Denise Darcel
{{short description|French-American actress (1924–2011)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Denise Darcel
| image = Denise Darcel (Battleground).jpg
| caption = Darcel in 1949
| birth_name = Denise Billecard
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|09|08|df=y}}{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9005906/Denise-Darcel.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=Denise Darcel | date=10 January 2012}}
| birth_place = Paris, France
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|12|23|1924|09|08|df=y}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|Singer|Vaudevillian}}
| years_active = 1948–1963
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
- William Shaw ({{abbr|m.|married}} 1947; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 19??)
- {{Marriage|Francis Peter Crosby|1950|1951|reason=div}}
- Robert Atkinson ({{abbr|m.|married}} 1961; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 19??)
- Richard Vance ({{abbr|m.|married}} 1972; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 19??)
- {{Marriage|George Simpson Jr.|1990|2003|reason=d.}}
}}
| children = 2 sons (Chris and Craig)
}}
Denise Darcel (née Billecard, 8 September 1924 – 23 December 2011) was a French-American vaudevillian, actress and singer, who from 1948 and 1963, appeared in films in Hollywood, and briefly on the stage, television and radio.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9005906/Denise-Darcel.html Obituary for Denise Darcel in The Telegraph (UK)]
Early years
Born as Denise Billecard[https://web.archive.org/web/20200204170047/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba1409afb Denise Darcel] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}} in Paris, she was one of five daughters{{cite news|last1=Bergan|first1=Ronald|title=Denise Darcel obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jan/13/denise-darcel-obituary|accessdate=7 June 2015|work=The Guardian|date=13 January 2012}} of a French baker,{{cite news|title=Denise Darcel May Wed Texan|newspaper=Independent |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2565381/long_beach_independent/|agency=Long Beach Independent|date=26 March 1950|page=39|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = 6 June 2015}} {{Open access}} and she was college educated,{{TCMDb name|id=44223}} studying at the University of Dijon. According to a friend, whom she met in Paris during World War II, she was a passenger in an L-5 Stinson light observation aircraft on VJ Day to see the celebration from the air. The pilot, James Helinger Sr., a US Army Air Corps glider pilot (a friend) was at the controls, while they flew under several bridges along the Seine and finally, under the Eiffel Tower, with the crowds below.{{cite web|url=http://www.chaoticsynapticactivity.com/2005/08/15/the-adventures-of-jim-sr-part-iii/|title=The Adventures of Jim, Sr – Part III|date=15 August 2005|work=Chaotic Synaptic Activity|accessdate=17 July 2009}}
A winner of the title "The Most Beautiful Girl in France,"{{cite news|title=Runners-Up A Typist and College Student|newspaper=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2565241/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/|agency=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=10 August 1951|page=3|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = 6 June 2015}} {{Open access}} Darcel was a cabaret singer in Paris after World War II before being spotted by Hollywood. Denise came to the United States in 1947{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/16984/Denise-Darcel/biography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205223636/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/16984/Denise-Darcel/biography|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 December 2007|title=Denise Darcel|first=Hal|last=Erickson|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|author-link=Hal Erickson (author)|date=2007|accessdate=29 November 2009}} and became an American citizen in 1952.
On 15 February 1952 she was named "Miss Welder of 1952" by the National Eutectic Welders' Club. Presenting her with a scroll as "the girl we would like most to weld with" was R. D. Wasserman, President of the Eutectic Welding Institute. Wasserman hoped that her photograph would inspire women throughout the nation to join the ranks of the labor force and support the war effort in Korea.Welding Journal 31(4), April 1952, p374.
Stage
Darcel's debut on the legitimate stage came in 1950, when she appeared in Pardon Our French, premiering 5 October at the Broadway Theatre.{{cite news|last1=Francis|first1=Bob|title=Broadway Opening: Pardon Our French|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0x0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57|agency=Billboard|date=14 October 1950|page=57}}
Vaudeville
In 1950, Darcel had a Vaudeville act, which was panned by at least one reviewer. About Darcel's performance 5 May 1950, at the Strand in New York, the Billboard review said: "Denise Darcel showed her well-stacked chassis ... but her heavily accented English sounded like so much gibberish; it got laughs instead of attention. ... her singing is inadequate, her over-use of hands and arms is clumsy and she shows herself completely at a loss in handling hecklers."{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Bill|title=Vaudeville Reviews: Strand, New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lw4EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Denise+Darcel%22&pg=PT45|agency=Billboard|date=13 May 1950|page=46}}
Film
Her first film appearance of note was in Battleground (1949). She made quite an impression in Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950) opposite Lex Barker, then co-starred with Robert Taylor in Westward the Women (1951) and Glenn Ford in Young Man with Ideas (1952). In 1953, she was seen in the swimming musical Dangerous When Wet, which starred Esther Williams (1953). Her most important film was Vera Cruz (1954) where she played the female lead opposite Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster. Her last film (1961) was Seven Women from Hell.{{cite news|last1=Bernstein|first1=Adam|title=Denise Darcel, French-born actress, dies at 87|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/denise-darcel-french-born-actress-dies-at-87/2012/01/10/gIQAyzQ3oP_story.html|accessdate=10 June 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=10 January 2012}}
Television
Darcel appeared on various TV shows in the 1950s. In 1954, she was hostess/MC of Gamble on Love, a summer program on the DuMont Television Network. Darcel asked questions of married couples who sought to win the grand prize of a mink coat. A review in Billboard described her as "Gallic to the point of unintelligibility."{{cite news|last1=Francis|first1=Bob|title=Gamble on Love (TV)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zxoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49|agency=Billboard|date=31 July 1954|page=49}} Also in 1954, Colonel Productions produced a pilot of Chez Denise, a 30-minute "comedy-intrigue" program starring Darcel, which apparently did not sell.{{cite news|title=Denise Darcel in Video Bid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zh4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA6|agency=Billboard|date=6 March 1954|page=4}}
Later years
After her film and television career began to wane, Darcel, aged 41, became an ecdysiast (stripper), appearing in West Coast theatres in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Oakland, and Los Angeles. She retired from stripping after a few years and returned to the cabaret circuit, making a few appearances on television. In 1991,{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jan/13/denise-darcel-obituary?newsfeed=true | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Ronald | last=Bergan | title=Denise Darcel obituary | date=13 January 2012}} she was cast as "Solange La Fitte" in the Los Angeles 20th anniversary revival of the musical Follies, produced by the Long Beach Civic Light Opera. She would later repeat the role of Solange in 1995 for revivals in Houston and Seattle.
Personal life
Darcel's first husband, William Shaw, was an American Army captain whom she married in 1947. Darcel obtained a Mexican divorce from Peter Crosby 12 August 1951.{{cite news|title=Actress Denise Darcel Gets One-Day Divorce in Mexico|newspaper=The San Bernardino County Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2565289/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/|agency=The San Bernardino County Sun|date=13 August 1952|page=1|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = 6 June 2015}} {{Open access}} She married Robert Atkinson 24 April 1961.{{cite news|title=Denise Darcel Weds|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2578281/the_kansas_city_times/|work=The Kansas City Times|date=26 April 1961|page=4|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = 8 June 2015}} {{Open access}} They had two sons, Christopher{{cite news|title=New Baby for Actress|newspaper=Florence Morning News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2578334/florence_morning_news/|agency=Florence Morning News|date=26 November 1961|page=21|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = 8 June 2015}} {{Open access}} (born 17 November 1961{{cite news|title=Denise Darcel a Mother|newspaper=Statesman Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2578329/the_oregon_statesman/|agency=The Oregon Statesman|date=19 November 1961|page=10|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = 8 June 2015}} {{Open access}}) and Craig. Husband George Simpson died in 2003.
In the early 1950s, Darcel was linked romantically with singer Billy Eckstine.{{cite journal|title=(photo caption)|journal=Jet|date=20 December 1951|volume=1|issue=8|page=31}}{{cite journal|title=People Are Talking About ...|journal=Jet|date=13 March 1952|volume=1|issue=20|page=44|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LkMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44}}{{cite journal|title=The Secret Love Life of Billy Eckstein|journal=Jet|date=1 April 1954|volume=V|issue=21|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA23 | accessdate=22 January 2016}} In 1993, Jet magazine reported, "Eckstine's hot romance with actress Denise Darcel cooled off after their photo appeared on cover of Life Magazine, causing a White backlash."{{cite journal|title=Billy ('Mr. B') Eckstine, A Stroke Victim, Dies of Cardiac Arrest at Age 78|journal=Jet|date=22 March 1993|volume=83|issue=21|pages=14–16, 54–57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56}}
Recording
Online music store iTunes made Darcel's album, Banned in Boston (recorded in 1958), available for purchase alongside actress Lizabeth Scott's album, Lizabeth.
Legal problems
On 23 June 1968, Darcel was arrested in Miami, Florida, and charged with shoplifting women's undergarments valued at $38.94 (${{Inflation|US|38.94|1968|r=-1|fmt=c}} today). She was released on $500 bond.{{cite news|title=French Star Denise Darcel Is Arrested For Shoplifting|newspaper=The Fresno Bee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2572826/the_fresno_bee_the_republican/|agency=The Fresno Bee The Republican|date=24 June 1968|page=23|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = 7 June 2015}} {{Open access}} She was found guilty and fined $300 (${{Inflation|US|300|1968|r=-1|fmt=c}} today) in a trial 10 July 1968.{{cite news|title=Denise Darcel Is Fined for Shoplifting|newspaper=The Mercury |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2572890/pottstown_mercury/|agency=Pottstown Mercury|date=10 July 1968|page=3|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = 7 June 2015}} {{Open access}}
Darcel and her husband, Robert Gerard Atkinson, filed bankruptcy petitions in San Bernardino, California, in 1963. The petitions listed "total assets of $1,508 (${{Inflation|US|1508|1963|r=-1|fmt=c}} today) and individual and joint debts of $88,904 for her and $62,223 for him."(total of ${{Inflation|US|151127|1963|r=-3|fmt=c}} today){{cite news|title=Denise Darcel to Appear in S.B. Bankruptcy Court|newspaper=The San Bernardino County Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2578186/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/|agency=The San Bernardino County Sun|date=7 September 1963|page=19|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = 8 June 2015}} {{Open access}}
Honors
In September 2009, she was honored with the Cinecon Career Achievement Award, presented in Hollywood at a banquet held at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel. Prior to the ceremony, a new 35mm color print of her 1953 film, Flame of Calcutta, was screened at the Egyptian Theatre. After the screening, at the banquet, she cheerfully announced to the audience, "I'm back".
The world's oldest drag queen, Walter W. Cole took the stage name of Darcelle XV, in honor of Denise Darcel.
In 1968, Denise was name Queen of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival.
Death
Darcel died in December 2011, aged 87, after emergency surgery to repair a ruptured aneurysm.[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/movies/denise-darcel-sultry-french-actress-dies-at-87.html New York Times obituary for Denise Darcel][https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118048363 Variety report of Darcel's death]
Selected filmography and television appearances
- To the Victor (1948) as Bar Singer (uncredited)
- Thunder in the Pines (1948) as Yvette Cheron
- Battleground (1949) as Denise
- Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950) as Lola
- Westward the Women (1951) as Fifi Danon
- Young Man with Ideas (1952) as Dorianne Gray
- Dangerous When Wet (1953) as Gigi Mignon
- Flame of Calcutta (1953) as Suzanne Roget
- Vera Cruz (1954) as Countess Marie Duvarre
- Gamble on Love (DuMont game show, 1954; replaced by Ernie Kovacs) as Countess Marie Duvarre
- The Milton Berle Show (1956, TV Series)
- Tightrope! (1960, TV Series) as Terri
- Seven Women from Hell (1961) as Claire Oudry
- Naked City (1962, TV Series) as Madeleine Douvay
Radio appearances
Television appearances
Notes
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=5947 Photographs of Denise Darcel]
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Category:American women singers
Category:American film actresses
Category:American musical theatre actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:French cabaret singers
Category:French emigrants to the United States
Category:French film actresses
Category:French musical theatre actresses