Irene Dunne Net Worth
Irene Dunne Net Worth is
$1.2 Million
Irene Dunne Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Irene Dunne (December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American film actress and singer of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performances in Cimarron (1931), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), The Awful Truth (1937), Love Affair (1939) and I Remember Mama (1948). She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958. | Full Name | Irene Dunne |
| Date Of Birth | December 20, 1898, Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| Died | September 4, 1990, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Place Of Birth | Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Height | 5' 5" (1.65 m) |
| Profession | Actress, Soundtrack |
| Education | Chicago Musical College |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Francis Dennis Griffin (m. 1928–1965) |
| Children | Mary Frances |
| Parents | Joseph Dunne, Adelaide Henry |
| Siblings | Charles Dunne |
| Awards | Kennedy Center Honors |
| Nominations | Academy Award for Best Actress |
| Movies | The Awful Truth, Love Affair, Theodora Goes Wild, My Favorite Wife, Penny Serenade, Life with Father, I Remember Mama, Roberta, Show Boat, Cimarron, Anna and the King of Siam, A Guy Named Joe, The White Cliffs of Dover, Back Street, Stingaree, Never a Dull Moment, High, Wide, and Handsome, The Mudla... |
| TV Shows | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars |
| Star Sign | Sagittarius |
| Title | Salary |
|---|---|
| Magnificent Obsession (1935) | $150,000 |
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | [1974] The latest offer was to be in one of those "Airplane" movies - Universal said they'd donate my six figures to a Catholic charity but I didn't want to be stuck inside a crippled airplane for several months of shooting. |
| 2 | [1974] MGM wanted me to play Grace Kelly's mother in The Swan (1956), which ironically would be her last movie although nobody knew that. The part was choice but I'd have to settle for fourth billing and my husband said to forget that. "Go out number one," was his advice. Well, Jessie Royce Landis finally took the part and was very funny. And then MGM wanted me as Leslie Caron's dotty aunt in Gigi (1958) but the subject matter was distasteful. The family was raising their precious to be a courtesan. If they'd offered me one great song I might have reconsidered. |
| 3 | [1974] I never formally retired. That would have been presumptuous. But an awful lot of the girls my age soldiered on in bad vehicles. I'd do a TV half hour drama every year just to keep my hand in it. But I couldn't run around with an axe in my hand like Bette [Davis] and Joan [Crawford] did to keep things going. The difference was I had a family and they didn't have one - only the all-mighty career. |
| 4 | I drifted into acting and drifted out. Acting is not everything. Living is. |
| 5 | [in 1983, on being asked if she would ever write her memoirs] The Lord never wrote a book, not that I knew about. Not really. And I don't think Abraham Lincoln ever wrote a book. So I have put it off again. |
| 6 | I love beautiful things, but a woman who considers herself best dressed usually spends all of her time at it. |
| 7 | I appeared with many leading men. But working with Cary Grant was different from working with other actors - he was much more fun! I think we were a successful team because we enjoyed working together tremendously, and that pleasure must have shown through onto the screen ... I will always remember two compliments he made me. He said I had perfect timing in comedy and that I was the sweetest-smelling actress he ever worked with. |
| 8 | I don't know why the public took a liking to me so fast. Popularity is a curious thing. The public responds to a dimple, a smile, a giggle, a hairstyle, an attitude. Acting talent has less to do with it than personality. |
| 9 | Trying to build the brotherhood of man without the Fatherhood of God is like having the spokes of a wheel without the hub. |
| 10 | When we have learned to love our neighbour, not just ourselves, no matter where we come from, then America will be perfect. |
| 11 | Whenever I have to weep for the cameras, I prefer to cry real tears . . . provided I have enough time to recover my emotions before I make the "take". But if I have to do another and greatly different scene afterward, it frequently is easier on my emotions just to put glycerine or some other tear substitute in my eyes. |
| 12 | [Comedy] demands more timing, pace, shading and subtlety of emphasis. It is difficult to learn but once it is acquired it can be easily slowed down and becomes an excellent foundation for dramatic acting. |
| 13 | No triumph of either my stage or screen career has ever rivalled the excitement of trips down the Mississippi on the river boats with my father. |
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | For years, during her lifetime, her date of birth was listed in the World Almanac as 1904. |
| 2 | Mary Pickford was considered for the role of Vinnie in Life with Father (1947). While Miss Pickford was interested in the project, director Michael Curtiz held out for Irene Dunne. He eventually won over the studio administration with convincing argument that Miss Dunne's box office appeal was a known quantity. Miss Pickford's, after such a long absence from the screen, was questionable. |
| 3 | Played Cary Grant's wife in 3 movies: The Awful Truth (1937), My Favorite Wife (1940), and Penny Serenade (1941). |
| 4 | Was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). |
| 5 | Because she rode riverboats as a girl in Kentucky and starred in "Showboat" in 1936, she was chosen by Walt Disney to christen the riverboat "Mark Twain" when Disneyland officially opened in California in 1955. |
| 6 | Profiled in book "Funny Ladies" by Stephen Silverman. [1999] |
| 7 | Profiled in "American Classic Screen Interviews" (Scarecrow Press). [2010] |
| 8 | Her last official public appearance was in December 1985 for the Kennedy Center honors in Washington. She collapsed at the Saturday night reception after the group photograph of the honorees and was unable to attend the gala the next night. |
| 9 | She has an entry in Jean Tulard's "Dictionnaire du Cinéma/Les Acteurs" published in Paris in 2007 (ISBN: 978-2-221-10895-6), pages 384, 385. |
| 10 | Was considered for the role of Mildred Rogers in Of Human Bondage (1934), but Bette Davis was cast instead. |
| 11 | Smashed the traditional champagne bottle on the bow of the Liberty Ship S.S. Carole Lombard at its launching ceremony. |
| 12 | Friends with Loretta Young, Bob Hope, James Stewart, Ricardo Montalban, Roddy McDowall, Caesar Romero, director Bill Freye, and interfaith foundation director Daniel Donahue. |
| 13 | She has two great-grandchildren from yoga instructor granddaughter Ann Shinnick Streibich. |
| 14 | Loretta Young, was one of Irene's closest friends. Back in the day, Loretta had a girls club for her friends, they met once a week and some of the members were Anita Louise, Irene Dunne and Loretta's two sisters as well. |
| 15 | Her adopted daughter Mary Frances was nicknamed Murph. |
| 16 | After retiring from acting, Dunne devoted herself primarily to Republican Party political causes. |
| 17 | Her grandson married writer Vanna Bonta in her home. |
| 18 | She was one of the most active supporters of the Republican Party in Hollywood, and campaigned for Richard Nixon in 1960. She later supported Ronald Reagan's two runs for Governor of California and his two presidential campaigns. |
| 19 | After her death, her Holmby Hills home was listed for sale for $6.9 million. One of the realtors was William Bakewell who had acted with Irene in Back Street (1932). |
| 20 | Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 261-263. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. |
| 21 | Her only full color production (in three-strip Technicolor) was Life with Father (1947) in which she co-starred with William Powell. (Her debut film Leathernecking (1930), of which no print is known to survive, featured a sequence in two-color Technicolor.). |
| 22 | 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. |
| 23 | 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. |
| 24 | Christened the Mark Twain stern-wheel riverboat at Disneyland, July 17, 1955. |
| 25 | Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 145-146. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 |
| 26 | In 1968 was named one of Colorado's Women of achievement. |
| 27 | In 1965 she was the first woman elected to Technicolor's board of directors. |
| 28 | Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame in the early 1960s. It is located at 6440 Hollywood Blvd. |
| 29 | Was offered the role of Aunt Alicia in Vincente Minnelli's Gigi (1958), but she declined, preferring to stay in retirement. |
| 30 | 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. |
| 31 | Her tombstone mistakenly gives her date of birth as 1901 rather than 1898. |
| 32 | 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). |
| 33 | 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. |
Actress
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Electric Theater | 1962 | TV Series | Margaret Henderson |
| Saints and Sinners | 1962 | TV Series | Anita Farrell |
| Insight | 1962 | TV Series | Gertrude le Forte |
| Frontier Circus | 1961 | TV Series | Dr. Sam Applewhite |
| The DuPont Show with June Allyson | 1959 | TV Series | Dr. Gina Kerstas |
| The Christophers | 1958 | TV Series | |
| The Ford Television Theatre | 1954-1956 | TV Series | Sheila Chester / Janet Wilson / Marion Clark / ... |
| Schlitz Playhouse | 1952 | TV Series | Hostess |
| It Grows on Trees | 1952 | Polly Baxter | |
| The Mudlark | 1950 | Queen Victoria | |
| Never a Dull Moment | 1950 | Kay | |
| I Remember Mama | 1948 | Mama | |
| Life with Father | 1947 | Vinnie | |
| Anna and the King of Siam | 1946 | Anna Owens | |
| Over 21 | 1945 | Paula 'Polly' Wharton | |
| Together Again | 1944 | Anne Crandall | |
| The White Cliffs of Dover | 1944 | Susan Ashwood | |
| A Guy Named Joe | 1943 | Dorinda Durston | |
| Lady in a Jam | 1942 | Jane Palmer | |
| Unfinished Business | 1941 | Nancy Andrews | |
| Penny Serenade | 1941 | Julie Gardiner | |
| My Favorite Wife | 1940 | Ellen | |
| When Tomorrow Comes | 1939 | Helen Lawrence | |
| Invitation to Happiness | 1939 | Eleanor Wayne | |
| Love Affair | 1939 | Terry | |
| Joy of Living | 1938 | Maggie | |
| The Awful Truth | 1937 | Lucy Warriner | |
| High, Wide, and Handsome | 1937 | Sally Watterson | |
| Theodora Goes Wild | 1936 | Theodora Lynn | |
| Show Boat | 1936 | Magnolia | |
| Magnificent Obsession | 1935 | Helen Hudson | |
| Roberta | 1935 | Stephanie | |
| Sweet Adeline | 1934 | Adeline Schmidt | |
| The Age of Innocence | 1934 | Ellen | |
| Stingaree | 1934 | Hilda | |
| This Man Is Mine | 1934 | Tony Dunlap | |
| If I Were Free | 1933 | Sarah Cazenove | |
| Ann Vickers | 1933 | Ann Vickers | |
| The Silver Cord | 1933 | Christina Phelps | |
| The Secret of Madame Blanche | 1933 | Sally | |
| No Other Woman | 1933 | Anna Stanley | |
| Thirteen Women | 1932 | Laura Stanhope | |
| Back Street | 1932 | Ray Schmidt | |
| Symphony of Six Million | 1932 | Jessica | |
| Consolation Marriage | 1931 | Mary Brown Porter | |
| The Great Lover | 1931 | Diana | |
| Bachelor Apartment | 1931 | Helene Andrews | |
| The Stolen Jools | 1931 | Short | Irene Dunne |
| Cimarron | 1931 | Sabra Cravat | |
| Leathernecking | 1930 | Delphine Witherspoon |
Soundtrack
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression | 2009 | Video documentary performer: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" - uncredited | |
| American Masters | 1999 | TV Series documentary performer - 1 episode | |
| Someone to Watch Over Me | 1987 | performer: "SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES" | |
| Never a Dull Moment | 1950 | performer: "Once You Find Your Guy", "The Old Chisholm Trail" uncredited, "The Man with the Big Felt Hat', "Sagebrush Lullaby" | |
| I Remember Mama | 1948 | performer: "Sovnen Slumber" - uncredited | |
| Life with Father | 1947 | performer: "Sweet Marie" 1893 - uncredited | |
| The White Cliffs of Dover | 1944 | performer: "Rosen aus dem Süden Roses from the South, Op.388" 1880 - uncredited | |
| A Guy Named Joe | 1943 | "I'll Get By" 1928, uncredited / music: "I'll See You in My Dreams" 1924 - uncredited / performer: "I'll Get By" 1928, "I'll See You in My Dreams" 1924 - uncredited | |
| Penny Serenade | 1941 | performer: "Charleston" 1923 - uncredited | |
| Love Affair | 1939 | performer: "Sing My Heart" 1939, "Plaisir d'Amour" 1775 uncredited | |
| Joy of Living | 1938 | performer: "Just Let Me Look at You" 1938, "What's Good About Good Night?" 1938, "A Heavenly Party" 1938, "You Couldn't Be Cuter" 1938, "Rock-a-Bye Baby" 1886, "Wiener Blut Viennese Blood, Op.354" 1873 - uncredited | |
| The Awful Truth | 1937 | "My Dreams Are Gone With the Wind" 1937, uncredited / performer: "Home on the Range" 1904, "La Serenata" - uncredited | |
| High, Wide, and Handsome | 1937 | performer: "High , Wild and Handsome", "Can I Forget You ?", "The Folks, who live on the Hill", "Allegheny Al" | |
| Theodora Goes Wild | 1936 | performer: "Rock of Ages" 1830, "Be Still My Heart" 1936, "Three Blind Mice" - uncredited | |
| Show Boat | 1936 | performer: "Make Believe" 1927, "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" 1927, "I Have The Room Above Her" 1936, "Gallivantin' Around" 1936, "You Are Love" 1927, "After the Ball" 1892, "Finale: You Are Love" 1927 and "Ol' Man River" 1927 - uncredited | |
| Roberta | 1935 | performer: "Russian Lullaby", "Yesterdays" 1933, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" 1933, "Lovely to Look At" 1935 - uncredited | |
| Sweet Adeline | 1934 | "Why Was I Born" 1929, "Lonely Feet" 1934, uncredited / performer: "We Were So Young" 1934, "Here Am I" 1929, "Lonely Feet" 1934, "'Twas Not So Long Ago" 1929, "Don't Ever Leave Me" 1929 - uncredited | |
| Stingaree | 1934 | "Tonight Is Mine" 1934, uncredited / performer: "I Wish I Were a Fisherman" 1934, "Once You're Mine" 1934, "Tonight Is Mine" 1934, "The Last Rose of Summer" 1808, "Ah! je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir Jewel Song" 1859 - uncredited | |
| This Man Is Mine | 1934 | performer: "The Lilac Tree" 1920 - uncredited | |
| If I Were Free | 1933 | performer: "Early Rising" - uncredited | |
| The Secret of Madame Blanche | 1933 | performer: "If Love Were All" 1924, "Every Lover Must Meet His Fate" from the operetta "Sweethearts" 1913, "Jimmie" - uncredited | |
| Consolation Marriage | 1931 | performer: "Devotion" 1931 - uncredited | |
| The Great Lover | 1931 | performer: "L |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey | 1984 | Documentary thanks |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts | 1985 | TV Special | Herself - Honoree |
| All-Star Party for 'Dutch' Reagan | 1985 | TV Special | Herself |
| The 39th Annual Academy Awards | 1967 | TV Special | Herself - Presenter: Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award |
| The Linkletter Show | 1964 | TV Series | Herself |
| About Faces | 1960 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Big Party | 1959 | TV Series | Herself - Hostess |
| The 31st Annual Academy Awards | 1959 | TV Special | Herself - Presenter: Best Actor |
| What's My Line? | 1953-1957 | TV Series | Herself - Mystery Guest |
| Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | 1956 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Loretta Young Show | 1955 | TV Series | Herself - Guest Hostess |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1953-1955 | TV Series | Herself / Herself - Actress |
| Dateline: Disneyland | 1955 | TV Special documentary | Herself |
| Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | 1955 | TV Series | Herself |
| Easter Parade of Stars Auto Show | 1954 | TV Special | Herself - Hostess |
| The 26th Annual Academy Awards | 1954 | TV Special | Herself - Presenter: Best Director |
| The Jack Benny Program | 1953 | TV Series | Herself |
| Easter Parade of Stars Auto Show | 1953 | TV Movie | Herself - Hostess |
| Schlitz Playhouse | 1951-1952 | TV Series | Herself - Hostess / Herself - Host / Herself - Prolog / ... |
| You Can Change the World | 1950 | Documentary short | Herself |
| Show-Business at War | 1943 | Documentary short | Herself (uncredited) |
| Things You Never See on the Screen | 1935 | Short | Herself |
Archive Footage
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year | 2009 | TV Movie documentary | |
| Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression | 2009 | Video documentary | Herself |
| Broadway: The American Musical | 2004 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Magnolia Hawks |
| American Masters | 1999 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| The Lady with the Torch | 1999 | Documentary | Herself |
| Classified X | 1998 | TV Movie documentary | Magnolia Hawks |
| 20th Century-Fox: The First 50 Years | 1997 | TV Movie documentary | Herself (uncredited) |
| The Our Gang Story | 1994 | Video documentary | Terry |
| Entertaining the Troops | 1988 | Documentary | Herself |
| Musical Comedy Tonight III | 1985 | TV Movie | Magnolia Hawks |
| Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter | 1982 | TV Movie documentary | Actress - 'The Awful Truth' (uncredited) |
| Has Anybody Here Seen Canada? A History of Canadian Movies 1939-1953 | 1979 | TV Movie documentary | Herself - Oscars, 1942, with Coop (uncredited) |
| Brother Can You Spare a Dime | 1975 | Documentary | Herself |
| The World at War | 1973 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself (uncredited) |
| The All Talking, All Singing, All Dancing Show | 1973 | TV Movie | Stephanie |
| Hollywood and the Stars | 1964 | TV Series | Herself |
| Hollywood: The Great Stars | 1963 | TV Movie documentary | Actress 'The Awful Truth' (uncredited) |
| Hollywood Without Make-Up | 1963 | Documentary | Herself |
| MGM Parade | 1955 | TV Series | Dorinda Durston |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1955 | TV Series | Herself |
| Screen Snapshots 7855: Pennies from Hollywood | 1955 | Short | Herself |
| Twenty Years After | 1944 | Short | |
| Land of Liberty | 1939 | Sabra Cravat (edited from: Cimarron) | |
| Out of My Dreams: Oscar Hammerstein II | 2012 | TV Movie documentary | Magnolia Hawks |
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | OFTA Film Hall of Fame | Online Film & Television Association | Acting | |
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | On 8 February 1960. At 6440 Hollywood Blvd. |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actress in a Leading Role | I Remember Mama (1948) |
| 1940 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Love Affair (1939) |
| 1938 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actress in a Leading Role | The Awful Truth (1937) |
| 1937 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Theodora Goes Wild (1936) |
| 1931 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Cimarron (1931) |
Known for movies
Penny Serenade (1941)
as Julie Gardiner
The Awful Truth (1937)
as Lucy Warriner
Love Affair (1939)
as Terry
My Favorite Wife (1940)
as Ellen