The Jeanette MacDonald Story

Billed as “The girl with the red-gold hair and sea-green eyes” on Broadway, and known as the “Iron Butterfly” in Hollywood, legendary singer/actress Jeanette MacDonald (1903–1965) is revealed here as a warm, irrepressible person with a surprisingly whimsical sense of humor. Born in Philadelphia, her stage career began when she was a youngster; later she performed in vaudeville and left high school in order to appear in the Demi-Tasse Revue. An indefatigable worker, this world-famous soprano/actress never stopped performing unless she was too ill to go on. For those who wondered why she worked so hard she explained, “The minute you let yourself ride along on the wave just because people around you are telling you how wonderful you are, you’re sunk.” One of Hollywood’s superstars of the 1930s, she worked oncamera with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy (San Francisco), Maurice Chevalier (The Love Parade, One Hour with You, The Merry Widow), and Nelson Eddy, with whom she reached the pinnacle of movie success in such classic cinema vehicles as Naughty Mariette, Rose-Marie, Maytime, and Sweethearts. Here is the real Jeanette MacDonald, a supertalent who enjoyed a long marriage to screen star Gene Raymond. She emerges from behind the legend in anecdotes and stories retold by those who knew her, respected her, and loved her. This IS The Jeanette MacDonald Story.