{{short description|African American actress, singer and dancer (1914–1989)}} {{redirect|Rita Shaw|the American character actress|Reta Shaw}} {{redirect|Rita Ray|Scottish lawyer and judge|Rita Rae, Lady Rae}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Dona Drake | image = Dona Drake Kansas City Confidential 1952.jpg | image_size = | caption = Drake in ''Kansas City Confidential'' (1952) | birth_name = Eunice Westmoreland | birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|11|15|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Miami, Florida, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1989|06|20|1914|11|15|mf=yes}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | other_names = {{hlist|Una Novella|Rita Novella|Rita Rio|Una Velon (or Una Villon)|Rita Shaw|Dona Travilla}} | occupation = {{hlist|Actress|singer|dancer}} | years_active = 1933–1977 | spouse = {{marriage|William Travilla|1944}} | children = 1 }}
'''Dona Drake''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ou|n|ə}} {{Respell|DOH|nə}}; November 15, 1914 – June 20, 1989) was an American singer, dancer, and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She was typically cast in ethnic roles including Latin American and Middle Easterners. Drake often presented herself as Mexican and went by the names '''Una Novella'''<ref name="ms">{{cite news|last1=Lowrance|first1=Dee|title=Triple Threat Trio From the Torrid Zone|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6221418/the_montana_standard/|work=The Montana Standard|agency=Every Week Magazine|date=September 13, 1942|location=Montana, Butte|page=28|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = August 13, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> and '''Rita Novella'''. As '''Rita Rio''', she led a touring all-girl orchestra in the early 1940s, also known as "Dona Drake and her Girl Band",{{Citation needed |date=November 2020}} among other names for her musical and dance acts.
==Early life== Drake was born Eunice Westmoreland in Miami, Florida<ref name=fga/> on November 15, 1914 to Joseph Andrew Westmoreland, Sr. and Novella (née Smith). She had four siblings.{{Citation needed |date=May 2024}}
=== Ethnicity === The 1910 United States census, taken in Florida, lists her father as black and her mother, taken in Alabama, as black.<ref>"United States Census, 1910", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVK9-T7V : Fri Oct 06 00:00:36 UTC 2023), Entry for Charles Scott and Estella Scott, 1910.</ref><ref>"United States Census, 1910", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKQ2-FTY : Fri Oct 06 13:00:45 UTC 2023), Entry for Alex Smith and Harrison Smith, 1910.</ref> The 1920 United States census, taken in Florida, records her and her parents as being mulatto.<ref>"United States Census, 1920", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNY6-39P : Sat Dec 23 01:54:13 UTC 2023), Entry for Joe S Westmoreland and Nevella Westmoreland, 1920.</ref> The 1930 United States census, taken in Pennsylvania, records her and her parents as being negro.<ref name="personal">{{cite web|url=http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/76/Dona+Drake/index.html |title=Dona Drake - The Private Life and Times of Dona Drake. Dona Drake Pictures. |accessdate=2014-05-01 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801224033/http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/76/Dona+Drake/index.html |archivedate=August 1, 2015 }}</ref><ref>"United States Census, 1930", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHW2-HPC : Fri Oct 06 11:59:02 UTC 2023), Entry for Joseph Westmoreland and Novella Westmoreland, 1930.</ref> The 1950 United States census, taken in Pennsylvania, records her father and brother as negro and Drake (under the name Dona Travilla), taken in California, as white.<ref>"United States 1950 Census", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6X1Q-2MV7 : Fri Oct 06 03:46:41 UTC 2023), Entry for Joseph Westmorland, Jr and Joseph Westmurland, 10 April 1950.</ref><ref>"United States 1950 Census", ''FamilySearch'' (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XGC-W5NJ : Wed Oct 04 21:02:29 UTC 2023), Entry for Bill Travilla and Dona Travilla, 10 April 1950.</ref> Drake was of African American heritage. Drake often presented herself as Hispanic and reportedly spoke Spanish but had no documented Hispanic, Spanish, or Latin American heritage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Little Known Black History Fact: Dona Drake |url=http://pinupchillimarie.weebly.com/1/post/2015/02/little-known-black-history-fact-dona-drake.html |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=Marie "Chilli" Moreau |language=en}}</ref> Her father was from Arkansas and her mother was from Alabama.{{Citation needed |date=May 2024}}
==Career== [[File:Dona Drake pin-up, Yank, The Army Weekly (British edition), May 23, 1943.png|thumb|right|Pin-up photo of Drake for ''Yank, the Army Weekly'' in 1943]] Entering show business in the 1930s, she used the names '''Una Velon''' (pronounced YOO-nə; also spelled '''Una Villon'''),<ref name="fga">{{cite journal|last1=Wagner|first1=Laura|title=Dona Drake: "Mexican" Tornado|journal=Films of the Golden Age|date=Spring 2015|issue=80|pages=68–69}}</ref><ref name="ig">{{cite news|last1=Harrison|first1=Paul|title=There's Murder in the Airs at Carroll's New "Vanities"|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6220745/the_indiana_gazette/|work=The Indiana Gazette|date=September 28, 1933|location=Pennsylvania, Indiana|page=13|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = August 13, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> '''Rita Rio''' and '''Rita Shaw'''. The newspapers of the day ascribed her billed-name changes to “Rita Shaw,” and then to “Dona Drake,” as Paramount’s.<ref>”Surprised Actress Awarded New Name.” The Daily Notes (Canonsburg, PA), 27 June 1941, 14.</ref><ref>”Dona Drake Now Has Fifth Name.” Oakland Tribune, 6 July 1941, 27.</ref><ref>Harison, Paul. “This Little Drank No Ugly Duckling” (NEA article). Sandusky (OH) Register-Star-News, 4 July 1941, 4</ref>
===Una Villon=== She began performing in 1932, working under the name Una Villon as a chorus girl and in nightclubs.<ref name=fga/> As Una Villon, she appeared in ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' in 1933, prompting Paul Harrison to write in a review printed in The Indiana Gazette: "Most noteworthy newcomer is Miss Una Villon who sings, dances and looks like a 16-year-old incarnation of Ann Pennington. Only a couple of days before the premiere she was hired away from a Broadway night club and already has proved her right to a place in the big-time spotlight."<ref name=ig/>
In 1934, columnist Walter Winchell wrote about her performance in a night club: "Una Villon's torso shifting serves to synchronize the tempos instead of Berren's directing — this young lady directs the tooters with her wiggling."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Winchell|first1=Walter|title=Walter Winchell|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6220955/the_scranton_republican/|work=The Scranton Republican|date=May 24, 1934|location=Pennsylvania, Scranton|page=13}}</ref>
===Rita Rio and Rita Shaw=== She began using the name Rita Rio in 1935, when she was featured at the Paradise cabaret on Broadway. Besides singing and dancing, she sometimes played piano, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone and drums and occasionally led the orchestra.<ref name=ms/> In 1936, she and another woman formed an orchestra. After the group had financial problems in 1940, she went to Hollywood, where she had screen tests using the name Rita Shaw.<ref name="sr2">{{cite news|last1=Harrison|first1=Paul|title=This Little Drake No Ugly Duckling|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6221231/the_sandusky_register/|work=The Sandusky Register|agency=Newspaper Enterprise Association|date=July 4, 1941|location=Ohio, Sandusky|page=4}}</ref>
She settled on the stage name Dona Drake in the early 1940s. Studio publicity during her heyday incorrectly stated that Drake was of Mexican origin and was born Rita Novella (borrowing her mother's first name as a new last).<ref name="personal"/>
She was sometimes cast as an ethnic character, such as a Latina, Middle Easterner, American Indian, or Gypsy. She is perhaps best known for playing the American Indian maid of Bette Davis in ''Beyond the Forest''. She also appeared as the Arab girl Mihirmah, opposite Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in ''Road to Morocco'' in 1942. In 1944 she appeared as a lead role as a big band singer in a B-movie titled ''Hot Rhythm'', which also featured Irene Ryan (Granny from ''The Beverly Hillbillies'') as a ditsy secretary.
Drake had a "non-ethnic", non-musical role as the second female lead in the 1949 comedy ''The Girl from Jones Beach'', playing opposite Eddie Bracken. The year before, she gave a comic performance as the fortune-hunting sister in ''So This Is New York''.
==Personal life== In 1936, Drake was questioned by the FBI about the murder of her then-boyfriend and known mobster, Louis Amberg. She claimed to only know him as "Mr. Cohen" and had no idea what he did for a living.<ref name=fga/>
Drake married Oscar and Emmy award-winning fashion designer William Travilla on August 19, 1944.<ref>{{cite news |date = 10 September 1944 |title = Dona Drake, Actress, Wed |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1944/09/10/archives/dona-drake-actress-wed.html |work = The New York Times |access-date = 8 January 2022}}</ref> They had one daughter: Nia Novella Travilla (August 16, 1951 – October 1, 2002), who had no children. They remained a couple until her death.<ref name="personal"/> Travilla appeared on the March 24, 1960, episode of ''You Bet Your Life'', hosted by Groucho Marx, and introduced his elegantly dressed wife to the audience.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211206/UZbufa1lsdQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210101215740/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZbufa1lsdQ Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZbufa1lsdQ| title = You Bet Your Life #59-27 Fashion analysis by William Travilla ('Face', Mar 24, 1960) | website=YouTube| date = August 17, 2014 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Film and television |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1935 | ''Moonlight and Melody'' | Rita | Short, credited as Rita Rio |- | 1936 | ''Strike Me Pink'' | Mademoiselle Fifi | credited as Rita Rio |- | 1938 | ''Sweet Shoe'' | Rita Rio | Short, credited as Rita Rio |- | 1938 | ''Beautiful, But Dummies'' | Model | Short, credited as Rita Ray |- | 1939 | ''Gals and Gallons'' | Orchestra Leader | credited as Rita Rio |- | 1939 | ''Rita Rio and Her Orchestra'' | Rita Rio | Short, played self in this 10-minute short |- | 1941 | ''Fresh as a Freshman'' | Chicquita | Short |- | 1941 | ''Aloma of the South Seas'' | Nea | first film credit as Dona Drake<ref name="personal"/> |- | 1941 | ''Louisiana Purchase'' | Beatrice | |- | 1941 | ''I Look at You'' | Rita Rio | Short, With Alan Ladd. |- | 1942 | ''Road to Morocco'' | Mihirmah | credited as Dona Drake |- | 1942 | ''Star Spangled Rhythm'' | Herself | performs song "On the Swing Shift" with Marjorie Reynolds and Betty Jane Rhodes |- | 1943 | ''Salute for Three'' | Dona Drake and Her Girl Band | credited as Dona Drake |- | 1943 | ''Let's Face It'' | Muriel | |- | 1944 | ''Hot Rhythm'' | Mary Adams | |- | 1945 | ''Hollywood Victory Caravan'' | Herself | Victory Bonds Short, performs song "Plain Jane Doe" with Betty Hutton |- | 1946 | ''Without Reservations'' | Dolores Ortega | |- | 1946 | ''Dangerous Millions'' | Elena Valdez | |- | 1948 | ''Another Part of the Forest'' | Laurette Sincee | |- | 1948 | ''So This Is New York'' | Kate Goff | |- | 1949 | ''The Doolins of Oklahoma'' | Cattle Annie | |- | 1949 | ''The Girl from Jones Beach'' | Connie Martin | |- | 1949 | ''Beyond the Forest'' | Jenny | |- | 1950 | ''Fortunes of Captain Blood'' | Pepita Maria Rosados | |- | 1951 | ''Valentino'' | Maria Torres | |- | 1952 | ''Kansas City Confidential'' | Teresa | |- | 1953 | ''The Bandits of Corsica'' | Zelda | |- | 1953 | ''Son of Belle Starr'' | Dolores | |- | 1953 | ''Down Laredo Way'' | Narita | |- | 1953 |''Adventures of Superman'' | Joyce | Episode 35: "The Dog Who Knew Superman" 9th episode of 1953; aired 14 November |- | 1954 | ''Superman Flies Again'' | Joyce | theatrical re-release of 3 episodes of the television series included episode 35<ref name="AM superman_flies_again">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/work/superman-flies-again-148241/cast|title=Superman Flies Again > Cast - AllMovie|accessdate=2010-10-16}}</ref> |- | 1954 | ''Princess of the Nile'' | Mirva | |- | 1954 | ''The Lone Wolf'' | Lee | Episode: "Deadline" |- | 1954 | ''City Detective'' | Francesca | Episode: "The Gift Shop" |- | 1955 | ''Soldiers of Fortune'' | Cheu | Episode: "The Runaway King" |}
== Preservation == ''Sweet Shoe'' was preserved and restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive from 16mm prints. Restoration funding was provided by a grant from the GRAMMY Museum. The restoration had its world premiere at the 2024 UCLA Festival of Preservation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wages of Sin {{!}} UCLA Film & Television Archive |url=https://cinema.ucla.edu/events/2024/04/07/wages-of-sin |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=cinema.ucla.edu}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} {{Portal|Biography}} * {{IMDb name}} * {{TCMDb name}} * {{YouTube|id=UZbufa1lsdQ|title=Drake appears briefly (11 minutes into program) with husband William Travilla on the March 24, 1960 episode of ''You Bet Your Life''}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Donna}} Category:American film actresses Category:American female dancers Category:Dancers from Florida Category:1914 births Category:1989 deaths Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:20th-century American singers Category:20th-century American women singers Category:20th-century American dancers