Dona Drake
Birthday: 1914-11-15
Place of Birth: Miami, Florida, USA
Biography: Dona Drake (born Eunice Westmoreland on November 15, 1914) was an African-American singer, dancer, and film actress active in the 1930s and 1940s. Despite her heritage, she often identified as Mexican or of Latin descent to navigate Hollywood’s racial landscape. Over her career, she was frequently cast in ethnic roles, portraying Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and European characters. She performed under various stage names, including Una Novella, Rita Novella, and Rita Rio. In the early 1940s, she led an all-girl orchestra and gained recognition for her musical and dance performances. She appeared in films such as Kansas City Confidential (1952), Louisiana Purchase (1941), and Road to Morocco (1942). Despite her talents, she remained a supporting actress rather than a leading star. Dona Drake passed away on June 20, 1989, due to pneumonia and respiratory failure. Her ashes were scattered at sea near Point Fermin in California.
Movies
Kansas City Confidential
An ex-convict sets out to uncover who framed him for an armored car robbery....
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Fortunes of Captain Blood
When he unwittingly sends some of his men into a trap, pirate Captain Peter Blood decides to rescue ...
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Beyond the Forest
Rosa, the self-serving wife of a small-town doctor, gets a better offer when a wealthy big-city man ...
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Sweet Shoe
Dona Drake (as Rita Rio) and her all-girl band work in a ritzy setting, and perform some hot melodie...
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Louisiana Purchase
A bumbling senator investigating graft in Louisiana is the target of a scheme involving a Viennese b...
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So This Is New York
A small town man inherits a significant fortune and takes his family to New York City whereupon they...
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Star Spangled Rhythm
Pop, a security guard at Paramount has told his son that he's the head of the studio. When his son a...
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The Bandits of Corsica
Siamese twins separated at birth retain a psychic link; each feels the other's pain and happiness....
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The Girl from Jones Beach
Glamour artist Bob Randolph is world famous for his paintings of a stunning beauty dubbed "The Rando...
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The Doolins of Oklahoma
When the Daltons are killed at Coffeyville, gang member Bill Doolin, arriving late, escapes but kill...
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Princess of the Nile
Shalimar, an Egyptian princess, striving to rid her country of its Bedouin conquerors, forms an alli...
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Aloma of the South Seas
A young South Seas native boy is sent to the U.S. for his education and returns to his island after ...
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Valentino
Italian immigrant Rudolph Valentino makes it big in silent Hollywood, but he ends up struggling betw...
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Hot Rhythm
Jimmy O'Brien (Robert Lowery)and Sammy Rubin (Sidney Miller), write jingle commercials for radio, an...
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Strike Me Pink
Meek Eddie Pink becomes manager of an amusement park beset by mobsters....
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Without Reservations
Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train...
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Let's Face It
A soldier stationed on an army base and his fiancé, who runs a women's "fat farm" nearby, want to ge...
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I Look at You
Alan Ladd was discovered by Sue Carol for his incredible voice in radio. And then she married him. I...
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Hollywood Victory Caravan
A girl is desperate to get to Washington D.C. to be with her lonesome brother, a wounded G.I. She pe...
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Son of Belle Starr
The son of the notorious female bandit Belle Starr wants to live an honest life, but finds himself g...
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Rita Rio and Her Orchestra
Her doctor thinks Rita Rio is crazy for loving music too much, but she proves him wrong by becoming ...
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Road to Morocco
Two carefree castaways on a desert shore find an Arabian Nights city, where they compete for the lus...
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Another Part of the Forest
This 'prequel' to The Little Foxes tells how the ruthless members of the old-South Hubbard family go...
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Dangerous Millions
Eight strangers meet in Shanghai to stake claims to the fortune of a late shipping magnate, then mus...
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Salute for Three
Press agent Jimmy Gates gets an idea while watching a New York parade, for a returned war hero Serge...
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