Born On This Day- December 4th... Unexpected Personal Muse Deanna Durbin

This is not a proof sheet for headshots, but the actual product. A Seattle commercial photographer loved to use me for shoots & projects, & this was his 1987 promotional calendar for his studio. What can I say... the camera loves me.

Yesterday, while waiting for the MAX train, a young woman that I serve on the Portland Downtown Retail Commission with, saw me & stopped to comment that she had watched Drugstore Cowboy on IFC the previous evening & was surprised & delighted by my work in the film. This morning at work & received the following email, just as I was reading who was born on December 4th & attempting to come up with ideas for a post:
Hi Stephen

After we spoke today, I remembered you were also one of the video dates from Singles. One of my favorite movies ever. Your bit was awesome, and I remembered it without even going on IMDB! Great part. Good work. I can't believe that movie is almost 20 years old, that era feels like yesterday. Your Fan, Lisa

She really should be just a footnote to me; I truly have a deep love of film history. although I never really cared  for or about her, Deanna Durbin ends up holding a place in my personality & the direction my life turned because of a little anecdote.


Durbin made her first film appearance in 1936 with Judy Garland in Every Sunday & subsequently signed a contract with Universal Studios, where she was paid $400,000 per film. Her success as the ideal teenage girl in films such as Three Smart Girls (1936) was credited with saving the studio from bankruptcy. In 1938 Durbin won a special Oscar for Best Juvenile Actor. She was Universal’s top star.

As she grew older, Durbin grew dissatisfied with the girl-next-door roles assigned to her, & attempted to portray a more mature & sophisticated style. But the film noirs Christmas Holiday (1944) & Lady on a Train (1945) were not as well received as her musical comedies & romances had been. While she was working 1936-1948, Durbin’s fan club was the largest in the world.



She was, like Judy Garland, a Hollywood creation & a world-wide phenomenon. Yet, Durbin withdrew from Hollywood & retired from acting & singing in 1949. She married film producer-director Charles Henri David in 1950, & the couple moved to a farmhouse outside of the village Neauphle-le-Chateau, outside of Paris. Since then she has withdrawn from public life & she continues to fiercely guard her privacy. Unlike Garbo, who famously strolled the streets of New York, Durbin truly does want to be alone.


In 1980, she sent a current photo of herself to Life Magazine, with a note explaining that she was upset at the stories of being overweight. Since her retirement, Durbin has granted only a single interview in 1983, to film historian David Shipman.
Unlike Garbo, who famously strolled the streets of New York, Durbin truly does want to be alone in order to lead a normal life.

Winston Churchill adored her movies, & Durbin was Anne Frank’s favorite Hollywood star.


So here is the anecdote. It was told to me a very successful film & stage producer who I briefly slept with for a few months in 1974. I won’t name him, but I will tell you that I got to hold the Tony Award that he won (one of several) for Wonderful Town while he did unspeakable things to my 20 year old body. Here we go:

Garland had suffered from extreme drug & alcohol abuse, & she had become overweight & very ill, After a long convalescence, weight loss, & vocal rest, she returned to the concert stage with a simple program of 'just Judy.' Her Concert at Carnegie Hall in NYC on the night of April 23, 1961, has been called "the greatest night in show business history". Garland's live concerts had become huge successes at the time & the double album of the event was a gigantic best seller, spending 73 weeks on the Billboard chart, including 13 weeks #1. It won 7 Grammys, including Album of the Year.It seems that when Judy Garland was enjoying her amazing comeback with her fabled concerts, she was trying to reach her childhood rival- Deanna Durbin who lived in a farmhouse with no telephone. Garland would not give up her attempt to reach the reclusive Durbin & was finally able to speak to her via a telephone at the local parish. Garland gushed to Durbin about her new found success & her happy circumstances. When there was finally a pause, Durbin said: “Oh Judy dear… are you still in that shitty business?”

Durbin’s retort has lived on as my mantra whenever I am asked why I retired from acting.