19 Golden Age Actors And Singers Who Died In Poverty
591 views · Sep 16, 2026 · People & Blogs
Comments · 4
@1234pouvez · 12 days ago
Jumping to the week she died to begin with, she did not live in a modest apartment. She lived in the very well-known El Palacio apartments with a balcony overlooking the Sunset Strip. Today the building is a historical Landmark. According to her agent Earl Mills they had just returned from Mexico where she signed a movie contract for one-hundred thousand dollars for two films. Raul Fernande was the producer. Before that she'd finished a very successful engagement at the Paddock Supper Club in Alburquerque N.M. The Friday of that same week she was scheduled to open at the renowned Basin Street East in New York. She had a small broken bone in her foot. Earl MILLs was supposed to pick her up and take her to the doctor. She called him early the morning of September 8th and asked him to make a later appointment. She'd been up late the night before talking to her mother and the lady was scheduled to come and pack her wardrobed truck for the upcoming singing engagement. There was no bank slip found with 24 cents to her name. Usually the story is two dollars, but now it's been reduced to 24 cents. She had the money to pay for the evening gowns she had made for her upcoming basin street engagement. She had the money to pay the lady scheduled to pack her wardrobe trunk. The first coroner's report was a fat embolism. The was before the toxicology report conducted by Dr. Theodore Curphey the Chief medical Examiner of the LA Coroner's office. His findings were acute drug intoxication. ingestion of tofranil---accident--suicide-undetermined. That was the final toxicology report. In recent years, it's been pointed out that medication during that time, the '60s, didn't have the warning labels that they have today, about maximum dosage, and mixing medication with other medication or alcohol. Consequently, there were a lot of sudden deaths such as hers, Nick Adams, Dinah Washington Pier Angeli, Judy Garland, Robert Walker. and Alan Ladd.
@1234pouvez · 12 days ago (edited)
Why don't we honor Miss Dandridge's legacy by telling the truth. Hollywood's racial discrimination did not severely limit roles available to her. She did not have a film contract with "Hollywood". On February 15th, 1955, she became the 1st African American actor to sign a contract with a major film studio 20TH Century Fox for star roles only for a lucrative salary per film. Darryl F. Zanuck was president. As long as she was under contract, she didn't have to worry about scripts. She had to be offered at least one film a year with a starring role for the salary stipulated in her contract. She actually made five films in three years, the star of all of the films. She was the 1st African American Actor to have an interracial kiss onscreen. in "The Decks Ran Red" she and Stuwart Whitman kiss. She was the 1st African American Actor to star in films have absolutely nothing to do with race. Those films are "The Decks Ran Red" "Malaga" and "Marco Polo". Today she is honored with a star on Hollywood Blvd and a Statue at Hollywood Gateway.
Up next

20 Hollywood Stars With Dark Secrets They Tried to Hide
Courtroom Unseen · 460 views

11 Nicest British Stars of Hollywood's Golden Age – Their Stories Will Surprise You
Echoes of Britannia · 49K views

15 MORE Iconic Singers Who Were HORRIBLE People in Real Life
Rock History and Riff Explains · 25K views

15 Classic TV & Hollywood Stars Who DIED Of AIDS
Fade To Legends · 55K views

20 Hollywood Legends Whose Heavy Smoking Took a Devastating Toll
Hollywood Underbelly · 1.9K views

Old Hollywood Called Them 'Rebels.' The Truth Was Far Darker (17 Drunk Stars)
Hollywood Underbelly · 381 views

21 Old Hollywood Scandals They Tried to Bury Forever
Timeless Hollywood · 1.6K views

10 British Stars Who DIED Completely BROKE And FORGOTTEN by People.
Unforgatable Frames · 689 views

Prince Philip's Secret Life Was Much Nastier Than You Thought
British Secrets · 1.7K views

10 Classic Singers Who Were Actually SHOCKINGLY Dumb
Rock History and Riff Explains · 88K views

12 Rich TV Stars Who Lived Shockingly Frugal Lives
Fade To Legends · 123K views

Famous Actors Who Are Dying and You Didn't Know | You’d Never Recognize Today
HOURGLASS · 2.2M views

10 Iconic TV Co-Stars Who Absolutely Hated Each Other
Fade To Legends · 305K views

23 Celebrities With The MOST Horrifying SECRET LIFE | Vintage Hollywood
Bigstar-V8 · 509K views

40 Classic Hollywood Stars Who Were JEWS But You Never Knew
Golden Age TV and Timeless Vintage · 25K views

15 Classic Actors Who Got Away with TERRIBLE Crimes
Fade To Legends · 84K views

12 Sitcom Stars Who Died Of Horrible Diseases
Stars We Remember · 4.1K views

MGM Kept A Teenage Judy Garland On Pills — 10 Old Hollywood Body Secrets Checked
What the Camera Hid · 692 views

20 Famous Actors Who Are Dying… And You Had No Idea
The Celebrity Journey · 28 views

23 Worst Ways Alcoholic Hollywood Actors Have Died
The Celebrity Journey · 1.1K views

10+ Hollywood Legends Killed by the Habit They Couldn't Quit
Yesterday’s Legends · 1.6K views

10 Nicest Actors In Golden Age Of Hollywood | Old Hollywood Secrets
Hollywood Keepsake · 3.6K views

13 Golden Age Actresses Who Were Secretly Born Men
Legacy News · 360K views

TOP 21 Golden Age Stars Who Tragically Died of AIDS | Then and Now 2026
The Celebrity Journey · 6.9K views

50 Celebrities Who Are Battling Life-Threatening Diseases
Iconic Inside · 800K views

40 Classic TV Stars Who Were Secretly Connected To MAFIA
Golden Age TV · 53K views