Jeanette Anna MacDonald was born on June 18, 1903, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She took dance lessons as a young girl and her first professional jobs were as a dancer, but she later turned to singing, landing several choice roles in Broadway musicals. Her successes on Broadway were a springboard to her movie career. She was screen-tested and signed by Paramount Pictures, and her first appearance was in The Love Parade with Maurice Chevalier. The film propelled Jeannette and Chevalier to stardom and started the Hollywood career of director Ernst Lubitsch. The songs and action blended together seamlessly, and the film was a box-office success. Her second film came the next year: The Vagabond King, based on the novel by R.H. Russell. It, too, was a box-office hit. Paramount then filmed Monte Carlo with Jeanette in the lead role as Countess Vera Von Conti. The movie wasn't as big a hit as the studio thought it would be, however, mainly because of Jeanette's co-star, Jack Buchanan. After six mediocre films in 1931, 1932 saw Jeanette and Chevalier paired again with director Lubitsch in One Hour with You. Chevalier wanted his co-star to be Carole Lombard, but Lubitsch persuaded him to accept Jeanette instead. The chemistry between Jeanette and Chevalier made the movie yet another success. For some reason, though, the Paramount bosses never really liked her, and she was dropped by the studio. In 1934 she signed with MGM, which paired her with Ramon Novarro in The Cat and the Fiddle. The next year, however, was the beginning of her teaming with Nelson Eddy, and the two were to become as famous a singing team as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were a dancing team. The film was Naughty Marietta, and its success resulted in Jeanette's being cast with Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable in San Francisco, which became another in the long line of box-office hits for her. After The Firefly and Broadway Serenade, however, her career began to slow down a bit. She made three films in 1940, one in 1941, two in 1942, none in 1943, and one in 1944. She didn't appear in another film again for five years, when she played Helen Winter in The Sun Comes Up. Her final screen appearance was in Three Daring Daughters, after which she went into semi-retirement. Aside from a few personal appearances and TV spots, she never again entertained vast audiences. She and Eddy recorded an album of their favorite songs, which became a big seller. After that, however, she resumed her retirement and lived quietly with her husband, former actor/dancer Gene Raymond. On January 14, 1965, Jeanette passed away from a heart attack in Houston, Texas. She was 61 years old.



The Cat and the Fiddle (1934): $4,000/week

Originally wanted to marry Gene Raymond on the 17th as it was the anniversary of their first date, but the church was unavailable and so they opted for the 16th. Born at 6:58am-EST. Favorite film was Maytime (1937). 5/30/53: She was given a honorary degree, Doctor of Music from Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY. 1937: Screen Actors Guild awarded Jeanette the Best Performance Award, for Maytime (1937). Has blue-green eyes. Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Heritage. Her duets with Nelson Eddy are lampooned in the musical "A Day In Hollywood/A Night In The Ukraine." In the show, a movie star named Jeanette sings the song, "Oh, Nelson, What You're Putting Me Through" -- an operatic lament about her boring co-star -- while standing with a mannequin dressed in a Canadian Mounties uniform. In May 1943 she made her Grand Opera Debut at His Majesty's Theater in Montreal, Canada singing the role of Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet.". Her wedding gown was designed by costume designer Adrian. It was a gown of flesh-pink organza over matching taffeta with leg-of-mutton sleeves and a high-neck collar trimmed with lace and a tiny spray of roses. As she walked down the candlelit aisle alone, she carried a single rose and a pink satin prayer book. She was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6157 Hollywood Boulevard and for Recording at 1628 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.