Everything and Nothing : The Dorothy Dandridge Tragedy

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Everything and Nothing : The Dorothy Dandridge Tragedy

Author(s):

Dorothy Dandridge, Earl Conrad

Label: Harper Paperbacks
Publisher(s):

Harper Paperbacks

Studio: Harper Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
Binding: Paperback
List Price: $13.00

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Dorothy Dandridge's life story is the stuff Hollywood dreams--and nightmares. Completed shortly before her tragic death in 19665, Everything and Nothing recounts her rags-to-riches-to-rags story form her personal point of view. Dandridge recalls her humble beginnings in Depression-era Cleveland, Ohio, her rise to fame and success as the first African American to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination (for her role in Carmen Jones), the disappointments and pain of her childhood and family life, and her downward spiral into alcoholism and financial troubles, Everything and Nothing is a mesmerizing and harrowing journey through the life and times of one of Hollywood's most unforgettable stars.

Customer Reviews

An emotional roller coaster

"I am an actress. I can play a nun or a b*tch."
-Dorothy Dandridge from "Everything and Nothing"

For such a long time, I have wondered why some of my favorite celebrities such as Janet Jackson, Halle Berry, and Whitney Houston have taken such a strong interest in the life of Dorothy Dandridge. I have wondered, "What was so intriguing about this woman?" "Why did so many entertainers want to depict her life story in a motion picture?" I finally decided to search her on youtube.com and read her autobiography, because after Halle created the movie and spoke so highly of her, I, like Halle, pursued research on her.

After seeing photos of her, seeing movie clips on youtube, and reading her autobiography, I am enlightened as to why so many people find her interesting. During her life, she truly had both "everything and nothing."

Dorothy, through her writing, appeared to be an emotional, sad, often confused, depressed, disappointed and seemingly doomed from early on. Based on my perspective, she wasn't especially close to anyone in her immediate family. She and her mother, Ruby, were on good terms, but not close. Her father took very slight interest in her only after he heard that she had some success. She had two failed marriages and a slew of love affairs from men who seemed to be interested in her solely because of her beauty and success. While on the subject of beauty, Dorothy was gorgeous! She was a bombshell by all means, and she knew it. There were a few things about her that I didn't especially like, and one of them was the fact that she kept saying she was pretty, and that others said the same. It's a fact, but it became redundant after the first hundred times. Perhaps that was the one thing that kept her self-esteem moderately afloat. Another issue that I was annoyed by was the fact that she preferred white men. I understand that Harold Nicholas was an atrocious husband, but Dorothy seemed to let her first failed marriage set the tone for the rest of her romantic life. Ironically, they meant her no good, either.

"You must be at your best each instant, for, in a manner of speaking, you are "carrying" the race."
-Dorothy Dandridge from "Everything and Nothing"

Dorothy was very specific with her career, and how difficult it was for her (and all other Black actors) to receive movie roles. Many of the males she was romantically involved with conned her into staying with them, for they told her they would further her career. This was all emoting, but what touched me more than anything was her daughter, Harolyn. Dorothy made it clear that she was disappointed by the fact that her daughter was born mentally retarded, and she held a bitterness because of that. Friends and doctors both told her to get rid of Harolyn since she would never mentally advance, and Dorothy did just that. Harolyn was with Dorothy for a few years, but most of her time was spent in mental institutions or with family members while Dorothy was doing films or with her paramours.

I admire Dorothy. She was the first African-American actress to receive an Academy Award nomination for her role in the infamous movie, Carmen Jones. I admire her because she stood up to those who did her wrong. For example, her mother's female friend (who was rumored to be her lover), spanked her everyday with a brush for a long time. One day Dorothy became fed up and retaliated by beating the woman up!

To this day, no one knows whether she committed suicide or not, however, all one has to do is read her autobiography and look at her photos (and see the sadness within her eyes), and it wouldn't be hard to draw the conclusion that she purposely ended her life. Dorothy Jean Dandrige deserves to be included in Black History because she paved the way for the Halle Berrys, Angela Bassetts and the like. Read "Everything and Nothing", and, perhaps, you will take a second look at your life and realize that things aren't as terrible as some make them out to be.

Beautiful woman, tragic life, a lesson for us all

Mrs Slaughter says, "Dorothy Dandridge's book is filled with hilarious laughter and oceans of tears. It is evident to me that she wrote this book when she had reached the utter end of her tether. I think there is much to learn from her life. Importantly that success has nothing to do with how much fame or money one is able to amass but rather peace of mind and a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment which can only be achieved intrisically through one's own ability to love themselves enough to give themselves the very best of this love without relying on external factors. Dorothy was an obviously beautiful, talented and intelligent woman who lost all she had in a quest to derive happiness and acceptance through circumstances and people which she was unable to control. This unfortunately led to much self-loathing and the eventual demise of one of our age's most important African American icons. A brilliant read and excavation into the complex mind of Dorothy Dandridge."

Insightful, well written & in Dorothy's own words.

I recently completed this book. In my opinion, this version of events about Miss Dandridge's life meant more to me than any other biography written by others who claimed to know her & her struggles. I say this because this was the one literary piece she left behind before she died. This was from HER. This was her story. Only she can explain her feelings about the ups and downs of her life. Her disappointment with her first husband, her mixed emotions of love & burdensome feelings about her retarded daughter, all of the trists with strange men who treated her like a dog treats a fire hydrant, and last but not least, her heartbreak of her "friends" lethal words & non-support of her wish to tell the world her story. It was very clear to me that she was heading down a path of destruction & death. She candidly spoke of wanting to commit suicide more than once. I wish she could have lived on into the next few decades & was able to witness the changes in society & Hollywood's portrayal of black people. I think she could have been saved & able to one day say "I am finally free from being the female negro role model" as Lena Horne was able to say. I felt as if I knew Miss Dorothy. For the life of me, I could not fatham why she would engage in affairs with physically disgusting looking men like Otto Preminger ( I've seen him ) and Mr. Tyner, the millionaire with the spit foam in the corners of his mouth. These actions of hers proved contradictary to the fact that thru-out the book she kept saying that physical attractiveness in a male is very important to her. I guess when it all boiled down to it, she just wanted a man around and to be married. What a terrible loss this is. For those trully interested, read this book before any others about Dorothy Dandridge ( i.e. Donald Bogle, Earl Mills ). This one is from Dorothy in her own words before she died.

Only scratches the surface...

After reading other works on Dorothy Dandrige I thought this purported autobiograph left a few things to be desired. The book reveals personal details of her life but downplays certain players in her life. For example, the lesbian relationship between her mother and "friend" Auntee was passed off as being no more than a casual friendship. I understand DD reasons for not revealing things about her mother considering she was still alive at the time the book was published. She only mention a few details about her fame with the movie CARMEN.

The book is written well but only takes a cursory view of her life and success. It seems to accentuates the most tragic details of her life and downplays her contribution to others. It's a good book, but please read Donald Bogle's book if you want a more thorough revelation of her life.

A must have

From the pages I got to read it is a book I will definitly buy. It was very good and I recommend it highly.

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