Dixie Dunbar Explained

Dixie Dunbar
Birth Name:	Christina Elizabeth Dunbar
Birth Date:	January 19, 1919
Birth Place:	Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Death Date:	August 29, 1991 (aged 72)
Death Place:	Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Occupation:	Actress, singer
Yearsactive:	1934–1938
Spouse:	Gene Snyder (m. 1941; div. 1952) Robert M. Herndon (m. 1954; div. 1957) Jack L. King (m. 1958; died 1979)

Christina Elizabeth "Dixie" Dunbar^[1] (January 19, 1919 – August 29, 1991) was an American singer, film actress,^[2] and dancer.

Early life and career

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Dunbar grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She began studying dancing as a child and went on to sing and dance in nightclubs.

In 1934, she was Ray Bolger's dancing partner in the revue Life Begins at 8:40, which was staged in Boston.^[3] She also performed in that show on Broadway in 1934-35 and the Broadway productions of Yokel Boy (1939–40)^[4] and George White's Scandals (1934).

Dunbar's film debut also came in George White's Scandals (1934). During the 1930s she appeared in a number of Twentieth Century Fox films, including two Jones Family films.

After she left Broadway and films, she returned to nightclubs, performing for a while before she retired. In the early 1950s, she performed in television commercials for Old Gold cigarettes, dancing enclosed in a representation of a cigarette pack with only her legs visible.

Personal life and death

Dunbar married three times: to choreographer Gene Snyder from 1941 to 1952,^{[5] [6] [7]} to Robert M. Herndon from 1954 to 1957,^{[8] [9]} and to Jack L. King from October 1958 until his death.^[10]

She died on August 29, 1991, in Miami Beach, Florida, aged 72. She had had a series of heart attacks.^[11]

Selected filmography

• George White's Scandals (1934)
• Educating Father (1936)
• Sing, Baby, Sing (1936)
• One in a Million (1936)
• King of Burlesque (1936)
• Girls' Dormitory (1936)
• Pigskin Parade (1936)
• Sing and Be Happy (1937)
• Walking Down Broadway (1938)
• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
• Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)

Notes and References

1. Book: Hischak . Thomas S. . The Oxford Companion to the American Musical . 2008 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-533533-0 . 216 . December 18, 2020 . en.
2. Book: Green . Stanley . Hollywood Musicals Year by Year . 1999 . Hal Leonard Corporation . 50.
3. News: Shubert tries out revue in Boston . December 18, 2020 . The New York Times . August 7, 1934 . 20. ProQuest.
4. Web site: Dixie Dunbar . Internet Broadway Database . The Broadway League . December 18, 2020 . https://archive.today/20201218031749/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/dixie-dunbar-38668 . December 18, 2020.
5. Winchell, Walter (February 14, 1941). "On Broadway". The Dayton Herald. p. 14. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
6. Wilson, Earl (September 19, 1952). "Earl Wilson". Los Angeles Daily News. p. 24. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
7. "Marriage Over: Dixie Dunbar to Resume Career"
8. News: Dixie Dunbar Snyder, Robert M. Herndon Wed. December 12, 1954. New York Herald Tribune. 72. The ceremony was performed in Christ Church, Methodist, by the Rev. Arthur W. Goodhand. [...] Mr. Herndon attended Hotchkiss School and was a motion picture director for eleven years in Hollywood. He is now assistant director of 'Seven Wonders of the World,' the new Lowell Thomas production in cinerama.. .
9. News: Broadway: Manhattan Memoranda. Walker, Danton. September 24, 1957. New York Daily News. C16. Dixie, however, is back in the news. Three years ago she 'retired' to run a lounge in Hallandale, Fla., after marrying Bob Herndon, but she's back in New York with a divorce and is Dick Harvey's constant companion at the Harwyn.. .
10. "Florida Marriage Index, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001,", FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VJKS-3BM : 28 November 2014), Jack L King, Oct 1958; from "Florida, Marriage Collection, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2006); citing Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida; and Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research.
11. News: Dixie Dunbar, 72; Dancer Had First Film Role at 15 . July 11, 2024 . Los Angeles Times . November 7, 1991 . A 32. .