Brazilian Bombshell: The Biography of Carmen Miranda

Description

Fifty years ago she exploded onto the Broadway stage and took Hollywood by storm. Already a sensation in her adopted country of Brazil—with her megawatt smile, her outrageous accent and her outlandish costumes— she had much the same impact then as Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler, Cher, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper have today—earning her the well-deserved moniker of the “‘Brazilian Bombshell.” Now, for the first time, the story of her meteoric rise to fame and wealth is told by a woman who not only shares her Latin-American heritage, but who has spent years researching her subject. Born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha in a small Portuguese town in 1909, Carmen Miranda achieved star status in Brazil in the 1930’s. At the height of her popularity she abruptly left her country and cultural heritage to seek fame and fortune in the United States and achieved it in the 1940’s with such movies as “The Gang’s All Here,’ and “That Night in Rio.” She became known as “The Lady with the Tutti Frutti Hat,’ a living legend on two continents, and her enduring presence colors the Latin-American music scene even today. Martha Gil-Montero has gone behind the gaudy facade to find a complex, sometimes tormented woman who in later life struggled to find love and security in an alien land, who struggled too with the very real problem of who she was, a struggle cut short by her death alone in her home in Beverly Hills in 1955. Ms. Gil-Montero has revealed a woman far ahead of her time, and written a portrait that is both a revelation and a loving tribute to the public and private woman. MARTHA GIL-MONTERO, an inveterate film buff, is a native of Cordoba, Argentina, and a resident of Washington, D.C. since 1979. In 1985, while doing research on the Brazilian national character, she rediscovered Carmen Miranda, and her fascination with the woman led to this biography. A student of language and literature, she has published a volume of poetry and has translated into Spanish two major biographies, one of Fidel Castro and another of Juan Peron. Brazilian Bombshell: The Biography of Carmen Miranda Contents Preface 1 Miranda Rites 2 Samba 3 The Bahiana 4 On the Road to Emerald City 5 The Brazilian Bombshell 6 Bye-Bye Brazil 7 The Mythical Latin American Background 8 Chica Chica Boom Chic Illustrations Carmen Miranda advertising beer in 1939, when she was a teetotaller A record album cut in 1939: Carmen recorded over 30 songs for DECCA The Brazilian Bombshell’ second Broadway hit: Sons o’ Fun Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda: Each thought the other was “beautiful inside and outside.” Hermes Pan rehearses Carmen Miranda The magic of 20th Century Fox’ musicals was often captured in the designs of their posters. Carmen and Don Ameche in That Night in Rio Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero: Very friendly Good Neighbors The “Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” makes her entrance on a golden chariot from The Gang’s All Here The Queen of Samba and the King of Swing in The Gang’s All Here Carmen Miranda advertising Rio Cola in 1953 in Stockholm Alice Faye, John Payne and Carmen Miranda in Weekend in Havana Caricatures which appeared in Brazilian magazines often captured Carmen at her most impish On the 65th anniversary of Carmen Miranda’ birth a bust was unveiled on Ilha do Governador, Rio de Janeiro Carmen's all time favorite baiana, designed by Helen Rose for Nancy Goes to Rio To become Fifi in Copacabana Carmen created a new persona Carmen Miranda in one of Ivonne Woods creations for Four Jills in a Jeep Carmen Miranda and Dean Martin in Scared Stiff, her last film Carmen Miranda and David Sebastian in Stockholm, Sweden in 1953 9 The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat 10 Believe Me Something! 11 They Met in Hollywood 12 The North American Way 13 Under the Tutti-Frutti Hat 14 Sambaing Up 15 Carmen’s Fantasia Index