After being nominated 5 times for the Best Actress Oscar and never winning, it was hoped by many that she would receive an honorary award after her retirement but the Academy (for reasons best known to itself) failed to present one.
Was offered the role of Aunt Alicia in Vincente Minnelli's Gigi (1958), but she declined, preferring to stay in retirement.
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame in the early 1960s. It is located at 6440 Hollywood Blvd.
In 1965 she was the first woman elected to Technicolor's board of directors.
In 1968 was named one of Colorado's Women of achievement.
Christened the Mark Twain stern-wheel riverboat at Disneyland, July 17, 1955.
During her marriage to Dr. Frank Griffin, Irene adopted a child, Mary Frances. The child was adopted in 1938 at the age of four from the New York Foundling Hospital.
Irene claimed that always getting enough sleep kept her looking young. Her studio contracts allowed her to start work as late as 10 A.M. and leave by 6 P.M.
Her only color production was Life with Father (1947) in which she co-starred with William Powell.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower named her an alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly in 1959. Dunne had actively campaigned for him in the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections.
Was discovered for films while appearing in the first national touring company of "Show Boat" in 1929. She played and sang the role of Magnolia, and repeated her performance in Show Boat (1936).
Very interesting. I never stopped to think about "Life With Father" being the only time we saw Irene on screen in colour. Wouldn't "Anna and the King of Siam" have been gorgeous in Technicolor?
ReplyDeleteMonty, her baby Mary Frances wasn't 4 when she was adopted, she was actually a newborn, probably a couple of months old. Irene always wanted privacy when it came to her little baby and many sources suggested that the girl was already 4, but that wasn't true.
ReplyDeleteMary Frances came to live with Irene in December 1936 (only 2 weeks before Irene's mother died therefore she must have been born around September. She's 75 years old today =)
Monty, her baby Mary Frances wasn't 4 when she was adopted, she was actually a newborn, probably a couple of months old. Irene always wanted privacy when it came to her little baby and many sources suggested that the girl was already 4, but that wasn't true.
ReplyDeleteMary Frances came to live with Irene in December 1936 (only 2 weeks before Irene's mother died therefore she must have been born around September. She's 75 years old today =)