Denise Darcel

Denise Darcel (née Billecard, 8 September 1924 – 23 December 2011) was a French-American vaudevillian, actress and singer, who from 1948 and 1963, appeared in films in Hollywood, and briefly on the stage, television and radio.

Early years Born as Denise Billecard in Paris, she was one of five daughters of a French baker, and she was college educated, studying at the University of Dijon.

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.

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.

Vaudeville In 1950, Darcel had a Vaudeville act, which was panned by at least one reviewer. About Darcel's performance 5 May 1950, at the Strand in New York, the Billboard 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 (1950) opposite Lex Barker, then co-starred with Robert Taylor in Westward the Women (1951) and Glenn Ford in Young Man with Ideas (1952). In 1953, she was seen in the swimming musical Dangerous When Wet, which starred Esther Williams (1953). Her most important film was Vera Cruz (1954) where she played the female lead opposite Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster. Her last film (1961) was Seven Women from Hell.

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. 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 (stripper), she was cast as "Solange La Fitte" in the Los Angeles 20th anniversary revival of the musical Follies, produced by the Long Beach Civic Light Opera. She would later repeat the role of Solange in 1995 for revivals in Houston and Seattle.

Personal life Darcel's first husband, William Shaw, 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 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 made Darcel's album, Banned in Boston (recorded in 1958 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, 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, was screened at the Egyptian Theatre. 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 of Darcelle XV, in honor of Denise Darcel.

In 1968, Denise was name Queen of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival.

Death Darcel died in December 2011, aged 87, after emergency surgery to repair a ruptured aneurysm.

Selected filmography and television appearances To the Victor (1948) as Bar Singer (uncredited) Thunder in the Pines (1948) as Yvette Cheron Battleground (1949) as Denise Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950) as Lola Westward the Women (1951) as Fifi Danon Young Man with Ideas (1952) as Dorianne Gray Dangerous When Wet (1953) as Gigi Mignon Flame of Calcutta (1953) as Suzanne Roget Vera Cruz (1954) as Countess Marie Duvarre Gamble on Love (DuMont game show, 1954; replaced by Ernie Kovacs) as Countess Marie Duvarre The Milton Berle Show (1956, TV Series) Tightrope! (1960, TV Series) as Terri Seven Women from Hell (1961) as Claire Oudry Naked City (1962, TV Series) as Madeleine Douvay

Radio appearances Year Program Episode/source 1950 Quick as a Flash NA 1985 Musical Comedy Theater Going Hollywood 1952 Lux Radio Theatre Westward the Women 1951Martin & Lewis ShowNA

Television appearances Year Program Episode/source 1950 This Is Show Business 21 May episode 1951 Don McNeill's Breakfast Club 7 November episode 1954 Droodles 21 June episode 1963 Combat! 19 November 1963 "A Distant Drum"