Today is Irene Dunne's birthday. Already a star in 1931, with an Oscar nomination and best picture (Cimarron) to her credit, the work we now know her for—the comedies she made with Cary Grant—is still a few years up the road.Actually, audiences in 1931 would have been surprised to learn Dunne is best remembered as a comedienne; so would Dunne, for that matter. She was primarily a singer and dramatic actress and didn't do her first comedy until 1936, one of Katie's and my favorites, Theodora Goes Wild.
At an age (38) when a flop might end her career, Dunne was so unsure of her ability to do comedy that she fled the country for a couple of months, hoping the studio would recast the part (those were the days of long-term contracts when even stars had little control over what they played) then reluctantly consented when it didn't. She needn't have worried—Theodora Goes Wild was a big hit and she received her second of five Oscar nominations (she never won).Comedy, she later said, "demands more timing, pace, shading and subtlety of emphasis. It is difficult to learn but once it is acquired it can be easily slowed down and becomes an excellent foundation for dramatic acting."
Cary Grant said she was the sweetest-smelling actress he ever worked with. Unfortunately, my copy of The Awful Truth doesn't come with a scratch-and-sniff card, so I'll have to take his word for it. I can say she is one of the sweetest actresses to watch I've ever seen.
The wallpaper, by the way, is courtesy of Sylvie. Toddle over to "Divas—The Site" and check out some others.
And now one last picture of Irene Dunne—and some guy you may or may not recognize.
