Dagmar Oakland (born Edna Martine Dagmar Andersen; August 21, 1897 – October 8, 1989) was an American actress of stage and screen from San Francisco, California. Twice she was a member of the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

Family

Oakland's parents were Edward Andersen of

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

, Norway and Anna Marthine Olsen, also of Norway. Her siblings' names were Edward, Herbert (née Hagbart), and Vivien. Her sister performed on Broadway and in motion pictures as Vivian Oakland. After the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

, Anna Andersen, a widow since 1898, moved the family to Oakland, California, where the sisters took their stage names.

Stage

Edna and Vivien appeared in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

as the Anker sisters (an old family name). They changed their surname to Oakland in tribute to their hometown. They performed as the Oakland Sisters in the Boston Juveniles, a vaudeville group. They traveled the west coast as far as Seattle, Washington. The sisters ended up in New York City, appearing with the

and other shows. In 1915, Oakland began a solo stage career. In November 1924, she had an important role in ''Heidelberg'', the musical version of a play made famous by

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. Life and career Mansfield was born ...

Film career

Beginning in 1930, Oakland performed in Hollywood motion pictures. Her first feature was ''

The Heart Breaker ''The Heart Breaker'' is a 1925 American short comedy film directed by Philadelphian director, Benjamin Stoloff. Cast * Judy King *Jerry Madden as Little boy * Sid Smith *Dagmar Oakland Dagmar Oakland (born Edna Martine Dagmar Anderse ...

'' (1930) directed by Edmund Joseph. She was cast with

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

, Gloria Shea, and Walter Kinsella. She played a reporter in ''

Wedding Present The Wedding Present are an English indie rock group originally formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, from the ashes of The Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, ...

'' (1936) and a nurse in ''Hit Parade of 1937''. Oakland's film career lasted into the late 1940s with uncredited roles in ''

Tonight and Every Night ''Tonight and Every Night'' is a 1945 American musical film directed by Victor Saville and starring Rita Hayworth, Lee Bowman and Janet Blair. The film portrays wartime romance and tragedy in a London musical show, loosely modelled on the Windmil ...

'' (1945), ''

Thrill of a Romance ''Thrill of a Romance'' (also known as ''Thrill of a New Romance'') is an American Technicolor romance film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1945, starring Van Johnson, Esther Williams and Carleton G. Young, with musical performances by Tommy D ...

'' (1945), and ''Riverboat Rhythm'' (1946).

Marriage

In 1919, she married Captain Garnette Rotan,''Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920'' who served with distinction in World War I. Their romance began in 1917 when Oakland was playing in a Broadway theater production. The actress became engaged to English actor Thomas Oliver Neville Clark. Clark was deported from America in June 1935 because he overstayed his visitor's permit. Vivian met and married actor John Murry. The couple had a daughter named Joan. They continued their careers in movies and relocated to southern California. The Murry's operated a small bookshop on

Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it was originally a part o ...

in the 1940s. Dagmar Oakland died in Burbank, California, in 1989.

References

* ''Davenport Democrat and Leader'', "Stage and Screen", April 26, 1925, Page 23. * ''

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

'', "Photo Section", November 11, 1924, Page 71. * ''

Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a daily newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's newspapers. I ...

'', "Beautiful Dagmar's 13-Day Nightmare", January 3, 1926, Page 3. * ''

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published in Oakland, California, by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' rose to become an influential daily newspaper. With the declin ...

'', "Dagmar Oakland Loses English Actor Fiance in Deportation Sweep", June 5, 1935, pg 1

External links

* * https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/dagmar-oakland-55011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakland, Dagmar 1897 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American actresses American stage actresses Vaudeville performers American female dancers Dancers from California Actresses from San Francisco American people of Norwegian descent 20th-century American dancers