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Jeanette MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January
14, 1965) was a singer and actress best known for
her film duets with Nelson Eddy, such as
Rose-Marie (aka Indian Love Call) (1936).

Jeanette Anna MacDonald was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania  and made her professional debut at
the age of six, singing "Old Mother Hubbard" in a
charity opera at Philadelphia's Academy of Music.
At the age of 16, accompanied by her father, she
went to see her older sister, Blossom Rock,
perform on Broadway theatre|Broadway in New York.
An audition was arranged by her sister for a part
as dancer in the chorus of another production.
Jeanette got the part and was given permission by
her parents to take the job. Of her start in
Broadway, many years later she told Ed Sullivan,
"I got a crick in my neck and $40 a week".

Jeanette MacDonald performed on Broadway a further
nine years, progressing to leading roles in Yes,
Yes, Yvette (1927 in music|1927), Sunny Days (1928
in music|1928), Angela (1928 in music|1928) and
Boom Boom (1929 in music|1929) (opposite a young
Cary Grant), before she was chosen by the
Hollywood director Ernst Lubitsch to play the lead
in his new film musical The Love Parade in 1929. 
It was not until Irving Thalberg lured her to
Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 1934, that she had her
biggest hits including The Merry Widow (1934)
(with Maurice Chevalier), Naughty Marietta (1935),
the above-mentioned Rose-Marie, and Maytime (1937)
(with Nelson Eddy). The latter, where she ages
from a young girl to an old woman, is said to have
been her  favourite.  On very rare occasions she
was given roles that allowed to extend her range
as a dramatic actress, however she was still
expected to sing.  Cast opposite Clark Gable and
Spencer Tracy in San Francisco (movie)|San
Francisco (1936), she was given some key dramatic
scenes, but also contributed several obligatory
musical numbers. 

She did not confine herself to operetta, appearing
in stage productions of grand opera, including
Charles Gounod's Faust in 1943 and 1951, the
latter being her last full length opera
performance.

In 1937, Jeanette MacDonald married Gene Raymond,
who was rumored to be bisexual, with whom she had
co-starred in 1941's Smilin' Through. Although
they were married until her death from heart
disease at the age of 61 in 1965, they had no
children. Jeanette died in Houston, Texas and was
interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
in Glendale, California.

After her death, rumors began to emerge that
Jeanette MacDonald had an off-screen relationship
with Nelson Eddy. A biography authorized by
Jeanette's widower Gene Raymond, Hollywood Diva 
by Edward Baron Turk (2000), ISBN 0520222539,
denies there was any such affair. However, Sharon
Rich, a close friend of MacDonald's sister, TV
actress Blossom Rock The Addams Family, has
written several books supporting these rumors with
excerpts from letters, diaries and interviews.
Sweethearts (theater)|Sweethearts by Sharon Rich
(revised edition,2001), ISBN 0971199817, discusses
MacDonald's ill-fated affair with Eddy. Jeanette
MacDonald: The Irving Stone Letters  annotated by
Sharon Rich (2002), ISBN 0971199841, is a
compilation of Jeanette's handwritten letters to a
beau from her Broadway years (with whom she also
discusses her Hollywood years), while Jeanette
MacDonald Autobiography: The Lost Manuscript
annotated by Sharon Rich (2004), ISBN 0971199884
presents MacDonald's unpublished autobiography, in
which MacDonald verifies a problematic marriage.
However, it all seems unlikely since Nelson Eddy
was popularly assumed to be gay and was pressured
by Louis B. Mayer to get married and fast.

Jeanette MacDonald was given two stars on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to
Recordings and Motion Pictures.

==Filmography==
*The Love Parade (1929)
*The Vagabond King (1930)
*Paramount on Parade (1930) (scenes deleted,
except for a far shot in a gonola number with Nino
Martini)
*Let's Go Native (1930)
*Monte Carlo (1930)
*The Lottery Bride (1930)
*Oh, for a Man (1930)
*Don't Bet on Women (1931)
*Annabelle's Affairs (1931)
*Hollywood on Parade (1932) (short subject)
*One Hour with You (1932) (a French version was
also filmed)
*Love Me Tonight (1932)
*The Cat and the Fiddle (1934)
*The Merry Widow (1934) (a French version was also
filmed)
*Naughty Marietta (1935)
*Rose-Marie (1936)
*San Francisco (1936)
*Maytime (1937)
*The Firefly (1937)
*The Girl of the Golden West (1938)
*Hollywood Goes to Town (1938) (short subject)
*Sweethearts (1938)
*Broadway Serenade (1939)
*The Miracle of Sound (1940) (short subject)
*New Moon (1940)
*Bitter Sweet (1940)
*Smilin' Through (1941)
*I Married an Angel (1942)
*Cairo (1942)
*Follow the Boys (1944)
*Three Daring Daughters (1948)
*The Sun Comes Up (1949)

==External links==
* http://www.classicactresses.com/jeanette.html
Jeanette MacDonald at Classic Actresses
*http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm0531776/ IMDB entry
*http://members.aol.com/jmacfan/index.htm Fan site
by Susan Cassidy
*http://www.jeanettemacdonald.com/ Jeanette
MacDonald & Nelson Eddy Home Page
*http://www.dandugan.com/maytime/ Jeanette
MacDonald & Nelson Eddy by Eleanor Knowles Dugan