This Is Really Irene Dunne

March2012

Sara Hamilton tries to describe/ solve the mystery of La Dunne, especially why Irene came across as rather reserved in public. Maybe the explanation given by Ms Hamilton is partly true but I personally think that Irene was an intelligent woman who simply knew that she had more to lose than to gain being too open-hearted in Tinseltown. And probably nobody still alive knows what kind of experiences Irene made in the theater world...

This wasn't the first time that I read that Irene had to care for her family after the death of her father - something I really wonder about, but I still have the hope that it wasn't as tough as that.

Certainly beyond the huge personal loss, Joseph Dunn's death changed the financial situation of the family. Maybe this was one reason why Adelaide - Irene's mother - moved Irene and Charles to her hometown Madison. Probably living there was cheaper than in St. Louis and Charles Henry - Adelaide's father - was a well-known builder of boilers for steamboats and could affort to sell a house to his daughter for the symbolic amount of one Dollar.

That Irene who described herself as "a serious person to start with," early developed a sense of responsibility is something I don't doubt. She described an idyllic youth in Madison which does not sound like all kind of eyes looking "to Irene for some solution to the problem." Nonetheless, Irene probably wanted to stand on her own feet/support her family financially early in life.

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Comments: 11

#1
Mary M. (Wednesday, 07 March 2012 03:01)

Wow! Your website is fabulous and so comprehensive. It is in actuality an amazing biography of Miss Dunne with photos and so much more. Thanks for sharing; it is never boring to visit this site - one always seems to find something new or unexplored.
#2
irenedunnesite (Wednesday, 07 March 2012 14:00)

Thanks, Mary! I'm so happy to read that the site appears like that. And I am defenitely not finished with Miss Dunne yet! :)
#3
Renata Ortiz (Wednesday, 07 March 2012 23:29)

I loved the article, Susanne. Thanks for posting.
#4
Dunne fan (Thursday, 08 March 2012 08:58)

I agree with Mary. This site is amazing. It's like the thorough biography I've always wished for, but better because of all the multi-media. Thanks for creating this wonderful resource. Irene Dunne deserves it.
#5
irenedunnesite (Thursday, 08 March 2012 17:11)

Thank you!!
The multi-media certainly is an advantage of a website in comparison to a book.
I found more material than I ever dreamed of, and hope that there are still some things to discover. However, to share "all things Dunne" and to capture through this compilation as many facets of Irene as possible, is the main idea behind this website.
#6
Mary M. (Friday, 09 March 2012 03:51)

The multi-media aspect of a website allows a depth not possible in a traditional biography - such as Wes Gehring's bio of Miss Dunne - although that book is certainly well-researched and extensive in its own way...the book has so many citations along the way that it interrupts the flow somewhat of a more traditional biography, coming across as more of a scholarly theme work - not that there's anything wrong with that! I would still recommend Mr. Gehring's book for anyone who loves I.D. It's amazing, considering I.D.'s body of work, talent, and seemingly winsome personality that no one ever wrote of her life (in a full biography) prior to Mr. Gehring's work. So what if she was considered boring in comparison to others whom we could name...her acting career and personal life were not, as one learns from the many articles posted on this site from decades past. This is fun!
#7
irenedunnesite (Saturday, 10 March 2012 12:35)

Maybe the bottom line is simply that a website is the more fitting media for a Irene Dunne biography than a book. How to capture her sense of humor, her temperament as a performer(the radio shows!) or how witty she really was merely writting about her? For me Gehring's bio is more a "The Films of Irene Dunne" kind of book than a real, full-fledged biography, but I am aware of the fact that Irene isn't the easiest of personalities to write about. Most of the Hollywood ladies at least offered a couple of husbands to fill some chapters!;)But whosoever had the idea that the "normality" - whatever that means - of such a beautiful, intelligent, gifted woman could be boring? Maybe we should reconsider some of our standards...
#8
Ed (Sunday, 29 April 2012 02:09)

Please allow me to join the chorus of people who have thanked you for putting together this excellent site.
#9
irenedunnesite (Monday, 30 April 2012 19:01)

Thanks Ed! That's a chorus after my own heart!;)
#10
Masha (Saturday, 02 June 2012 21:36)

Gee, I've been to this place so many times now that I feel obligated to leave a kind word or two. I have nothing new to say, so I'll just join the folks who've written already and praise this site as by far the best source of information and material about Irene that I've come across. I wonder if any of her relatives have seen this... They must be awfully grateful as you're doing an excellent job at keeping her wonderful legacy alive. Thank you!
#11
irenedunnesite (Wednesday, 06 June 2012 11:24)

Thank you for those kind words, Masha!