon with Raymond with the knowledge and accurate admittance that The MacRaymonds had no children 166 Nevertheless MacDonald had additional later documented and visible pregnancies while married to Raymond all of which ended in miscarriage nbsp Jeanette MacDonald visibly pregnant with Nelson Eddy from the trailer for the film Sweethearts 1938 Rich s findings also included documentation that Raymond physically and emotionally abused MacDonald and had affairs as early as their honeymoon when MacDonald allegedly discovered Raymond in bed with Buddy Rogers 167 Raymond was arrested three times the first in January 1938 as verified by a court document 168 and also in England during his army service 169 for his behavior 170 Raymond s wedding to MacDonald orchestrated by Louis B Mayer forced MacDonald to become Raymond s beard and the 1938 arrest resulted in Mayer blacklisting him in Hollywood for almost two years Biographer E J Fleming also alleged that Eddy had confronted Raymond for abusing MacDonald who was visibly pregnant with Eddy s child 171 while filming Sweethearts which ended with Eddy attacking him and leaving him for dead though newspapers reported Raymond was recovering from a fall down the stairs 172 At that time Mayer adamantly refused to allow MacDonald to annul her marriage and elope The situation ended with MacDonald losing her baby at nearly 6 months 173 The boy was named Daniel Kendrick Eddy and Nelson buried him or his ashes on private property in Ojai California 173 Other co stars and friends verified the MacDonald Eddy relationship 174 175 176 Over the decades MacDonald and Eddy privately occupied several homes together In 1938 they had a small Burbank house located at 812 S Mariposa Street in Burbank In the 1940s Nelson leased and remodeled for himself and MacDonald the old cowboy bunkhouse at 1330 Angelo Drive Beverly Hills Starting in 1947 they used 710 N Camden Drive which had been the home of MacDonald s mother until her death They also alternately stayed at favorite hotels and homes across the country owned by celebrity friends including Lily Pons and Irene Dunne In 1963 MacDonald and Raymond moved into two adjoining apartments at the Wilshire Comstock in Westwood on the 8th floor in the East building Nelson Eddy had his own apartment on the 7th floor of the West building and allowed MacDonald to decorate it they used it as a rendezvous spot until she was too weak to walk the few yards over to his building After Eddy s death his widow Ann learned of the apartment and moved into it 177 Forbidden to marry early on by MGM studio boss Louis B Mayer MacDonald and Eddy performed a mock wedding ceremony at Lake Tahoe while filming Rose Marie They considered that by God s laws they were married although they were never able to do so legally Every autumn they returned to Lake Tahoe to renew their vows As late as 1948 MacDonald s desk diary has a Lake Tahoe entry 178 After their 1943 visit Eddy wrote a lengthy diary entry about their trip and his love for her calling her my wife which he did in private to the end of her life 179 Credits editFilmography edit Main article Jeanette MacDonald on screen and stage Discography edit Main article Jeanette MacDonald discography nbsp MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in the recording studio proofreading music sheets for Favorites in Stereo c 1956 c 1958 MacDonald performed and recorded more than 50 songs during her career working exclusively for RCA Victor in the United States She also did some early recordings for HMV in England and France while she was there on a concert tour in 1931 She earned three gold records 2 one for the LP album Favorites in Stereo 3 that she did with Nelson Eddy in 1959 180 MacDonald in Song 1939 181 Religious Songs 1945 182 Operetta Favorites 1946 183 Romantic Moments 1950 184 Favorites c 1951 185 Favorites in Stereo 1959 186 Smilin Through 1960 187 Jeanette MacDonald Sings Songs of Faith and Inspiration 1963 188 Concerts edit Date Location Set list Notes Ref August 10 1943 Emil Blatz Temple of Music Milwaukee Le Roi de Thule The Jewel Song The Waltz Song Les Filles de Cadiz and Badinage Performed with the Music Under the Stars Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jerzy Bojanowski 97 August 9 1945 The Hollywood Bowl Performed with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski 97 August 18 1948 The Hollywood Bowl Performed with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy 97 January 13 1949 War Memorial Opera House Performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pierre Monteux 97 July 27 1950 Robin Hood Dell Performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Golschmann 97 July 19 1951 Lewisohn Stadium Performed with the Stadium Concerts Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Smallens 97 July 26 1952 Robin Hood Dell Performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf 97 July 2 1954 Red Rocks Theater Performed with the Denver Symphony Orchestra conducted by Saul Caston 97 July 16 1957 Emil Blatz Temple of Music Milwaukee Performed with the Music Under the Stars Orchestra conducted by John Anello 97 Tours edit Title Location s Opening date Closing date Selected set list Notes Ref Jeanette MacDonald en personne Empire Theatre Paris France September 4 1931 c September 18 1931 a Dream Lover Schertzinger Grey Un Jour Friml Beyond the Blue Horizon Whiting Harling Robin Riveiens Fragson Marche des Grenadiers Schertzinger 189 Jeanette MacDonald In Person Dominion Theatre London England September 21 1931 c October 5 1931 a Dream Lover Schertzinger Grey Un Jour Some Day Friml Beyond the Blue Horizon Whiting Harling Robin Riveiens Fragson Marche des Grenadiers Schertzinger 189 Jeanette MacDonald dans une creation scenique Rex Theatre Paris Lille Lyons Marseilles Strasbourg Amsterdam Rotterdam Brussels Geneva and Lausanne February 3 1933 n a Aimez moi ce soir Reviens Parlez moi d amour N est ce pas poetique Le Chanson de Vilia J aime d amour Marche des Grenadiers This was a mixture of a concert and a stage play which was entirely in FrenchAlso featured The New Wayburn Rhythm Dancers The Rex Appeal Girls and The Mangan Tillerex Dancers 189 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg and 20 other cities USA March 16 1939 n a Lehn Deine Wang an Meine Wang A Jensen Ich Liebe Dich E Grieg My Old Kentucky Home S Foster Comin Thro the Rye G H Clutsam The Jewel Song from Faust Sempre Libera G Verdi J ai pleure en reve G Hue From the Land of the Sky Blue Water C W Cadman Daddy s Sweetheart L Lehmann and When I Have Sung My Songs E Charles 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 30 cities USA Spring 1940 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 11 cities USA Fall 1940 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 13 cities USA Winter 1941 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 14 cities USA Fall 1942 For the Army Emergency Relief fund 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 7 cities USA Summer 1943 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 20 cities USA Fall 1943 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 14 cities USA Spring 1944 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 20 cities USA Fall 1944 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 17 cities USA Fall 1945 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital England Scotland and Wales 7 cities Summer 1946 It was roughly at this point when other songs were included in the concerts such as Oh Charlie Is My Darling Beau Soir The Last Rose of Summer Down in the Glen and Ah non credea mirarti 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 18 cities USA Spring 1948 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital US Air Force Holiday Variety Show 16 cities Western Europe Late 1949 Early 1950 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 13 cities USA Spring 1950 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 7 cities USA Fall 1950 96 Jeanette MacDonald in Recital 14 cities USA and Canada Fall 1952 96 Jeanette MacDonald at The Sahara The Sahara Hotel Las Vegas March 10 1953 n a a Supporting acts Mickey Sharp comic Yvonne Moray singer and The Harem Dancers 83 The First Lady of Song Jeanette MacDonald Sands Hotel Las Vegas October 28 1953 n a b There s No Business Like Show Business Ouvre ton coueur Indian Love Call Giannina Mia Chansonette The Donkey Serenade Ebb Tide and Un bel di Supporting acts The Nicholas Brothers comic Eddie Garson and The Girls of the SandsMacDonald also danced with Bill Alcorn and Jack Mattis 83 The First Lady of Song Jeanette MacDonald Cocoanut Grove Ambassador Hotel Los Angeles January 20 1954 n a a There s No Business Like Show Business Ouvre ton coueur Indian Love Call April in Paris I Love Paris C est Magnifique medley Chansonette The Donkey Serenade Ebb Tide and Un bel di 81 Footnotes edit a b c d Two weeks later Three weeks laterCitations edit Sweethearts 2001 p 486 photograph of baptismal record a b c d Hollywood Diva 1998 p 197 a b c d Hollywood Diva 1998 p 313 a b c Hollywood Diva 1998 p 8 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 4 5 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 7 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 5 Montiel Pierre The Iron Butterfly Early Years Legendary Jeanette MacDonald Retrieved March 3 2014 Skeel Sharon Catherine Littlefield A Life in Dance Oxford University Press 2020 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 20 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 35 Logansport Pharos Tribune March 18 1922 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 36 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 38 40 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 40 5 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 48 9 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 51 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 51 3 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 55 6 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 60 2 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 62 3 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 57 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 65 The Love Parade Cast Crew Director and Awards Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times 2014 Archived from the original on January 8 2014 Retrieved March 3 2014 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 80 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 89 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 91 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 98 9 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 98 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 357 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 268 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 96 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 102 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 359 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 105 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 111 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 114 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 117 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 119 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 360 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 135 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 361 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 362 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 363 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 159 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 173 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 364 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 196 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 203 Mosher John March 27 1937 Maytime The New Yorker New York NY p 70 Altogether it s possible that this is one of the best and most competently handled operettas that Hollywood has turned out Hollywood Diva 1998 p 215 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 213 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 216 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 221 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 223 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 222 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 366 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 367 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 230 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 238 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 237 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 246 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 235 New Moon 1940 Articles TCM com Retrieved March 3 2014 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 243 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 248 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 247 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 257 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 259 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 260 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 263 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 372 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 373 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 305 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 319 a b c d e Hollywood Diva 1998 p 318 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 175 Legendary Jeanette MacDonald Filmography Retrieved April 7 2019 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 150 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 306 a b c d Hollywood Diva 1998 p 354 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 311 2 a b c d Hollywood Diva 1998 p 353 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 303 4 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 109 15 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 232 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 276 77 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 294 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 250 1 a b Biography Jeanette MacDonald Miss MacDonald s MissMacDonalds com Hollywood Diva 1998 p 250 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 251 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 308 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 269 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 265 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Hollywood Diva 1998 p 351 a b c d e f g h i j Hollywood Diva 1998 p 352 Rich 2001 p 330 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 277 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 218 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 270 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 187 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 296 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 301 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 310 a b c Hollywood Diva 1998 p 6 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 19 a b c Hollywood Diva 1998 p 333 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 14 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 10 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 9 a b c Hollywood Diva 1998 p 144 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 279 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 87 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 182 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 165 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 239 Miss Jeanette MacDonald MissMacDonalds February 20 2018 A MacDonald home without dogs is like ham without eggs She had as many as five dogs living with her at Twin Gables Here are some shots of Jeanette and her pups at home over the years Tweet Retrieved May 15 2019 via Twitter a b Jeanette MacDonald The Irving Stone Letters Hollywood Diva 1998 p 102n Hollywood Diva 1998 p 315 6 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 3 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 242 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 288 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 272 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 245 I ll See You Again 2019a p 37 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 37 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 38 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 43 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 44 a b I ll See You Again 2019a p 39 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 59 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 58 a b c d e Robert G Ritchie LegendaryJeanetteMacDonald com Retrieved April 11 2019 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 94 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 132 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 209 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 163 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 166 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 211 2 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 332 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 292 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 293 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 328 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 321 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 322 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 327 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 330 a b Hollywood Diva 1998 p 331 Hollywood Walk of Fame Retrieved April 10 2024 Miss Jeanette MacDonald MissMacDonalds May 6 2018 Celebrating Tyrone Power May 5 1914 November 15 1958 on his birthday BornOnThisDay Here are Tyrone and Jeanette being crowned King and Queen of The Movies in 1939 botd TyronePower JeanetteMacDonald Tweet Retrieved May 15 2019 via Twitter Hollywood Diva 1998 pp 310 1 Miss Jeanette MacDonald MissMacDonalds February 27 2018 This lovely article chronicles a few of the acts that led to Jeanette MacDonald becoming WomanOfTheYear in her hometown of Philadelphia which she described as being a more gratifying recognition than all Her smile throughout the night shows the sincerity in her words Tweet Retrieved May 15 2019 via Twitter Brookhouser Frank 1960 Man About Town Hollywood Diva 1998 p 334 USC Maps Web app usc edu Retrieved March 3 2014 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 335 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 316 Rich Sharon 2014 Sweethearts p 488 Hollywood Diva 1998 p 317 Rich Sharon 2004 Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography The Lost Manuscript McCormick Maggie 2019 I ll See You Again Volume 3 After the War Nelson Eddy s Dearest Jeanette I love you handwritten 1935 letter to Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette MacDonald amp Nelson Eddy Home Page Maceddy com June 23 2015 Nelson Eddy The most miserable day of my life Jeanette MacDonald s funeral Maceddy com July 8 2014 Retrieved January 20 2016 Rich Sharon 2004 Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography The Lost Manuscript Gods and Foolish Grandeur Gene Raymond Buddy Rogers and three rather odd Hollywood marriages Godsandfoolishgrandeur blogspot com November 10 2013 Jeanette MacDonald Nelson Eddy Biography Part 3 Jeanette MacDonald amp Nelson Eddy Home Page Maceddy com April 30 2012 Rich 1994 p 303 Rich Sharon 1994 Sweethearts Donald Fine p 448 ISBN 1 55611 407 9 Jeanette MacDonald pregnancy screenshot Jeanette MacDonald amp Nelson Eddy Home Page Maceddy com March 10 2015 Fleming E J 2004 The Fixers Eddie Mannix Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine Jefferson NC McFarland p 180 ISBN 0786420278 a b Rich Sharon 2014 Sweethearts The Timeless Love Affair Onscreen and Off Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Sandy Reiss Interview Maceddy com April 28 2012 Retrieved January 20 2016 Rise Stevens Interview Maceddy com April 28 2012 Retrieved January 20 2016 Miliza Korjus Interview Maceddy com April 28 2012 Retrieved January 20 2016 Mac Eddy Today Issue 72 Lake Tahoe trip 1948 Jeanette MacDonald amp Nelson Eddy Home Page Maceddy com February 20 2017 An Excerpt from Sweethearts Sharon Rich Sharonrich com Searchable database RIAA 2015 Archived from the original on April 12 2019 Retrieved February 9 2015 Jeanette MacDonald MacDonald In Song Discogs Retrieved May 3 2019 Religious Songs sung by Jeanette MacDonald Library of Congress Retrieved April 22 2019 Jeanette MacDonald s Operetta Favorites Library of Congress Retrieved April 22 2019 Jeanette MacDonald Romantic Moments Discogs Retrieved April 22 2019 Jeanette MacDonald Favorites Discogs Retrieved April 22 2019 Favorites in Stereo Discogs December 7 1965 Retrieved April 22 2019 Jeanette MacDonald Smilin Through Discogs December 7 1960 Retrieved April 22 2019 Jeanette MacDonald Sings Songs of Faith and Inspriation Discogs December 7 1963 Retrieved April 22 2019 a b c Hollywood Diva 1998 p 350 References editBarclay Florence L The Rosary by Florence L Barclay new introduction by Sharon Rich comments by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Bell Harbour Press 2005 This 1910 1 best seller featured two singers in a Jane Eyre plot and the heroine s nickname was Jeanette Eddy chose it as a possible film vehicle for himself and MacDonald in 1948 This edition features a new introduction with excerpts from their written correspondence of 1948 in which the film project was discussed Castanza Philip The Films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Citadel Press 1978 Eddy Nelson All Stars Don t Spangle movie treatment for himself and MacDonald reprinted in its entirety in Mac Eddy Today magazine issue 50 Hamann G D Ed Collections of contemporary newspaper and magazine references in the following Jeanette MacDonald in the 30s 141 pp Jeanette MacDonald in the 40s 100 pp Nelson Eddy in the 30s and 40s 128 pp and Filming Today Press 2005 Hollywood California www GDHamann com Knowles Dugan Eleanor The Films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Booksurge Llc 2006 Rich Sharon 2002 Jeanette MacDonald The Irving Stone Letters Bell Harbour Press ISBN 0 9711998 4 1 Letters by MacDonald are reproduced and annotated MacDonald dated Stone in 1927 28 and remained friends afterwards so most of these are love letters In one letter from August 1929 she tells Stone she is recovering from a heart attack Rich Sharon 2004 Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography The Lost Manuscript Bell Harbour Press ISBN 0 9711998 8 4 The complete typewritten autobiography with MacDonald s handwritten editing deletions and comments noted throughout Annotated and with original letters from MacDonald s collaborator on the project Rich Sharon 2001 Nelson Eddy The Opera Years Bell Harbour Press ISBN 0 9711998 0 9 Rich Sharon 2001 Sweethearts The Timeless Love Affair Onscreen and Off Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Bell Harbour Press ISBN 0 9711998 1 7 This is an updated edition of Rich Sharon Sweethearts The Timeless Love Affair On screen and Off Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Donald I Fine 1994 Footnotes are from 2001 edition Updated again in 2014 Skeel Sharon 2020 Catherine Littlefield A Life in Dance Oxford University Press Turk Edward Baron 1998 Hollywood Diva A Biography of Jeanette MacDonald University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 22253 3 McCormick Maggie 2019a I ll See You Again The Bittersweet Love Story and Wartime Letters of Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond Volume 1 The War and Before BearManor Media ISBN 978 1 62933 436 3 McCormick Maggie 2019b I ll See You Again The Bittersweet Love Story and Wartime Letters of Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond Volume 2 The Letters BearManor Media ISBN 978 1 62933 448 6 McCormick Maggie 2019c I ll See You Again The Bittersweet Love Story and Wartime Letters of Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond Volume 3 After the War BearManor Media ISBN 978 1 62933 450 9 External links editPortals nbsp Biography nbsp Film nbsp Music nbsp Theatre nbsp Opera nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette MacDonald at IMDb nbsp Jeanette MacDonald at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Jeanette MacDonald at the TCM Movie Database nbsp Jeanette MacDonald discography at Discogs Jeanette MacDonald at Find a Grave nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jeanette MacDonald amp oldid 1218266967, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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