Marpessa Dawn ~ the mysterious star of the Black Orpheus!

foreign inverted foreign la la I love when did you positive results foreign foreign hey friend welcome to my channel Karine  Alourde where we Deep dive and break down the   most iconic stars in history if you're not yet  subscribed please be sure to do so and turn   your notifications on so you never miss an upload  today we are talking about the very beautiful but   mysterious marpessa Dawn she was featured in the  November 1959 issue of Ebony magazine and has been   praised as one of ebony Magazine's prettiest Cover  Girls she is widely regarded as a great Beauty she   really created frenzy in America when she first  came out because people were just stunned by her I   mean she looks gorgeous you guys have no idea just  how much I gowered the internet for any piece of   information I could find on marpessadon and was  left empty-handed she lived a very private life   and rarely has any interviews out there about her  except for one that I was able to find she's like   this mythical creature that everyone loved and  adored but barely knew anything about everyone   mentioned her how come so many people mentioned  her but there's not much about her out there she   came and conquered for a little while and then  suddenly disappeared until nose of her death   but in today's breakdown we will discuss as much  as we can on what little we know of this dreamy   Beauty because she was requested so much and I  must say you guys request taught me about Miss   marpessadon I haven't heard of her before this  but I was very intrigued in just how she talks   how she sings and I'm quickly a fan but before  we get into it doesn't she look like Felicia   Rashad a little bit I did a video breakdown for  Felicia Rashad also I'll put that in the end   card but I was like my goodness that could have  been her sister her mom her aunt like they look   a lot alike and they kind of talk a lot they  have uh similar mannerisms if you've seen her   movies and her mannerism is the way she talks  they really do look alike I couldn't find like   her favorite foods or favorite color or anything  like that but I did want to dissect before we get   into her childhood just what really made her so  popular in the era that she was in that was like   this mythical mysterious figure I always talk  about the importance of starlets just having   that air of mystery not letting too many people  know what's going on with you and she definitely   embodied that she really lived a low-key life  even when she was deep in depressed and when   you see the interview you see that even the way  that guy was asking the question she was very   timid and answering very shortly with a smile very  polite but not giving too much detail and I kind   of love when starlets have that effect that kind  of shy mysterious effect and they're not all you   know Princess Diana had that effect I did a video  breakdown for her yesterday on that end I love how   she embodied that the other thing that made her  really really popular was of course her beauty   this era the Golden Age of Hollywood and whether  you were in Brazil or France or wherever you were   as a Starlet people were obsessed with beauty  back then okay the Stars they just look so well   polished well together that when she first came on  the scene people didn't know what to make of her   she went and played Brazilian characters when she  was not a Brazilian she went to France and learned   the language when she was not French she like  embodied every culture and wherever she found   herself traveling to she became that person  she became like water became that person is American those things really really helped arriving  in the front I really think her beauty really   played a major role in this my pessidan  craze that has come off very recently just   that natural beauty you know going back to  the basics as far as her childhood Marquez   Adan was born on January 3rd 1934 she is  also known as Gypsy marpessadon Menorah what   a beautiful name right she was born on a farm  to a black mother and a Filipino father my mom it's just females it does with  me by the Pittsburgh doesn't film and she grew up very modestly and wanted more for  herself you know a small town girl in a small farm   was not going to get her where she wanted to  go she decided she needed to go to Europe and   before leaving for Europe as a teenager she was  a lab technician in New York so while Don was   living in the United States she experienced a  great deal of racial discrimination and she had   high hopes of finding more Acceptance in Europe  like many other starlets did of that day like   Eartha Kitt I did a breakdown for her also  travel abroad and get success and then come   back to United States but in England she got her  start doing small roles on television she worked   tirelessly waiting for her big break but England  did not have much to offer her except those same   small roles so soon after in 1953 she moved to  France where she occasionally worked as a maid   in a French home where she also learned to speak  the language she never lost sight of her need to   succeed though and to make a little money and  get her name out there more Essa performed as   a singer and dancer in nightclubs that is also  where she met her first husband and director   Marcel Camas they cast her as you were DC and his  film black Orpheus when she was just 24 years old um to download the film from downstairs  or configure your heart happy years and comment below if you've ever seen the movie  Black Orpheus I see a lot of mixed reviews about   that but we'll talk about that later the film  did win the Palm door at the 1959 came the   film festival in the 1960 Academy Award for  best foreign language film and the Palm Door   as far as I know is similar to like an Oscar  you know so a French Oscar so it's from video foreign so many people love that movie and it was also hit  in the United States my parents even saw the movie   many people thought that she was Brazilian that  she was actually American black Americans also   quickly took a liking to her as well as the film  because she played a Brazilian character in the   movie She benefited from the attention of the  public for a number of years as black Orpheus   made its way around the International Arts Cinema  circuit and on the other hand the movie ended up   being her only shot at Fame unfortunately it did  provide her with some opportunities to appear on   talk shows in the United States But as time went  on those opportunities became fewer and further   between with Camas by her side she made her way  towards Europe so Don worked in French film and   TV she had several theatrical roles including a  starring role in Shirley Noir a successful stage   comedy that toured France Belgium Switzerland  Tunisia Algeria and Morocco for seven years   by Fernando Arabelle with with Delphine sarig in  1969 and I was glad that she got to tour the world   you know a very cultured woman now as far as her  marriages go in regards to her dating life as we   said before she married Camas who was the director  of black Orpheus but they divorced not long after   their wedding shortly after that she married the  Belgian actor George Alexander else she met when   the two of them appeared in the playak American  Center and Paris together they chose to keep the   details of their civil ceremony a secret and Jet  Magazine wrote an article on their secret Union   saying marpessa Don the U.S born star of the  Cairns Film Festival prize-winning film black   Orpheus was secretly married in Paris to Belgian  actor George aerev Vander else 27 whom she met   six months ago when they appeared together in a  play at the American Center in Paris the Civil   ceremony was held in such secrecy that nothing  leaked out in the Paris press until a day after   the wedding Miss Don was catapulted to Fame in  Europe after black Orpheus won the Golden Palm   award at this year's Film Festival filmed in Rio  de Janeiro it retold the Greek legend of Orpheus   in a modern reel end quote I think she really  did go out of her way to be secretive about her   life and I liked that and just let her Artistry  spoke for herself because she really got married   under people's noses and no one even caught  wind of it they went on to have five children   together and four grandchildren they were madly  in love and could always be seen together being   touchy and loving the two were inseparable and  I'm so happy that they kept their relationship   private because that may have been why it was  so successful in the first place I also was able   to find some charitable acts that she has done  marpessa Don and her Belgian actor husband took   part in a celebration for crippled children in  Madrid Spain and Miss Don distributed 300 toys   to children at the San Rafael home and she did  that pretty secretly also because magazines were   reporting like they were were always chasing  her down trying to find out what she was doing   in her later career on the other hand was far  less successful unfortunately she appeared in   a documentary about venetius de moraes the author  of the original play from which black Orpheus was   adapted in 2005 and both she and her co-star  in that film Brazilian actor brino Mello died   of heart attacks 42 days apart in 2008 which was  you know the film that got them the most popular   and they played a couple in this it was funny how  they passed away 42 days apart it reminds me of my   vanity video that I did was prancino vanity was  Prince ex-lover if you haven't seen that check   that out also and how friends died right after she  died so close after each other remind me of that   she was only 74 years old when she passed away in  Paris leaving five children and four grandchildren   she has continued to remain this mysterious  beauty that captivated many who we wished we   knew more about she was also known to never really  wear that much makeup at all or makeup at all she   was a very natural lady and even with her hair she  didn't like to do too much with it and just like   to really keep it simple maybe what makes my pasta  dance so such a popular name Now Quincy Jones even   came out and said that when people were accusing  Quincy Jones of only dating white women he came   out oh no that's not true I dated black women you  see Martha sedon that was my girl yeah he alleged   that he was with her but she never you know she  was never confirmed those things and never spoke   on those things it was just in Paris living her  best life okay and Barack Obama as far as the   movie The Black Orpheus because I don't know if  you guys would want to break down on that movie   that's what you guys are seeing in the slideshow  but Obama did speak about the movie in his book he   said he didn't really like it much but he went to  see it with his mother and just watched it because   his mother was so excited to see it it reminded  her of her childhood so I really do want to do a   video breakdown on that if you guys are interested  to see what's the hoopla because there's people   that's like oh my goodness it's the best movie  ever the cinematography the colors there's some   people that was like ah it's subpar it was overly  hyped just because of the visuals and all of those   things it's like a island in the sun which I  did a movie breakdown for and I loved Island   in the Sun it was a great movie but if I listen to  critics I would have not watched a movie Island in   the Sun was wonderful okay but I love you guys  so much thank you for tuning in comment below   what other mysterious figures would you guys like  me to do a breakdown for and sometimes when you   guys request these iconic Stars some of them don't  really have much to report on because they really   just live that much of a secret life but if you  like the background music that you're listening   to the link is in the description make sure you  thumbs up subscribe support until next time time

Channel: Karine Alourde Biographies 🇭🇹

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Id: 18m8zFn_aKU

Length: 14min 39sec (879 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 02 2022