I have a theory that Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Marilyn Monroe, Dinah Shore, Kay Francis, and Ava Gardner all passed for white, most likely along with a whole host of others. Anyone have any theories or know anyone else who did? I am doing a report for sociology! Thanks.
sharewho cares? race isn't real anyway; it's a social concept, it's not even biological. I'm more than positive that all of the women on that list are mixed with different "races", as is everyone else. it's ridiculous and strange that people are classified in this way, we don't classify animals from the same species that are different colors as different races. I can understand the classification of male and female, because there are actual differences in our bodies, but they're aren't with people of a different skin color. there are no genetic characteristics shared by all blacks, but not by non-blacks, nor are there genetic characteristics shared by all whites, but not by non-whites, or and other race for that matter. the notion that people could be divided along the lines of black, white or yellow or whatever comes from the credulous ideas of the Europeans in the Middle Ages. all of these people have be tortured, killed, disregarded, discriminated against, and for what? SOLELY because of the color of our skin, not because we are actually different, but because our skin comes in different shades. our knowledge have evolved, so should these outdated, scientifically incorrect ideas that just serve to separate people.
shareKathryn Grayson? What part of Kathryn Grayson implies anything other than white? Your "theory" appears to be based more on the size of a nose, except for Miss Grayson, which is far too little to support such a theory.
As for such a claim, who knows and who cares? They are all fabulous and should be appreciated for their talents, not their ancestry!! A sociology class should not include casting aspersions on the deceased in some effort to make some claim.
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Marilyn was about as white as white can be. (OK - Van Johnson is whiter.) Dinah Shore was Jewish. Kay Francis perhaps. (How many people on imdb know who Kay Francis is?) Ava Gardner might not have hid it if she were...
Merle Oberon and Boris Karloff (I think) were part Indian which I think makes them more interesting. I remember reading that a common rumor in Hollywood was that Clark Gable was part Black.
But Marilyn Monroe? How about Ingrid Bergman? Ha ha.
"Who put the pineapple juice in my pineapple juice?"
I saw an interview ABOUT Dinah Shore after her death. Rumor was spread around Hollywood that Dinah was black passing for white. They showed a photo of her in her youth. She bared a striking resemblance to Mariah Carey. Now, I never thought Mariah had any black characteristics physically. But others think she does. Based on the two women looking so similar, it has got me to thinking. Also, in the interview, the interviewee said Dinah was very hurt by the rumors. Dinah was sympathetic to the black struggle and was supportive of black liberation, says the interviewee.
shareActually Dinah Shore's parents were Russian and Jewish; an ethnic group too marginalized and insular to have had any close contacts with Africans in eighteen hundreds Europe. Anyway as I noted in a discussion on this topic on the the Dinah Shore board, since removed by an overly politically correct administrator, the only black Russian I've ever heard of was a drink; not a person. Okay, there's Alexander Pushkin and Peter Ustinov, both part Ethiopian, but their the exception.
During the nineteen fifties Dinah Shore often featured African Americans on her popular verity show. This was too much for many racists who, in an effort to get her show canceled or to scare of sponsors, started the rumor she was part black and passing for white. Worse they said she had given birth to a child, with black features, who she had put up for adoption so she could keep her background secret. This story was particularly vicious she had lost a child during the late forties. The racist allegations had little lasting effect on her career.
The story just won't die. I had older relatives, admittedly big tabloid and gossip magazine readers, who swore all of their lives Dinah Shore was really black.
TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.
this thread is so interesting...i think today actors don't pass per se', what they do now is just marginalize their ethnicity or keep it secret. i think that's the new "passing".
shareHow sure are any of us of our ethnic origin, especially if you live in Canada or the US or now, with easy global travel, just about any open society? So many people came here from all over the world. Can you really say you're half this and half that? How about the generation before that? And the generation before that? If you go back very far, the paper trail vanishes (if that is even accurate, due to "illegitimate" births, adoptions and so on), and there's no telling what's in your DNA.
And in the long run, it shouldn't matter. Isn't that the point of the whole film?
One of the best answers I've seen in a long time when it comes to discussing about genetics and family history. I applaud you txfilmfan. :)
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~Please treat others how you'd want to be treated~
I agree with this 100%, they don't pass any more, just marginalize their background.
share"This is Louisianna chief. How do you know who your daddy is? Cause your mamma tells you so!"
share
With all of the weird theories about Hollywood personalities passing for white, on this thread, no one has mentioned Ina Ray Hutton (1916-1984); born Odessa Cowan to a black (mixed) family in Chicago.
Starting out on stage at age eight she apparently decided to pass for white at seventeen. Passing allowed her to joined the Ziegfeld Follies in 1934. Later she formed an all girl swing band and appeared in a number of movies . During the fifties she had her own regional TV show.
TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.
^ i did mention Ina Ray Hutton earlier but it was deleted for some reason.
shareI'm surprised anyone else on this board knows who Ina Ray Hutton was. The only reason I know is I ran across the name while researching a writing project about passing in Hollywood.
I'm not sure why it would be deleted. Google Ina Ray Hutton there are a number of entries about her background including "Secrets of a "Blond" Bombshell". There are now public census records about the families "mulatto" and "Negro" classification. There were also articles Odessa Colwan and her younger Half sister June from the black Chicago Defender when they were working as regional child stars. Apparently their mother decided to change their names and racial identities when Odessa (Ina Ray) was offered a chance to dance and sing on a national basis.
Although Ina Ray Hutton only acted in one movie but she and her all girl band appeared in several film shorts now on U-tube. It is ironic that someone, who spent her entire life hiding her black background would appear in a short called "The Cotton Club Parade", sang "Cabin in the Sky" from the all black musical and "Truckin'" which was "live from Harlem". In a more deceptive vane she sang "Macnamara's Band" on her TV series. Interestingly she was originally described as being of "Irish Decent on her Wikipedia page before her black ancestry became public knowledge.
June Hutton sang with a number of big bands during the thirties and forties. She appeared, uncredited in "Pin Up Girl" along with the "Star Dusters". She was also on TV with Frank Sinatra during the early fifties.
TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.
that's actually how i found out about her...on a comic book forum no less.
shareGypsy Rhouma?
Despite her exotic name the dancer and sometimes actress was actually born in Arkansas in 1909. There's no reliable information about what her birth name was. Given her birth place, dark appearance and large eyes it is not hard to come to the conclusion she was a light skinned black women passing for white. Fredi Washington and Lena Horne had been offered a chance to go to Europe and change there names and racial identities but refused. It is not to hard to imagine someone saying yes to the idea.
Gypsy Rhouma assumed her identity while working as a dancer in California during the 1920s. She moved to Europe where she appeared on stage and became popular for her Gypsy/jazz age flapper persona.
Her brief movie career included a part she may have been born for; Tondelayo in the first British version of "White Cargo (1929). In old photo she was quite convincing as the racially mixed character. What wasn't convincing was her acting ability so she quit after doing two more movies.
She returned to the US and worked in several clubs before dropping out of sight. Did she decide to try another identity? Who knows.
TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.
Here's one that I know of: Jennifer Beals. She is biracial but when she appeared in the movie "Flashdance" she was deliberately overlit to make her skin look lighter.
shareJennifer Beals was playing a character name Alexa Owens as opposed to someone with a Southern European or Hispanic name explaining her dark features. She wore her hair out. When "Flash Dance" was released she submitted her name for a NAACP Image Award. She played a light skinned black women, passing for white, in "The Devil in a Blue Dress". She has discussed biracial background in countless interviews. You are right dude. The lady is definitely passing for white. LOL
Seriously if they fooled around with the lighting, in "Flash Dance", it was to cover up the fact they used a double in the dance scenes. It didn't work.
TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.
I think many white celebrities are passing.
shareJohnny Depp is 3/2048 black. You would never know it lo look at him.
Seriously one of his ancestors was the first black women to buy her freedom in Colonial America during the sixteen hundreds.
TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.
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