thedailymovieclub:

“If I were white, I could capture the world.” —— Dorothy Dandridge 

She was a beautiful actress and singer whose star shone too briefly. She rose to the top of her profession with her first starring role and became the first black woman to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. But, just as fast as her success was achieved, so did it begin to fade.

She knew it was hard, close to impossible, for a black actress to maintain a long running career in Hollywood because the roles were simply not there. 

Dorothy had the drive and the talent to make it but the color of her skin held her back and her life soon began a downward spiral which in the end turned tragic. (source)

THE 50’s & EARLIER

The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935)Easy to Take (1936)*A Day at the Races (1937)*It Can’t Last Forever (1937)*Going Places (1938)*Irene (1940)*Four Shall Die (1940)Lady from Louisiana (1941)Sun Valley Serenade (1941)Sundown (1941)Bahama Passage (1941)Ride ‘Em Cowboy (1942)*The Night Before the Divorce (1942)*Night in New Orleans (1942)*Drums of the Congo (1942)Lucky Jordan (1942)*Happy Go Lucky (1942)*Hit Parade of 1943 (1943)Since You Went Away (1944)Atlantic City (1944)Tarzan’s Peril (1951)The Harlem Globetrotters (1951)Bright Road (1953)Carmen Jones (1954)Island in the Sun (1957)Tamango (1958)The Decks Ran Red (1958)Porgy and Bess (1959)

THE 60’s 

Malaga (1960)

*uncredited 

what a beautiful soul.

(via simonefiasco)