Durbin signed a contract with MGM in 1935 and made her first film appearance in a short subject Every Sunday with another contractee, Judy Garland. Studio executives were questioning the wisdom of having two girl singers on the roster and the film was to serve as an extended screen test for the pair. Ultimately Louis B. Mayer decreed that both girls would be kept, but by the time that decision was made Durbin's contract option had elapsed.
In Life magazine's December 21, 1936 issue, before the release of her first feature length film, a young Deanna was featured in the article "Their Music Makes News", which was about new and exceptional young musical talents, and is pictured cutting her 14th birthday cake.
Durbin was quickly signed to a contract with Universal Studios and made her first feature-length film Three Smart Girls in 1936. The huge success of her films was reported to have saved the studio from bankruptcy. In 1938 she received a special Academy Juvenile Awar
More about Deanna Durbin (From Wikipedia)
Deanna Durbin (born December 4, 1921) is a Canadian singer and Academy Award-winning actress from Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s.
read more...Born Edna Mae Durbin at Grace Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, she adopted the professional name Deanna at the commencement of her career. Her parents, James and Ada Durbin, read more...
Durbin signed a contract with MGM in 1935 and made her first film appearance in a short subject Every Sunday with another contractee, Judy Garland. Studio executives were questioning read more...