Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews

338 Pages·2012·4.35 MB·English

by  Carl Rollyson

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Hollywood Enigma
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Hollywood legends series
Carl rollyson, general editor
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University Press of Mississippi • Jackson
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www.uepress.state.ms.us
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The University Press ofP Mississippi is a member of the Association of
American University Presses.
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Photo otn page ii courtesy Dana Andrews Collection.
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Copyright © 2012 by University Press of Mississippi
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All rights reserved
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Manufactured in the United States of America
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n First printing 2012
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data to come
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
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C o n t e n t s
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Acknowledgments VII s
Introduction 3 s
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Don’t Miss 6
CHapter 1. s
CHapter 2. The Patriarch (1881–1924) 17 s
“Go Hollywood, Young Man!” (192i4–29) 36
CHapter 3.
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To Be an Actor (1929–32) 43
CHapter 4.

“Mediocrity Is Not My Lot” (1932–35) 58
CHapter 5. f
CHapter 6. Holding On (1935–36) 73o
CHapter 7. Pasadena (1936–38) 77
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Goldwyn (1938–41) 99
CHapter 8.
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Fox (1941–44) 117
CHapter 9. e
Laura (1944) 150
CHapter 10. r
CHapter 11. Stardom (19P44–45) 165
CHapter 12. The Best Ye ars of Our Lives (1946) 191
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The Name above the Title (1947) 199
CHapter 13.
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“What Is This Thing I Do to Women?” (1947–50) 203
CHapter 14. i
Hosllywood Fights Back (1947–57) 215
CHapter 15.
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Period of Adjustment (1950–53) 226
CHapter 16.
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Home and Abroad
CHapter 17.
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953–57) 238
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n Sobriety (1958–64) 256
CHapter 18.
U Ruin and Recovery (1964–72) 270
CHapter 19.
Curtain Call (1972–92) 279
CHapter 20.
Sources 287
Filmography 295
Bibliography 297
Index 302
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i deCided to write this biography after I had a long telephoine conversa-
tion with Susan Andrews about her father. At the time I ksnew relatively
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little about Dana Andrews, although I had watched Laura three or four
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times, entranced with the actor playing Mark McPherson. He reminded
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me of my father, a plain-clothes detective in 1940s Detroit. Like Mark,

my father was a romantic who kept his emotions hidden behind a male
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mask. If I were to recreate my father’s biography, it would be as a film
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noir.

Susan described the substantial archive her father had amassed: a di-
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ary, letters, photographs, and other dsocuments. I could already see that
I would be able deal not only withe a career I admired, but also with the
whole man. And I would have trhe enthusiastic cooperation of his fam-
ily—not just Susan and her siPster, Katharine, and Katharine’s husband,
Tim Smith, and Dana’s so n Stephen, but also Dana’s grandchildren:
Abigail, Ilena, and Matthyew. I explained that I would need complete
freedom to research antd write the book, but that I would value their
contributions and wainted them to review what I wrote before it was
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published. In the end, however, it was to be my book and subject to
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no one’s censorship. Susan readily agreed, and so did her siblings. So I
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began. My biographer’s blood was up.
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To say that the members of the Andrews family have been helpful is
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an inadequate acknowledgment of what they have contributed to this
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book. In the course of many interviews and hundreds of email exchang-
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es, they provided candid and openhearted memories, often writing pas-
sages that have been integrated into the narrative of this biography. They
also sent me DVD copies of the 16-millimeter film that Dana shot or
had taken of him, his family, friends, and those he encountered on trips
abroad.
That generosity is a tribute to Dana Andrews, who was about as open
about himself as a human being can be—while remaining, in certain
fundamental respects, enigmatic. Of course he told the truth in his own
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VIII aCknowledgments
way. We all do. And like so many self-invented figures, he constructed a
life narrative that looked somewhat different from the way I have fash-
ioned it. That is the difference, of course, between autobiography and
biography. I have tried to let him have his say, even as I choose other
angles from which to take his measure.
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I have had the great good fortune to speak with Jeanne Andrews,
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the wife of Charles Andrews, Dana’s younger brother. She was able
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to take me back to the time when Dana first hit Hollywoods. She also
knew Dana’s father and the rest of the large Andrews famisly, and could
share with me her memories of Texas in the 1930s and 1i940s, when she
and her husband returned to stay for twelve years befosre going back to
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California. Her son, Dana, named after his uncle, spoke with me about
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sailing and drinking with his father’s favorite brother, and in addition
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provided the precious resource that is Charles’s unfinished novel about

Charles Forrest Andrews, the father who made such a deep impression
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on his progeny. A conversation with Dana and his sister Jeanne Marie
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also added considerably to my understanding of their Uncle Dana and his

family.
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Angela Fabry, the daughter of Dsana’s brother David, devoted herself
to answering my innumerable queestions about what Dana and his broth-
ers were like. She knew therm all and has taken a special interest in
the family’s genealogy. AngPela put me in touch with Aimee Abben, the
daughter of Dana’s sister Mary. Aimee sent me photographs and other
memorabilia full of invyaluable details that helped to paint a picture of
what it was like to grtow up in Texas during Dana’s lifetime. My narrative
would be much poiorer if I had not had access to reminiscences contained
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in the material Aimee sent to me.
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At a crucial moment, Sheila Simpson came through with valuable in-
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formation about Janet Murray, Dana’s first wife, and about Janet’s fam-
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ily. Sheila also made many helpful suggestions, and I benefited from the
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dozen or more email exchanges I had with her.
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Through David Andrews, a sixth cousin of Dana Andrews who had
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warm memories of meeting Dana at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Mi-
ami, Florida, I received DVDs of Dana’s movies and help with genealogy
and the history of Holmes County, where Charles Forrest Andrews was
born. David is an important contributor to the “Descendants of Thomas
Andrews 1795” website at myfamily.com. There I made contact with
Shawn Pearson and Rhett Farrior, who helped me understand the cul-
tural and religious background of Charles Forrest Andrews.
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aCknowledgments IX
I also have to thank Clyde Williams, who began work on a biography
of Dana Andrews in the 1970s. He deposited his interviews in a Dana
Andrews collection at Mississippi State University. Without Williams’s
work, I would not have had direct access to the reminiscences of Dana
Andrews, Dana’s wife Mary, and his brothers David and John. Williams
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also did interviews with Susan and Stephen Andrews, who kindly sup-
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plied me with transcripts Williams made of their conversations.
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Other librarians and archivists who have been especially helspful in-
clude the resourceful Ned Comstock at the Cinema Arts Librsary of the
University of Southern California. At the University of Cailifornia, Los
Angeles, I received invaluable assistance from the indesfatigable Julie
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Graham, Performing Arts, Special Collections; Mark Quigley, Manager,
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Research & Study Center, UCLA Film & Television Archive; and Jona-
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thon Auxier, Curator, Warner Bros. Archive. I was also aided by Erin

Chase, Curatorial Assistant, The Huntington Library; Mattie Abraham,
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Manuscripts Coordinator, Special Collections Department of Mississippi
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State University Libraries; Ashley Adair at the Dolph Briscoe Center for

American History; and Mark Ekman of the Paley Center for Media in
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New York City. The staff at the Academsy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sci-
ences provided me with many impeortant production and clipping files.
And in so many ways my work rwould have been more difficult if I had
not been able to rely on ValePrie Yaros, historian of the Screen Actors
Guild.
Thank you to Howard Pyrouty ([email protected]) who at the last
minute found for me thtat interview Dana did with Allan Eyles. Robert
Lightermoet at Roberits Hard to Find Videos did indeed find the videos of
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Dana Andrews’s movies I was seeking. Another helpful supplier was lov-
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ingtheclassics.com. Similarly, Jerry Haendiges ([email protected]) was
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able to send me on CD those two “Hollywood Fights Back” broadcasts.
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Old Time Radio (otracat.com) sent me a marvelous CD that included
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the complete run of I Was a Communist for the FBI and many of Dana An-
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drews’s other radio performances.
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In Collins, Mississippi, not only did Marie Shoemaker at the chamber
of commerce arrange for me to meet with several Speeds (Dana’s moth-
er’s side of the family), she also organized a well-attended talk I gave at
the Blackwell Library.
In Uvalde, Texas, Virginia Davis of the El Progresso Archives supplied
a clipping file and a transcript of the day Susan Andrews, Steve Forrest
(William Andrews), and others came for a Dana Andrews celebration.
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X aCknowledgments
In Rockdale, Texas, Denise Doss of the chamber of commerce orga-
nized a talk for me in the local library, where I was also able to glean
much important material from the Rockdale Reporter. I am also very grate-
ful to Jeanne Williams of the Temple Daily Telegram for sharing with me
her research on the period during which the Andrews family lived in
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Rockdale.
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On my trips to Huntsville, Texas, I had the opportunity to meet with
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several people who knew the Andrews family, some of whsom came
to a talk I gave at the Wynne Home Arts Center, organiszed by Mike
Yawn, a professor in the political science department oif Sam Houston
State University. He was ably assisted by the Political Scsience Junior Fel-
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lows, which helped arrange funding for my visit. Mike was a wonderful
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host who introduced me to many important sources, including Professor
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Ralph Pease, who hosted one of Dana’s visits to the university in 1986,

and to Mac and Leeann Woodward, who were able to help me get in
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touch with Mary Sue Coffman, one the daughters of Norma Felder, who
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became engaged to Dana when they were still in high school. For his

willingness to answer my questions about local history I am thankful
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to James Patton, who knows mores about the subject than anyone else.
Just as crucial was Barbara Kieevit-Mason in Special Collection at Sam
Houston State. Not only did srhe keep the doors open after closing time
to accommodate me, she wPent out of her way to supply me with items I
would otherwise have m issed. I know all this sounds too good to be true,
but it is true. I met morye helpful and hospitable people than I could keep
track of while in Hunttsville, and to all of those whose names do not ap-
pear here, I extendi an apology. I should have kept better records.
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My debt to Norman Lloyd is substantial, not only for his memories
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of Dana Andrews, but also for his comprehensive knowledge of Holly-
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wood history. And I really appreciate the conversations I had with others
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who appeared in pictures with Dana Andrews, including the late Anne
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Francis and John Kerr. And a special thanks to Eric James for his vivid
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memories of Bright Promise. Alas, many of those I wanted to interview
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have died—some, like Karl Malden and Farley Granger, just as I was
getting started. Fortunately, I was able to speak with Peggy Cummins,
who confirmed much of what Norman Lloyd said about Dana’s strengths
as a man and as an actor. Some actors who appeared in pictures with
Dana did not answer my letters or declined to be interviewed. Especially
regrettable is the silence of Harry Morgan, who appeared in several pic-
tures with Dana. The two men were quite close during the early years
of their respective careers. Elizabeth Taylor’s assistant wrote to say she
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