Denise Darcel ( née Billecard, 8 September 1924 – 23 December 2011) was a French vaudevillian, actress and singer, who from 1948 and 1963, appeared in films in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, and briefly on the stage, television and radio.

Early years

Born as Denise Billecard in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, she was one of five daughters of a French baker, and she was college educated, studying at the

University of Dijon A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. According to a friend, whom she met in Paris during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she was a passenger in an L-5 Stinson light observation aircraft on

VJ Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

to see the celebration from the air. The pilot, James Helinger Sr., a

US Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

glider pilot Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

(a friend) was at the controls, while they flew under several bridges along the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

and finally, under the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

, with the crowds below. A winner of the title "The Most Beautiful Girl in France," Darcel was a cabaret singer in Paris after World War II before being spotted by Hollywood. Denise came to the United States in 1947 and became an American citizen in 1952. On 15 February 1952 she was named "Miss Welder of 1952" by the National Eutectic Welders' Club. Presenting her with a scroll as "the girl we would like most to weld with" was R. D. Wasserman, President of the Eutectic Welding Institute. Wasserman hoped that her photograph would inspire women throughout the nation to join the ranks of the labor force and support the war effort in Korea.

Stage

Darcel's debut on the legitimate stage came in 1950, when she appeared in ''Pardon Our French'', premiering 5 October at the

Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

Vaudeville

In 1950, Darcel had a

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 ...

act, which was panned by at least one reviewer. About Darcel's performance 5 May 1950, at the Strand in New York, the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

review said: "Denise Darcel showed her well-stacked chassis ... but her heavily accented English sounded like so much gibberish; it got laughs instead of attention. ... her singing is inadequate, her over-use of hands and arms is clumsy and she shows herself completely at a loss in handling hecklers."

Film

Her first film appearance of note was in '' Battleground'' (1949). She made quite an impression in ''

Tarzan and the Slave Girl ''Tarzan and the Slave Girl'' is a 1950 American adventure film directed by Lee Sholem and starring Lex Barker as Tarzan, Vanessa Brown as Jane, and Robert Alda as big game hunter Neil. The plot involves a lost civilization in Africa, a strange ...

'' (1950) opposite

Lex Barker Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973), known as Lex Barker, was an American actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953, and portraying leading characters from Karl May's novels, notably as ...

, then co-starred with Robert Taylor in ''

Westward the Women ''Westward the Women'' is a 1951 Western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel and John McIntire. Plot In 1851, Roy Whitman wants to keep the lonely men who live in Whitman's Valley from leaving, so he ...

'' (1952) and

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as ...

in ''

Young Man with Ideas ''Young Man with Ideas'' is a 1952 romantic comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Ruth Roman and Glenn Ford. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay concern a young small-town lawyer, who moves his family from Monta ...

'' (1952). In 1953, she was seen in the swimming musical ''

Dangerous When Wet ''Dangerous When Wet'' is a 1953 American live-action/animated musical comedy film starring Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas and Jack Carson, directed by Charles Walters and featuring an animated swimming sequence starring Williams with the cat-a ...

'', which starred

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

(1953). Her most important film was '' Vera Cruz'' (1954) where she played the female lead opposite

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

and

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

. Her last film (1961) was ''

Seven Women from Hell ''Seven Women from Hell'' is a 1961 war drama directed by Robert D. Webb and starring Patricia Owens, Denise Darcel (in her final film), Margia Dean, Yvonne Craig and Cesar Romero about women prisoners in a Japanese World War II prison camp, int ...

''.

Television

Darcel appeared on various TV shows in the 1950s. In 1954, she was hostess/MC of ''Gamble on Love'', a summer program on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

. Darcel asked questions of married couples who sought to win the grand prize of a mink coat. A review in Billboard described her as "Gallic to the point of unintelligibility." Also in 1954, Colonel Productions produced a pilot of ''Chez Denise'', a 30-minute "comedy-intrigue" program starring Darcel, which apparently did not sell.

Later years

After her film and television career began to wane, Darcel, aged 41, became an

ecdysiast A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exot ...

(stripper), appearing in West Coast theatres in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, and Los Angeles. She retired from stripping after a few years and returned to the cabaret circuit, making a few appearances on television. In 1991, she was cast as "Solange La Fitte" in the Los Angeles 20th anniversary revival of the musical ''

Follies ''Follies'' is a Musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on t ...

'', produced by the Long Beach Civic Light Opera. She would later repeat the role of Solange in 1995 for revivals in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Personal life

Darcel's first husband, William Shaw, was an American Army captain whom she married in 1947. Darcel obtained a Mexican divorce from Peter Crosby 12 August 1951. She married Robert Atkinson 24 April 1961. They had two sons, Christopher (born 17 November 1961) and Craig. Husband George Simpson died in 2003. In the early 1950s, Darcel was linked romantically with singer

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

. In 1993, Jet magazine reported, "Eckstine's hot romance with actress Denise Darcel cooled off after their photo appeared on cover of Life Magazine, causing a White backlash."

Recording

Online music store iTunes recently made Darcel's album, ''Banned in Boston'' (recorded in 1958), available for purchase alongside actress

Lizabeth Scott Lizabeth Virginia Scott (born Emma Matzo; September 29, 1921 – January 31, 2015) was an American actress, singer and model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency, known for her "smoky voice" and being "the most beautiful face of film noir during ...

's album, ''Lizabeth''.

Legal problems

On 23 June 1968, Darcel was arrested in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and charged with shoplifting women's undergarments valued at $38.94 ($ today). She was released on $500 bond. She was found guilty and fined $300 ($ today) in a trial 10 July 1968. Darcel and her husband, Robert Gerard Atkinson, filed bankruptcy petitions in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

, in 1963. The petitions listed "total assets of $1,508 ($ today) and individual and joint debts of $88,904 for her and $62,223 for him."(total of $ today)

Honors

In September 2009, she was honored with the Cinecon Career Achievement Award, presented in Hollywood at a banquet held at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel. Prior to the ceremony, a new 35mm color print of her 1953 film, ''

Flame of Calcutta ''Flame of Calcutta'' is a 1953 American historical film directed by Seymour Friedman and starring Denise Darcel, Patric Knowles and Paul Cavanagh. It was one of a number of historical films made by Sam Katzman's production unit for Columbia Pic ...

'', was screened at the

Egyptian Theatre Egyptian-style theatres are based on the traditional and historic design elements of Ancient Egypt. The first Egyptian Theatre to be constructed in the US – which inspired many of the identically-named theatres that followed it – was Graum ...

. After the screening, at the banquet, she cheerfully announced to the audience, "I'm back". The world's oldest drag queen, Walter W. Cole took the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Darcelle XV Darcelle XV (November 16, 1930 – March 23, 2023) was the stage name of Walter Willard Cole, an American drag queen, entertainer, and cabaret owner and operator in Portland, Oregon. Guinness World Records had certified him as the oldest drag q ...

, in honor of Denise Darcel.

Death

Darcel died in December 2011, aged 87, after emergency surgery to repair a ruptured aneurysm.''Variety'' report of Darcel's death
/ref>

Selected filmography

*''

To the Victor ''To the Victor'' is a 1948 drama film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Dennis Morgan and Viveca Lindfors. The plot concerns an American black-marketeer who falls in love with a Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name ...

'' (1948) as Bar Singer (uncredited) *''

Thunder in the Pines ''Thunder in the Pines'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Robert Edwards and starring George Reeves and Ralph Byrd. The film was shot in sepia tone. It was executive produced by Robert L. Lippert. Plot Production Reeves and Byrd a ...

'' (1948) as Yvette Cheron *'' Battleground'' (1949) as Denise *''

'' (1950) as Lola *''

'' (1951) as Fifi Danon *''

'' (1952) as Dorianne Gray *''

'' (1953) as Gigi Mignon *''

'' (1953) as Suzanne Roget *'' Vera Cruz'' (1954) as Countess Marie Duvarre *'' Gamble on Love'' (DuMont game show, 1954; replaced by

Ernie Kovacs Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years afte ...

) as Countess Marie Duvarre *''

The Milton Berle Show ''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Mi ...

'' (1956, TV Series) *''

Tightrope! ''Tightrope!'' is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 1959 to September 1960, under the alternating sponsorship of the J.B. Williams Company (Aqua Velva, Lectric Shave, etc.), and American Tobacco ( Pall Mall). Produc ...

'' (1960, TV Series) as Terri *''

'' (1961) as Claire Oudry *'' Naked City'' (1962, TV Series) as Madeleine Douvay *''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American sol ...

'' (1963, TV Series) as Annette (final appearance)

Radio appearances

Television appearances

1963 Combat Season2 Episode10

Notes

External links

* * *
Photographs of Denise Darcel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darcel, Denise 1924 births 2011 deaths Actresses from Paris American women singers American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American television actresses Cabaret singers Deaths from aneurysm French emigrants to the United States French women singers French film actresses French musical theatre actresses Torch singers 21st-century American women