Dona Drake was a black actress who lied about her race so she could succeed in Hollywood
She was born Eunice Westmoreland on November 15, 1914 in Miami, Florida. Her parents, Joseph and Novella Westmoreland. were both black. The family moved to Pennsylvania where her father opened a restaurant. At the age of seventeen she began performing in vaudeville. Dona was a talented musician who could play the piano, the drums, and the trumpet. In 1933 she was cast in Earl Carroll’s Vanities. Because there was so much racism in show business she decided not to tell people she was black. Her light skin tone allowed her to pass a Mexican woman. She used the stage names Una Villon and Rita Rio. Dona made her film debut in the 1935 musical short Moonlight And Melody. The beautiful brunette appeared in numerous musicals including Star Spangled Rhythm, Let’s face It, and Salute For Three. Most of her roles were small and she was often cast as an ethnic character. She played an American Indian in Beyond The Forest and an Arab girl in Road To Morocco.
Dona also started her own all-female band. She had a brief romance with mobster Louis Amberg. The FBI once questioned her about Louis’s involvement in a murder but she claimed she didn’t know anything. While filming Hot Rhythm Joan Blondell introduced her to fashion designer William Travilla. On August 19, 1944 she and William were married. Since interracial marriage was illegal at the time she continued to hide the fact that she was black. Dona gave birth to a daughter, Nia Novella, in 1951. A few years later she decided to quit acting. Her final role was in a 1956 episode of Studio 57. Unfortunately her marriage to William was tumultuous and he had an affair with Marilyn Monroe. The couple separated in 1956 but they remained legally married. As she grew older she began suffering from heart problems and a seizure disorder. On June 20, 1988 she died from respiratory failure at the age of seventy-four. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea.
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