Welcome to Retro Rewind, the TGJ original feature carved out to celebrate TV and Film’s glorious past.
Today, in honour of her often overlooked contributions to Pop culture and the representation of African-Americans in a prejudiced world, we revisit Dorothy Dandridge‘s life by way of the 1999 biopic ‘Introducing Dorothy Dandridge’ which starred Halle Berry.
Unfamiliar with her remarkable story and her ties to the brilliant Harry Belafonte?
Watch below…
Her peers have become larger in their death than even in their lives.And still people don’t remember who Dorothy Dandridge was. My social awareness made me feel a responsibility to bring her legacy to the screen and let it live in the way in which, I believe, she deserved to have it lived.
Halle Berry.
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Thank you grape juice
This was a phenomenal biopic. Also, Dorothy and Harry are two entertainers none of us Black people should walk around not knowing who they are.
Dorothy was the Blueprint’s ink.
This was such a great movie!
I’ve always said, Dorothy should’ve been respected more smh. Of course they had no problem advertising and giving Marilyn Monroe more acclaim.
Are you comparing Dorothy with Marilyn?. Marilyn’s impact is untouchable, not even Madonna has been able to touch it, she’s one of the greatest icons of all times, she’s also bigger than her white counterparts, so for you to imply that Marilyn is more advertised and acclaimed than Dorothy just because she’s white, (because that’s what you did there) is truly an abomination, Dorothy wasn’t near Marilyn’s level, sometimes I can’t with some of you.
Phenomenal biopic, Halle Berry’s tour de force. What’s more impressive is that Halle produced the movie herself after Hollywood repeatedly passed on making the movie for years. And I still believe this film was the reason Halle won her Oscar.
I think had this movie gone to the big screen, it could’ve gotten Halle an Oscar because at the time, it was truly the first role she did that got her critical acclaim. I recall reading that Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston wanted to bring Dorothy to life on screen but both their plans fell through. However, it was Halle who quickly secured the rights to a biographical book that helped her make the film. It’s such a shame that Dorothy’s contributions to pop culture are often overlooked. Hell, you’re more likely to find Black women idolising Marilyn Monroe without knowing A THING about Dotty. Though she was flawed and dealt with a lot of pain in her life, she opened doors for just about every Black actress that has achieved some level of crossover success.
That grape juice thank you for making sure we don’t forget. Love this movie. Speaking of Halle I was just watching “Why Do Fool Fall In Love” though not a box office smash I LOVED that movie! Def One Of My Faves. #BlackExcellence Halle and Vivica brought it in that one lol.
Wonderful