Description
All That Glitters is Not Gold is a series of brass multiples created to go with Casting Couch. In Casting Couch, fourteen Old Hollywood actresses are cited. In their heyday, their own thoughts and opinions were often silenced. These multiples were created to represent their voice and to encourage conversation.
The multiples are small works of art that can be displayed, but can also be worn as jewelry. Because of the two magnets, the sky is the limit.
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge was born in 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents separated just before she was born. Dandridge was raised in poverty by her single mother and her grandmother, who abused her.
Her first small film part came in 1935. Although her film appearances in the 1930s were relatively minor, Dandridge earned recognition as a nightclub singer and big band vocalist before her movie career got off the ground.
Dandridge gave birth to her only child in 1943. While she was in labor, Dandridge’s husband left her stranded at her sister-in-law’s home without the car when he went to play golf. At first, Dandridge refused to go to the hospital without him. The delayed birth required the use of forceps, which possibly resulted in the brain damage that left her daughter requiring lifelong constant care.
In May 1951, Dandridge spectacularly opened at the Mocambo nightclub in West Hollywood. In a return engagement in 1952, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio agent saw Dandridge. This later resulted in her being cast in her first starring role.
Her role in Carmen Jones in 1954 made her the first African-American to be nominated for an Oscar for ‘best actress’. Her next starring role in a major film came in 1958, when Dandridge accepted to star in the forthcoming production of Porgy and Bess.
By 1963, Dandridge’s popularity had dwindled. Dandridge discovered that the people who were handling her finances had swindled her out of $150,000 and she owed $139,000 in back taxes. This forced her to sell her Hollywood home and place her daughter in a state mental institution.
After a short and unhappy life, Dandridge died in 1965, at the age of 42, as a result of barbiturate poisoning.
