Carmen D'Antonio explained

Carmen D'Antonio
Birth Name:Nicoletta Carmen D'Antonio
Birth Date:November 28, 1911
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Place:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation:Actress, dancer
Years Active:1939 - 1969
Spouse(S):Carl Gustav Verner Laand
(m. 1944 – ?)

Nicoletta Carmen D'Antonio (November 28, 1911 – February 9, 1986) was an American actress and dancer.

Early life and education

D'Antonio was born in Philadelphia,[1] the daughter of Carmine D'Antonio and Teresa Colantuono D'Antonio. Her father was born in Italy, and her mother was born in the United States, to Italian immigrant parents.[2] In some publicity, she claimed more far-flung origins, and a much younger age.[3] [4]

Career

D'Antonio was a dancer whose act was usually characterized as "exotic".[5] [6] [7] She had a nightclub act at the Pirate's Den in Hollywood.[8] "She smears herself with oil and does such dances as to give the censors the shudders," according to a 1944 report. Her publicist staged a photograph of her, bathing in "strong black coffee", to add to her mystique.

D'Antonio's film credits included roles in Another Thin Man (1939), Destry Rides Again (1939), Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940),[9] Angels over Broadway (1940),[10] The Long Voyage Home (1940),[11] Arabian Nights (1942), Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947), Sirocco (1951), Golden Girl (1951), World for Ransom (1954), Maracaibo (1958), Tank Commando (1959), and Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960).

D'Antonio appeared in television programs through the 1960s, often cast as a Native American character in Westerns, as in Have Gun–Will Travel (1962, 1963),[12] Wagon Train (1964) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964), but she also had roles in The Thin Man (1959), Checkmate (1961), My Three Sons (1965),[13] and Family Affair (1969).

D'Antonio also danced on Broadway in Panama Hattie (1940).[14] [15] She made a number of short exotic dance films in the 1940s, with titles including "Jungle Drums Artist" (1941), "Balinesia Artist" (1942) and "Conchita Pepita" (1942).[16] In the 1950s she toured the United States, dancing at nightclubs and casinos.[17] [18] "She offered Hollywood a pretty and generic otherness that could authenticate its fantasies of Singapore, Arabia, or Morocco," commented one film scholar.[19]

Personal life and death

D'Antonio married Karl Gustav Verner Laand in San Francisco, California on December 16, 1944.[20]

On February 9, 1986, D'Antonio died of undisclosed causes in Los Angeles, California.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 1941-03-22 . Frisky Filly from Philly . 8 . The Courier-Journal . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  2. Details of her family from Nicoletta D'Antonio's birth certificate, date of birth 11-28-11; and the 1920 US Federal Census, both via Ancestry
  3. News: Othman . Frederick C. . 1944-01-05 . Dancer's Best Friend is her Press Writer . 10 . The News-Messenger . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: 1941-01-11 . Wiggles in Jungle Oil; Carmen D'Antonio is Dance Sensation in Broadway Musical . 30 . The Windsor Star . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: 1943-04-04 . Famous Dancer Enjoys Beach . 26 . Tampa Bay Times . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: 1956-01-25 . Carmen D'Antonio Scores in New Hacienda Show . 13 . The Fresno Bee . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: 1940-12-29 . Carmen D'Antonio is a Latin from Philly . 73 . Dayton Daily News . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  8. September 16, 1940 . Carmen D'Antonio is Hollywood's New Night-Club Dance Sensation . Life . 58–59.
  9. Book: Kinnard . Roy . The Flash Gordon Serials, 1936-1940: A Heavily Illustrated Guide . Crnkovich . Tony . Vitone . R. J. . 2015-05-20 . McFarland . 978-0-7864-5500-3 . 176 . en.
  10. Book: Blottner, Gene . Columbia Noir: A Complete Filmography, 1940-1962 . 2015-03-31 . McFarland . 978-0-7864-7014-3 . 11, 130, 203 . en.
  11. Book: McGhee, Richard D. . John Wayne: Actor, Artist, Hero . 2016-09-30 . McFarland . 978-1-4766-2824-0 . 331 . en.
  12. News: 1962-01-13 . Have Gun, Will Travel . 6 . The Orlando Sentinel . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  13. News: 1965-05-15 . A Lone Redman in Indian Episode . 24 . The Morning Herald . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  14. Book: Dietz, Dan . The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals . 2015-02-02 . 47. Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-4422-4528-0 . en.
  15. April 29, 1941 . Oil Dressed Up . Pic . 9 . 9 . 25–27 . Internet Archive.
  16. Book: Cantor, Mark . The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s . 2023-04-19 . McFarland . 978-1-4766-4642-8 . cs.
  17. News: 1950-07-26 . Carmen D'Antonio, Famed Dancer, at Silver Moon Club . 15 . The Town Talk . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  18. News: 1952-05-18 . Dancing Star at Jamboree . 96 . The Daily Oklahoman . 2023-07-20 . Newspapers.com.
  19. Book: Brown, Judith Christine . Glamour in Six Dimensions: Modernism and the Radiance of Form . 2009 . Cornell University Press . 978-0-8014-4779-2 . 163 . en.
  20. "California, San Francisco County Records, 1824-1997",, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL4Y-SNGS : Tue Oct 03 22:00:43 UTC 2023), Entry for Karl Gustav Verner Laand and Nicolletta Carmen d'Antonio, 16 Dec 1944.
  21. "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGPQ-8YP : 26 November 2014), Nicolette Carmen Dantonio, 09 Feb 1986; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

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