Donna Damerel (actress)
{{Short description|American actress (1912–1941)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Donna Damerel
| image = Myrt and Marge Vinton Hayworth Donna Damerel 1935.JPG
| caption = Damerel as Marge Minter with Vinton Hayworth as Jack Arnold from the Myrt and Marge radio show, 1935
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1912|7|8|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1941|2|15|1912|7|8|mf=y}}
| death_place = Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
| height =
| occupation = Actress
| mother = Myrtle Vail Damerel
}}
Donna Damerel (July 8, 1912 – February 15, 1941) was an American actress.
Early years
Damerel was born on July 8, 1912, in Chicago, the daughter of vaudeville performers George Damerel and Myrtle Vail. She had one brother. When she was 15, she left home to join the chorus of a musical comedy. (Her mother had also left home at age 15 to pursue an acting career.)[https://books.google.com/books?id=SME8DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Myrtle+Vail%22&pg=PA190 Myrtle Vail biodata] via books.google.com. Accessed March 25, 2024. Later, she joined her parents' vaudeville team.
Career
After vaudeville's decline ended the Damerels' performing team, the family lived comfortably until "our savings were wiped out, and we were destitute."{{cite news |title=Myrt and Marge Write of 8 Years Spent in Radio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115323834/the-des-moines-register/ |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Des Moines Register |date=June 18, 1940 |page=15 |via=Newspapers.com}} Damerel and her mother began to work on radio. They debuted the Myrt and Marge radio program in Chicago on November 2, 1931, with Damerel portraying the daughter, Marge, and Vail portraying the mother, Myrt.
A 1932 poll conducted by a radio magazine named Damerel radio's "it girl". The recognition included looks, microphone personality, and voice as 15,704 listeners participated in the survey.{{cite news |last1=Kohnop |first1=Max |title=Donna Damerel Chosen As 'It' Girl By Radio Fans |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115341991/dayton-daily-news/ |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Dayton Daily News |date=November 20, 1932 |page=27 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Damerel and Vail also starred in the Universal film Myrt and Marge (1933), which was based on the radio program.{{cite book |last1=Bradley |first1=Edwin M. |title=Unsung Hollywood Musicals of the Golden Era: 50 Overlooked Films and Their Stars, 1929-1939 |date=February 18, 2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9833-8 |pages=50–54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zXatCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Donna+Damerel%22&pg=PA51 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |language=en}} In 1938,they performed in Yes, My Darling Daughter in Yonkers, New York, at the Warburton Theatre.{{cite news |title=Two plays ending runs here tonight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/07/09/archives/two-plays-ending-runs-here-tonight-the-women-and-id-rather-be-right.html |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=July 9, 1938 |page=10 |url-access=subscription}}
Personal life and death
Damerel was divorced from singer William J. Kretsinger on December 22, 1939.{{cite news |title=Radio Star Wins Divorce |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/12/23/archives/radio-star-wins-divorce.html |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=December 23, 1939 |page=8 |url-access=subscription}} At the time of her death she was married to Peter J. Fick. She had two sons by previous marriages. One of her sons was director and screenwriter Charles B. Griffith.{{cite news |last1=Peterson |first1=Alison J. |title=Charles Griffith, 77 'Little Shop of Horrors' Screenwriter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/arts/11griffith.html |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=October 11, 2007 |page=B 7 |url-access=subscription}}
She died on February 15, 1941, shortly after giving birth to a son in Englewood Hospital in Englewood, New Jersey. She was 28 years old. The baby survived.{{cite news |title=Marge of radio team dies as son is born |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/02/16/archives/marge-of-radio-team-dies-as-son-is-born-wife-of-fick-swimmer.html |access-date=December 27, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=February 16, 1941 |page=39 |url-access=subscription}} Doctors said her health had appeared to be good when she entered the hospital.{{cite news |title=Death breaks up radio team |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115299298/donna-damerel/ |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Daily Times |agency=International News Service |date=February 15, 1941 |location=Ohio, New Philadelphia |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}
References
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Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Chicago
Category:American child actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American radio actresses
Category:American stage actresses