Linda Darnell (Because Of You)

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• Added : 250 days ago |
• Views : 2,094
• Category : People
• Provider : http://youtube.com/
• Description : A tribute to the gorgeous actress w...(more)ith dark beauty, Linda Darnell (1923-1965), who played innocent virginal heriones in her early career and then sultry, sophisticated and sometimes seductive femme fatales in her later films. Born Monetta Darnell in Texas, Linda was the child of a stage mother who pushed her into beauty pagents before she was even a teenager. Signed by 20th Century Fox at the age of 14, she began with a featured role in "Elsa Maxwell's Hotel For Women" in 1939 and soon found herself cast opposite such actors as John Payne in "Stardust" (1940) in a role that was specifically written for Linda based on her own rise to fame, and Tyrone Power in "Daytime Wife" (1939), "Brigham Young" and "The Mark Of Zorro" (both 1940) and "Blood And Sand" (1941). Her roles became more complex in the mid-40s, with such siren-like roles in "Summer Storm" (1945), "Hangover Square", "My Darling Clementine" and "Fallen Angel" (all 1946), and later as a 17th-century British courtesan in "Forever Amber' (1947). Her career began to falter later in the decade, although "A Letter To Three Wives" (1949) and "No Way Out" (1950) are often considered her best performances. Three failed marriages, a long-running but unfufilled affair with writer-producer-director Joesph L. Mankiewicz, a drinking problem as well as family tension took their toll on the actress and she attemted suicide in the 50s. Darnell turned to stage and nightclub work to pay the bills after her film career came to a halt.. The actress had just made a comeback in the low budget western "Black Spurs" (1965) when she tragically expired after injuries she sustained in a housefire while visting friends in Illinois. Linda was plagued by a phobia of fire all her life, which came tragically true. Eerie too, how in many of her films her characters were within close proximity of flames or when a fire was part of plots, such as "Anna And The King Of Siam" (1946). Her adopted daughter Lola called Linda "One of most courageous people I've ever known." Linda had gone back into the burning house mistakenly believing that her friend's teenage daughter was still trapped inside, despite her paralyzing fear of fire. Darnell is not as well-remembered as some of her contemporaries but to me she certainly was on par with them in talent and her beauty was breathtaking. Fellow Fox contract player Gene Tierney (certainly no Plain Jane herself) described Linda as having "the face of a Sistine Madonna". I used Tony Bennett's "Because Of You" in this tribute. Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: All photos and music are copyrighted to their respective owners. No infringement intended. (less)