1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. And today's 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: episode is one that we were working on for a 5 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: live show, and then the live show got canceled, so 6 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:24,319 Speaker 1: I kind of put this episode on hold for a 7 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: bit because that actually worked out well because I wanted 8 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: to spend a little additional time with it. We were 9 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: talking today about Carmen Miranda, and right out of the gate, 10 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: I will say we're gonna use the pronunciation that is 11 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: used here in the Americanized version. This is not in 12 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: any way to diminish her her Portuguese Brazilian Spanish speaking heritage. 13 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,559 Speaker 1: I know a lot of um Latin American countries say 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: it with a different accent. Yeah, we're not doing it, 15 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: not because we are trying to erase that, but because 16 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: when we say it, it sounds comedically bad and kind 17 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: of horrible. Yeah, it sounds like we're doing a bad 18 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: impression of uh Spanish or Portuguese accented voice. Yes, it 19 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,400 Speaker 1: sounds like horrible sitcom acting. And we don't want to 20 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: do that. So know that when we are going with 21 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: the carbon Miranda pronunciation. It is in fact, out of 22 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: respect for that and not wanting to make it sound 23 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: silly and goofy. And she is one of those historical 24 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: figures who, even though she has been dead for decades, 25 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: remains hugely iconic. We still see her image or some 26 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: derivative of it on a regular basis in popular culture, 27 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: in art, in old movies that still play, even though 28 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: it gets less and less likely a lot of the 29 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: time that the people that see that image even really 30 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: get the reference or understand who it came from. But 31 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: Miranda was a really unique performer. She was utterly luminous 32 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: on camera. If you haven't ever seen any of her films, 33 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: I highly recommend it. Some of them are very silly, 34 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: but she is just a delight to watch. She was 35 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: an excellent singer. She had a personality that was way 36 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 1: bigger than her tiny, tiny stature. She was very petite. 37 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: There was a reason that she was an international superstar. 38 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: She kind of was one of those people that when 39 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: you hear people speak about that like it factor that 40 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: people who sometimes become hugely famous have. I feel like 41 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: if you watch her perform, you immediately go, oh, that's 42 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 1: what it is because it's hard to define, but when 43 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: you see someone who really has it, it becomes obvious. 44 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:24,639 Speaker 1: And that is the case with Carmen Miranda, and we're 45 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: going to take a little peek at her life story today. 46 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: She was born Maria Dekarmo Miranda da Kuna on February nine, nine, 47 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: and she's usually identified as a Brazilian. She was actually 48 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: born in Marco de Converses, Portugal. Her family moved to 49 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: Brazil though when she was still just a baby, before 50 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 1: even her first birthday. Her parents had several more children 51 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,079 Speaker 1: after they moved to Brazil. Yeah, she always pretty much 52 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: identified as Brazilian as well, and she was educated in 53 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,079 Speaker 1: a convent school as a child, in part because her 54 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: father thought it was the safest option for his daughter's. 55 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: Part of that was because they didn't live in a 56 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: particularly wealthy part of town and he just thought sending 57 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: them to comment school was the safest option. And as 58 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: Carmen got older, she started working in retail jobs to 59 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 1: make a little money, and part of that need for 60 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: her to be making an income really came, unfortunately from 61 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: family tragedy. Her oldest sister had died after battling tuberculosis, 62 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: and the medical expenses that that treatment had incurred had 63 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: really left a family with very little. Her parents opened 64 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: a boarding house in the nineteen twenties and it attracted 65 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: Rio's art crowd. This was really pivotal for Carmen because 66 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: it was there that she met guitarist Joe's Way to Borrows. Yeah, 67 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: she was still working retail jobs during the day, but 68 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: nights and weekends she worked at the boarding house. When 69 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: Carmen was still a teenager, Da Borrows got her job 70 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: singing on the radio. She would sometimes sing to entertain 71 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: the people at the boarding house, and he immediately recognized 72 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: her talent. But this was a time when entertainers in Brazil, 73 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: particularly women entertained ers, were not seen as having particularly 74 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: honorable jobs, so this was actually a very real problem 75 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: for Carmen's family. She ended up keeping her radio performances secret, 76 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: especially from her father. In a very short period of time, 77 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:21,159 Speaker 1: just weeks, she went from unknown to rising star to 78 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: just a superstar in the South American music scene, and 79 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: it was around this time that she adopted the stage 80 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: name Carmen Miranda. Yeah. I had read one thing that 81 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: suggested that she initially adopted that name as part of 82 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: kind of keeping her work on the d L from 83 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: her family and particularly her father, But I think that 84 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: was not something that she could have maintained for very 85 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: long anyway. Her first two recordings were made in ninety nine. 86 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: They were very popular, but then in nineteen thirty she 87 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: recorded a song Taye, which became a huge hit. It 88 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: sold more than thirty five thousand records, which is a 89 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: massive number at the time, and success led to her 90 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: first recording contract with r C A Victor and from 91 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: the age of twenty one when she was signed to 92 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 1: when she turned twenty three two years later, she recorded 93 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: seventy one songs with our Cia for the next nine years. 94 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: Carmen Miranda was Brazil's sweetheart. She was tiny, Moss Holly 95 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: alluded to earlier, just five feet tall, less than a 96 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: hundred pounds, but she was like a charisma bomb. Her 97 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: songs were written by the most popular and skilled musicians 98 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,359 Speaker 1: of the era, and they were upbeat and playful. And 99 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: then when it came to her live performances, nobody could 100 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: work the crowd like Carmen Miranda, so it really became 101 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: pretty natural for her to carry all of that talent 102 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: in charisma onto the silver screen. In she made her 103 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: first feature film as du Dante's, followed closely by another 104 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: titled Allo Allo Carnival the same year, and her sister 105 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 1: Aurora Miranda also appeared in that second film. Carmen made 106 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: five films in Brazil and her records were huge hit. 107 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: At the age of seven, she was the highest paid 108 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 1: singer in the country For her nineteen thirty nine film, 109 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,359 Speaker 1: but not at a Terra. Carmen adopted a new look 110 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: with the costume that referenced those of the Baianists. These 111 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:19,039 Speaker 1: are the women of Baia in northwestern Brazil. Traditionally, the 112 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:23,160 Speaker 1: Baianists were full white cotton skirts with wrapped head scarves 113 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: that were sometimes stacked on top of their heads. Miranda's 114 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: look was a glamorized version of this traditional dress, and 115 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: it became instantly iconic and propelled Miranda to even greater 116 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: heights of fame. We're going to come back to, uh, 117 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: the women of Baia and just a bit. But a 118 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,040 Speaker 1: producer named Lee Shubert saw Carmen perform in a casino 119 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: in Rio de Janeiro in the late nineteen thirties, and 120 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: he signed her to star in the Broadway musical The 121 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: Streets of Paris. On May four nine, Carmen Miranda left 122 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 1: Brazil behind as she sailed away on a cruise ship. 123 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: That broad Way show debuted less than two weeks later 124 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,720 Speaker 1: on May seventeenth of nineteen thirty nine. Miranda appeared alongside 125 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: Louella Gear, Bobby Clark, Budd alt Abbott, and le Costello, 126 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: who have been topics on the show before. She also 127 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 1: brought her band along with her to New York to 128 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: play in the show, and that was all thanks to 129 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: the sponsorship of Brazilian President Utulio Vargas. Vargas had run 130 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: for president in Brazil in ninety four as a reform candidate, 131 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: and he had lost. There had been plenty of corruption 132 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: involved in every camp during this election, but Vargas was 133 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: installed as interim president following a military coup which was 134 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: catalyzed when the Liberal Alliance vice presidential candidate was assassinated. 135 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: Under Vargas, Brazil's identity became focused on cultural identity, and 136 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: it was during this time that Miranda assumed the costume 137 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: of the bianness and rocketed to stardom. Is this icon 138 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 1: of Brazilian nous. When Carmen Miranda was invited to the 139 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: United States to reform. Vargas saw her as a perfect 140 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: emissary of Brazil's cultural identity, way more effective than political 141 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: diplomats trying to go to the United States to do 142 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: the same basic thing. Yeah, he really was happy to 143 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 1: fund this trip because he thought, this is gonna look great. 144 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: Brazil is gonna look great. Everybody's gonna think of us 145 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 1: as being as wonderful and vibrant as this young woman. 146 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: To him, it was perfect wind. But in addition to 147 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: being seen by President Vargas as a way to ingratiate 148 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: Brazil to the rest of the world, Carmen was also 149 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: part of Lee Schubert's mock Nations. The Streets of Paris 150 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: was scheduled to open at the same time that the 151 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: World's Fair was underway in New York, and there was 152 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: a lot of concern throughout the theater community that the 153 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,319 Speaker 1: Fair was going to upstage their shows and tank ticket sales. 154 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: But with Carmen appearing and singing in Portuguese, the show 155 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: had an international flare and a hook that the audience 156 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: has really found irresistible. The Streets of Paris was a 157 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 1: huge hit, thanks entirely to Schubert's higher of Carmen Miranda. 158 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: If you look at the play bill for the Streets 159 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: of Paris, all the other headliners have multiple parts because 160 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: it was a musical review and that was how it 161 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: normally worked. Miranda had only two, even though she's listed 162 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 1: as a featured performer in just those two numbers, which 163 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: totaled up to less than ten minutes of stage time. 164 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: She's credited with saving Broadway that year. Carmen charmed crowds 165 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 1: in America, just as she had done at home. And 166 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,559 Speaker 1: to promote the show and to make additional money, Lee 167 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: Schubert started arranging for Carmen and her band to play 168 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 1: in nightclubs throughout New York. She also garnered lucrative endorsement 169 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: and spokesperson deals. Lee Schubert had cut a deal with 170 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: Carmen that was heavily loaded to be beneficial to him, 171 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: so he took fifty percent of her earnings. Even so, 172 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:52,559 Speaker 1: she was making a lot of money even after Schubert 173 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: took his cut. Yeah, there was one story that she 174 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: had saved up something like forty dollars and sent it 175 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,599 Speaker 1: back to her family in Brazil. So in the nineteen thirties, 176 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: that was no small change. And next up, we're going 177 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 1: to talk about Carmen's transition from the Broadway stage onto 178 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: the silver screen in the US. But first we're gonna 179 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: pause for a little sponsor break. Almost for the second 180 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: that Carmen Miranda stepped onto the New York stage, she 181 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: had the attention of Hollywood as well. Studios were very 182 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:30,920 Speaker 1: quickly eager to put her into films in the United 183 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: States and capitalize on her appeal as a fresh new 184 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 1: talent from the Tropics. Her first movie made in the 185 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 1: United States was Down Argentine Way, which came out in 186 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 1: nineteen forty. She was still starring in the streets of 187 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,960 Speaker 1: Paris while this was filmed, and to accommodate her performance schedule, 188 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: the production was shot entirely in New York. Even so 189 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: that this is a NonStop situation for her, Based on 190 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: everybody I know in theater, I cannot imagine doing a 191 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:02,959 Speaker 1: run of a play while also filming a movie at 192 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:07,439 Speaker 1: the sit That sounds exhausting. Just the same, though her 193 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: musical performance in this film is really vibrant and energetic, 194 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 1: you would never know that she was running from one 195 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,560 Speaker 1: job to the next with basically no breaks. For the 196 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: next six years. She stayed with twenty century Fox in 197 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: a ten picture deal. Yeah, she you had to admire 198 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: that woman's work ethics. She really like never ever stopped. 199 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,680 Speaker 1: She never said no to a job. She basically just 200 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: kept going and going and going, which is probably why 201 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: she was such a very tiny person. Like I think 202 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: she probably could have eaten eighteen thousand calories a day 203 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: and not have ever gained a pound because she never 204 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: stopped moving. Um and again, I don't know how she 205 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 1: brought that level of energy because she is a really 206 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: energetic performer. She did make a trip back to Brazil 207 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty, but unfortunately that did not go especially well. 208 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,559 Speaker 1: While she was originally greeted warmly as she returned home, 209 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 1: things changed very quickly during her first homecoming performance. Instead 210 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 1: of welcoming her with open arms, the fans in her 211 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: home country felt that she had traded in her Brazilian 212 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: identity to become more appealing to American audiences. When she 213 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 1: greeted the audience in Rio in English and then performed 214 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: with the campy song the South American Way from the 215 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: film Down Argentine Way, she sang to an uncharacteristically silent crowd. 216 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: She was so upset by the experience that she canceled 217 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: the rest of her Brazilian homecoming performances. There was also 218 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 1: a strange phenomenon at play in the way the United 219 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 1: States embraced Carmen Miranda. Stylized versions of her head wrap 220 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: also became really popular at upscale stores, and her costumes 221 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 1: were inspiring fashions that no Bianna could ever have afforded, 222 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,959 Speaker 1: and that is part of the complicated nature of Miranda's 223 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: success in the US and how it was perceived back home. 224 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 1: So the Biannusts who inspired her original costume in Banana 225 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 1: da Terra were part of Brazil's African culture after Brazilian 226 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: abolition in the late nineteenth century, Yoruba peoples who had 227 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:16,199 Speaker 1: been taken to Baia, Brazil from Africa as enslaved people, 228 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: then had to figure out how to make a living 229 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: once they were free, and one popular vocation was selling 230 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: food in street carts, and those carts were traditionally run 231 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: by women, the Biannus. And while the Bionics came to 232 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,560 Speaker 1: be seen as a really vital part of Brazil's culture, 233 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 1: the version that evolved in Carmen Miranda's representation for audiences 234 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: in the US was seen as performative and inauthentic too many. 235 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: It was both cultural appropriation and betrayal. There was a 236 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: layer of added complexity because again that came from originally 237 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,319 Speaker 1: the African population of Brazil, and here was a very 238 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,120 Speaker 1: light skinned woman who had taken it into another country, 239 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 1: and then it had gotten really mashed up with a 240 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:02,280 Speaker 1: lot of glitz. I think that's a textbook example when 241 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: we talk about the differences between a cultural exchange and 242 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 1: an appropriation, one of the elements is making a big 243 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:13,199 Speaker 1: profit off of it. So when you know clothiers were 244 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: making these high dollar fashions that were based off of 245 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 1: this originally after Brazilian attire, like that is is one 246 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: of the definitions of like where that line gets crossed. Yeah, 247 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: So that ill received homecoming performance really affected Miranda. She 248 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 1: had been so universally loved as a performer that this 249 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: was really the first time she had been on a 250 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,800 Speaker 1: stage and not gotten thunderous applause. But she didn't immediately 251 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 1: go back to the United States. Two months later after 252 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: that one bad performance, she performed a new show as 253 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: a one week engagement, and one of the songs that 254 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 1: She's sang was a new samba that she had commissioned 255 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: that was titled they Say I Came Back Americanized, and 256 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: in it, she made fun of that night that she 257 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: had ops so badly. She won back her hometown crowd 258 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: by showing that she wasn't afraid to make fun of 259 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 1: herself and that she was able to still put on 260 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: a fantastic show. But while the Brazilian audience seemed to 261 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: forgive Carmen Miranda a little bit because of this, Carmen 262 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 1: Miranda didn't really forgive them. She was still really hurt 263 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,320 Speaker 1: by how things had gone. She quickly returned to the 264 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: US to pursue her film career, but because of that 265 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: self mocking stage show, she was still able to leave 266 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: kind of on her own terms, as something of a 267 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 1: success rather than a disgrace, and she was once again 268 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: stepping into the role of ambassador. Her presence and films 269 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: quickly became a way that the United States could show 270 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: some unity between the US and Latin America, making North 271 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: and South America look like a united front on the 272 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: world stage. As World War two was threatening to draw 273 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 1: more countries into the conflict. That night in Rio was 274 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 1: Carmen's next film, in which she appeared in a full 275 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: silver version of her stylized costume, complete with tall fruit 276 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:07,440 Speaker 1: and flower headpiece and just dripping with beads. That Night 277 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: in Rio features the first time that Carmen Miranda had 278 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: spoken lines in the in the film in the United States, 279 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 1: rather than just appearing in musical numbers. Next, she made 280 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: Weekend in Havannah with Alice Faye and Caesar Romero. It 281 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: was once again a performance that included both singing and speaking. 282 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: As their speaking roles became more frequent, she continued to 283 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: play up an exaggerated version of her Brazilian accent and 284 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: awkward English language phrasing, even as her English became progressively 285 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,200 Speaker 1: more proficient off screen. Yeah, there are a number of 286 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: interviews that I've seen with people that co starred with 287 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:43,600 Speaker 1: her in these films. They were like, that's not how 288 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 1: she actually talked. That was like a character that she 289 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 1: was playing for audiences. Her film Down Argentine Way that 290 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: we mentioned earlier was actually banned in Argentina due to 291 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: its portrayal of the country and culture. Similarly, Weekend in 292 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: Havana anger Cubans in making Carmen Miranda the representative of 293 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,680 Speaker 1: all Latin American cultures. Hollywood had managed to just lump 294 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:10,360 Speaker 1: them all together and not represent any of them well 295 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,880 Speaker 1: at all. I think that connects to sort of the 296 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:17,399 Speaker 1: the greater legacy of her work is that for a 297 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:23,400 Speaker 1: lot of people in the United States, Uh, the way 298 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:27,880 Speaker 1: people imagine specifically Brazil, but a lot of South American 299 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:33,120 Speaker 1: culture is in this like stylized performative Carmen Miranda kind 300 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:37,480 Speaker 1: of way as like a monolith. Yeah, Like she set 301 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: a lot of stereotypes of um Latin American women that 302 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:46,680 Speaker 1: still exist today for sure. Carmen Miranda had a career 303 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: endangering scandal in the early nineties as she was cranking 304 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,959 Speaker 1: out pictures for twentieth Century Fox. She was taking publicity 305 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: photos with Caesar Romero and he lifted her up in 306 00:17:57,040 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: the air just in time for photographers to catch up 307 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,439 Speaker 1: photo of her without any underwear on. While she was 308 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,439 Speaker 1: known as the Brazilian Bombshell and her sex appeal was 309 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: part of what was making audiences really responds to her work, 310 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,679 Speaker 1: this incident led to a lot of rumors. Really she 311 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: had been getting out of costume when she had been 312 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: called to the set for photos, so she had run 313 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: out really quickly, either forgetting or skipping her undergarments. I 314 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 1: don't know a dress she was wearing, but sometimes you 315 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: need to not have on undergarments because there will be 316 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:31,240 Speaker 1: a panteline in the photos. The tabloid press, though, was 317 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,919 Speaker 1: really quick to suggest that she was part of a 318 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,400 Speaker 1: Hollywood pornography ring, and there was concerned that her career 319 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,879 Speaker 1: would never recover. The studio made the decision to stand 320 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:45,160 Speaker 1: by her, and over time though the scandal faded. Yeah, 321 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: her dress was actually like it was a really long, 322 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,919 Speaker 1: full skirt, so it was kind of just like the 323 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 1: perfect storm of a lift where her skirt whipped up 324 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,320 Speaker 1: over her into the air a little bit, like kind 325 00:18:57,359 --> 00:19:00,879 Speaker 1: of like a bell, and so it opened up just 326 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:04,439 Speaker 1: enough that they got a full shot. Uh. It was 327 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 1: very embarrassing for her in the studio, and I'm sure 328 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,399 Speaker 1: for Caesar Romero it was a mess. And it's still 329 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:13,880 Speaker 1: the kind of thing that happens all the time with 330 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 1: like women getting out of cars to get on the 331 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:23,679 Speaker 1: red carpet and then photographers taking pictures that are basically 332 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:29,639 Speaker 1: up skirts. Yeah, while I wonder like who took that photo, 333 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,479 Speaker 1: because somebody shared it with the press and if it 334 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 1: was a publicity photo for the studio, you would think 335 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:37,840 Speaker 1: they would have locked it down. But I clearly don't 336 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: know what was going on there and how it got it. 337 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 1: I'm sure someone offered the photographer a lot of money 338 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,639 Speaker 1: to try to ruin someone's life. Um. Not long after 339 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,160 Speaker 1: all of this, twentieth Century Fox bought out Carmen's contract 340 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:56,160 Speaker 1: from Lee Shubert for sixty dollars. Up to that point, 341 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,679 Speaker 1: she was still giving him fifty of all of her earnings, 342 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: so there is some debate about how much more beneficial 343 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:09,479 Speaker 1: things were after this buyout. Caesar Romero's agent had actually 344 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 1: urged twentieth Century Fox to get her out of that contract, 345 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: but she was doing I think a lot better afterwards, 346 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 1: and at the age of thirty three, she was able 347 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:22,200 Speaker 1: to buy a huge home in Beverly Hills, large enough 348 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:24,880 Speaker 1: that her entire family was able to move in with her. 349 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 1: Ine she made the movie The Gang's All Here that 350 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:33,800 Speaker 1: which was directed by Buzby Berkeley, and this was, as 351 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,040 Speaker 1: Berkeley's other movies, a massive spectacle. It featured the song 352 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: and dance number of the Lady in the two D 353 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:42,439 Speaker 1: Fruity Hat, which became an odd defining moment in Carmen 354 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,239 Speaker 1: Miranda's career. There were lines of chorus girls dancing with 355 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,159 Speaker 1: bananas that were bigger than they were and in some 356 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: ways it was really the apex of just absurd, over 357 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: the top charcter that wound up defining Miranda's career as 358 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,439 Speaker 1: a performer. Yeah, it's one of those things that some 359 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,760 Speaker 1: people love it because it really is such a nutty spectacle. 360 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,280 Speaker 1: I mean, it is wacky to watch that whole song 361 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,680 Speaker 1: and dance number. These bananas are like seven feet talp 362 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: um and it is I mean, anybody that's seen a 363 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: Buzby Berkeley musical knows there's lots of like geometric and 364 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: kaleidoscopic arrangement and choreography of all of the chorus women, 365 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 1: and so it's bananas, you know, swinging into frame and 366 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,639 Speaker 1: out of frame. But it is definitely like a silly 367 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,359 Speaker 1: sort of thing in a way. It's like some people 368 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: will say it's fun, she wasn't taking herself too seriously, 369 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,399 Speaker 1: and others make the very valid criticism that yes, but 370 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: she also makes it seem like all of Latin America 371 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 1: is like crazy people with giant bananas. And I think 372 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: for a lot of people who, um, you say Carmen Randa, 373 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,439 Speaker 1: and they have a very very vague familiarity, Like the 374 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,440 Speaker 1: image that pops into your head probably has the gigantic 375 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: bananas in it, yeah, or the hats. I highly recommend 376 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: hunting down just for the historical reference of it, because 377 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: this was a time, you know, the the late thirties 378 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:10,199 Speaker 1: and early forties had a lot of very gaudy and 379 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: wacky musicals and that was exactly the genre that Carmen 380 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,440 Speaker 1: Miranda really succeeded in. But it is sometimes weird to 381 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,560 Speaker 1: watch him and be like, who came up with this? 382 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: And it's Buzby Berkeley. But Miranda's seemingly endless upward trajectory 383 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: in the film industry in the United States finally experienced 384 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: a drop in the post war years, because as the 385 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 1: US and the globe rebuilt following World War Two, that 386 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,919 Speaker 1: flamboyant style that had made Carbon Miranda a perfect distraction 387 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: during the war suddenly seemed kind of over the top, 388 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:47,200 Speaker 1: and the audience tastes were shifting to be a little 389 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: bit more focused on kind of family values type entertainment 390 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: and more about, you know, this quieter approach um. In 391 00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,440 Speaker 1: the meantime, Carmen was also ready to move on to 392 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:02,679 Speaker 1: trying something new in film. She certainly was aware that 393 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 1: the novelty of her two D fruity hat had worn 394 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: thin at that point. Coming up, we will get into 395 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 1: her efforts to reinvent herself after World War Two, but 396 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 1: first we will take a little break for one of 397 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 1: our sponsors. In Carmen, Miranda underwent an image change, or 398 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 1: at least she tried to. She didn't renew her contract 399 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: with twentieth Century Fox when it came up, and she 400 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,959 Speaker 1: dyed her hair blonde. She may have had some facial 401 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,399 Speaker 1: work done as well. Uh, And she was cast in 402 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: the film Copacabana with Groucho Marks. In it, she played 403 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: not one character but two, and when Copacabana came out 404 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:48,280 Speaker 1: in it didn't do terribly well. While audiences were not 405 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,679 Speaker 1: as interested in Miranda's nutty and extravagant act as they 406 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:53,720 Speaker 1: once had been, which was kind of what one of 407 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:56,720 Speaker 1: those characters was that she was playing, it also seemed 408 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,679 Speaker 1: that they weren't really interested in seeing her portray another 409 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:04,159 Speaker 1: type of role either. While she was filming Copacabana, Carmen 410 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: met her husband, David Sebastian, who worked as a producer's 411 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 1: assistant on the film, and they got married on March seventeenth. 412 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 1: It was not totally a match made in heaven. David 413 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 1: really struggled in the house where he was the only 414 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,520 Speaker 1: person who didn't speak Portuguese, and shortly after the marriage, 415 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 1: Carmen was pregnant and she had a miscarriage. Heartbroken at 416 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: this loss, she really threw herself into her work and 417 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:30,240 Speaker 1: she took on a schedule that was a lot like 418 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:33,639 Speaker 1: the one she had in her early career. Yeah, so 419 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,480 Speaker 1: just like when she was doing Streets of Paris in 420 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:40,119 Speaker 1: New York on Broadway and filming at the same time. 421 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,000 Speaker 1: At this point she was filming and doing concerts and 422 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: recording music all the time, because even though her film 423 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: career was lagging, she was still doing pretty well as 424 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:55,200 Speaker 1: a singer. And she started a comedy called Scared Stiff 425 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in ninety three. Several 426 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 1: years into this, she got terrible reviews for it. Her career, 427 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,120 Speaker 1: which was having problems, her bumpy marriage, and her miscarriage 428 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,119 Speaker 1: were all really taking an emotional toll on the performer, 429 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:12,880 Speaker 1: and for the first time in her life, she started drinking. 430 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: By the end of nineteen Carmen Miranda was not well 431 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 1: to treat her depression, which she was going through because 432 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,480 Speaker 1: of all of this problematic stuff going on in her life, 433 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,160 Speaker 1: which ironically, if you watch her film, she still looks 434 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: like the happiest human on earth, so I can't imagine 435 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 1: what her inner turmoil must have been like. At that point, 436 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: she was having shock treatments done to treat this depression. 437 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: It caused her memory to falter and she started having 438 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 1: stage right Apparently, she would sometimes forget songs and it 439 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,399 Speaker 1: really upset her. Uh So she traveled back to Brazil 440 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,160 Speaker 1: once more at the urging of her sister, and being 441 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 1: back in Rio with her friends, relaxing she was not 442 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,040 Speaker 1: working at that point, had a really positive effect, and 443 00:25:58,119 --> 00:26:02,159 Speaker 1: slowly she really started to feel a lot better. She 444 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 1: was thinking about staying for good, but her husband, David, 445 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 1: who had also become her business manager and her agent, 446 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,399 Speaker 1: had jobs waiting for her back in Los Angeles. She 447 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 1: needed to go back to the United States to fulfill 448 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: these contracts, and as television was growing more ubiquitous with 449 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:22,040 Speaker 1: every day, this offered another chance at renewal for Carmen 450 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,440 Speaker 1: and her career. Her husband David, had gotten her guest 451 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,800 Speaker 1: spots on a number of programs and television seemed like 452 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:32,480 Speaker 1: a really, really good fit for the Brazilian bombshell. The 453 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:37,440 Speaker 1: Thursday evening of Augusto, Carmen worked late into the night. 454 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,119 Speaker 1: She was filming a show with Jimmy Durranty, and because 455 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:43,119 Speaker 1: of the threat of an actor's strike, they were putting 456 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:45,199 Speaker 1: an extra hours to get as much done as they 457 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:48,560 Speaker 1: could before things might be put on hold with the strike, 458 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:53,439 Speaker 1: and at one point, while filming a dance number, Carmen 459 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,640 Speaker 1: fell to her knees. She was out of breath and said, 460 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:59,879 Speaker 1: so this is all on film, you can see it. Uh. 461 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: She basically says, I can't catch my breath, and Jimmy 462 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:04,639 Speaker 1: Duranty kind of makes a joke and he helped her 463 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: up and she continued to dance, and she finished the 464 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 1: show without any other issues. After they wrapped up filming 465 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,119 Speaker 1: for the day, Durante and Miranda performed on a set 466 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:16,200 Speaker 1: for the crew, and then a few of the cast 467 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,119 Speaker 1: members went to Miranda's home for a private party. After 468 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: the party, at about three am, she and her husband 469 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: went to bed in their separate bedrooms. Her body was 470 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: found at ten thirty am the next morning. Her husband David, 471 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:31,880 Speaker 1: had thought that he would let her sleep late since 472 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,399 Speaker 1: she had been up quite late the night before, and 473 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 1: it appeared that she had gone to the bathroom to 474 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:38,920 Speaker 1: remove her makeup, apply night cream, and basically get ready 475 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: for bed, and then she collapsed in between the bathroom 476 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:45,120 Speaker 1: and her bedroom. Her physician, Dr. W. L. Mark Ser 477 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,679 Speaker 1: determined that she had a heart attack. She was forty six, 478 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: and the news of her passing, which was widely reported, 479 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:56,919 Speaker 1: was really shocking to people. Yeah, I think because she 480 00:27:57,119 --> 00:27:59,640 Speaker 1: was such an amazing performer. Like the thought of her 481 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,080 Speaker 1: not having that incredible life force when she had been 482 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 1: doing her shows literally right up until the day she died, 483 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:11,520 Speaker 1: was just too difficult to parse for some people, and 484 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,680 Speaker 1: in the days after her death, thousands of mourners visited 485 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 1: her body at the Beverly Hills Church of the Good 486 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:21,200 Speaker 1: Shepherd before her remains were then transported to Brazil. As 487 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:23,639 Speaker 1: her coffin was delivered from the airport to its final 488 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,359 Speaker 1: resting place in Rio de Janeiro, the streets along a 489 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:30,960 Speaker 1: route were crowded with people. The entire nation really mourned 490 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,600 Speaker 1: her en mass and over the course of twenty four hours, 491 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 1: her body was visited by more than sixty people who 492 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: wanted to pay their respects. In A permanent exhibit celebrating 493 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: Carmen Miranda was added to the Museum of Image and 494 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: Sound in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has really sort 495 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 1: of seen a resurgence in popularity. People are examining some 496 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 1: of the problems of her career and its representation of 497 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: Latin America culture in a in a way that forgives 498 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:08,560 Speaker 1: her a little bit um recognizing kind of the context 499 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:12,240 Speaker 1: of the times and how she wasn't always in control 500 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:17,920 Speaker 1: of the creative aspects of all of these films. Uh, 501 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: you know, keep in mind she was making money and 502 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: then often still sending it back to Brazil, so to 503 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:24,440 Speaker 1: her and again she never said no to a job. 504 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: She turned nothing down. So I think, you know, people 505 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:32,440 Speaker 1: are are kind of taking that into account while still 506 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 1: being aware of the problematic aspects of some of the 507 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: images she created. Yeah, it's a that's a tricky one. 508 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:42,960 Speaker 1: When you and I were talking about what we were 509 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: going to do for that um that canceled live show, 510 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,280 Speaker 1: uh that and I was sort of poking around trying 511 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 1: to generate a list of things that seemed promising. That 512 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 1: was one of the things that was the most interesting 513 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: interesting to me as I was um poking around, was 514 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:04,760 Speaker 1: sort of how the perception of her in Brazil and 515 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,200 Speaker 1: in a lot of the rest of uh, you know, 516 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 1: neighboring parts of South America has really evolved in the 517 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: decades since she was working in since she died. Yeah, Yeah, 518 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,400 Speaker 1: it's definitely a shift. I imagine it's one of those things, 519 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:21,880 Speaker 1: and I hope it's one of those things that will 520 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:26,320 Speaker 1: continue to be examined and discussed and learned from. I 521 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 1: think it's a good example, not in that it is 522 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:30,920 Speaker 1: a good thing, but it is a good example of 523 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 1: how quickly things get out of control when you are, 524 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,959 Speaker 1: you know, trying to when people who do not know 525 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 1: about a culture are trying to represent it in an 526 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 1: entertainment venue, which was happening a lot. You know, she 527 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 1: was being put in these films, and while she may 528 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:54,360 Speaker 1: have initially adopted her costume, I don't think she designed 529 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: all of them going forward, and probably there were a 530 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 1: lot of hands in that particular pie. So I think it's, 531 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,960 Speaker 1: like I said, it's good as an example to be 532 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 1: examined of how those things can even if they are 533 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:12,360 Speaker 1: perhaps well intentioned, I don't know what those people were thinking. Um. Well, 534 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:14,640 Speaker 1: and it's also maybe they just didn't care, which is 535 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: also very possible. Yeah. It's also a really good example 536 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: coming from the other direction of how easy it is 537 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:28,000 Speaker 1: to glom onto this one representation from another culture, and 538 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:32,200 Speaker 1: so like imagine that that is indicative of the entire culture, 539 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,840 Speaker 1: and that it's some kind of monolith. Um. Because, like, 540 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:38,960 Speaker 1: like I said earlier, a lot of ways that that, 541 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:44,640 Speaker 1: especially Latino women are still stereotyped, like they trace really 542 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:49,320 Speaker 1: back to directly to Carmen Miranda, Oh for sure. I 543 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:52,160 Speaker 1: mean her first speaking roles in films made in the 544 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:58,840 Speaker 1: US were almost always a hot headed, jealous girlfriend. Um. 545 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:02,400 Speaker 1: And that I mean continued to carry forward and be 546 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: like such a stereotype. And it's like, well, um, it 547 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,640 Speaker 1: reminds me of an exhibit that I saw. This is 548 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,680 Speaker 1: gonna sound totally unrelated, but give me a second. Uh. 549 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:15,520 Speaker 1: An exhibit I saw years and years ago that was 550 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 1: Treasures of the Forbidden City, which was a lot of 551 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:22,600 Speaker 1: pieces from China's Forbidden City that were on display, and 552 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:26,640 Speaker 1: one of them was a huge, huge tapestry that had 553 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:29,560 Speaker 1: been done that was supposed to represent kind of like 554 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 1: China's people in the global along with their global trading partners. 555 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:40,760 Speaker 1: But what I noticed is that like their representations of 556 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 1: other cultures similarly were very simplified and almost arrested in 557 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,200 Speaker 1: one position. Like all of the people who were supposed 558 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:51,880 Speaker 1: to be English were dressed like Henry the Eighth, even 559 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,280 Speaker 1: though they were standing next to people who are supposed 560 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:56,920 Speaker 1: to be American who were all dressed like they were 561 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:59,959 Speaker 1: in the middle of the Revolutionary War. So it was similar, 562 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 1: really like they glommed onto one aspect of any given 563 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,680 Speaker 1: culture and represented all of the people in the that 564 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,959 Speaker 1: tapestry as looking that way, even though they were clearly 565 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,080 Speaker 1: like completely discordant in terms of the times that they 566 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:17,120 Speaker 1: existed together. And uh so it's this is a problem 567 00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 1: that's gone on for a long time and we're still 568 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:23,840 Speaker 1: examining it today. Do you also have some listener mail 569 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,760 Speaker 1: for us? I do. It's about the Loomier Brothers. It 570 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:30,640 Speaker 1: is from our listener, Kelly, and she writes, Dear Tracy 571 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:32,520 Speaker 1: and Holly, I have been listening to your podcast for 572 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:34,560 Speaker 1: about a year now, and I love it. Your shows 573 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,320 Speaker 1: are always engaging and informative. I listened to your two 574 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:39,840 Speaker 1: part episode about the Loomier brothers several months ago and 575 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:42,280 Speaker 1: was taken with their story, not least because I'm a 576 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:45,960 Speaker 1: photography and cinema buff. The podcast had faded from memory, 577 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,440 Speaker 1: and I thought no more about them until early April. 578 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 1: It was then that my husband and I traveled to 579 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,920 Speaker 1: France on vacation, splitting our time between Paris and Leon. 580 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:57,320 Speaker 1: When we arrived at the Ladder and we're setting our itinerary, 581 00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,760 Speaker 1: he casually mentioned that Leon was the place for the 582 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:02,600 Speaker 1: loop year brothers had lived. I had forgotten all about 583 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:05,320 Speaker 1: where their factory had been. I made him walk about 584 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:08,040 Speaker 1: five kilometers to the Lumier Museum, which is housed in 585 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,560 Speaker 1: the former villa of Antoine Lumier, their father. The brother's 586 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:14,200 Speaker 1: house was demolished a few decades ago to make way 587 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:17,720 Speaker 1: for a real estate development that never happened. The museum 588 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:19,800 Speaker 1: itself is wonderful, with a history not only of the 589 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:23,840 Speaker 1: Lumier brothers innovations in photography and cinema, but also the 590 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:27,520 Speaker 1: technological advances that preceded the brothers myriad successes in the 591 00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:32,560 Speaker 1: still and moving picture industries. She says she won't get 592 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:37,360 Speaker 1: into describing everything in the museum because it's amazing, she said. Instead, 593 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,120 Speaker 1: let me get to the most important part. The frontage 594 00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:42,600 Speaker 1: of the Lumier factory, where the first ever movie was 595 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:46,200 Speaker 1: shot still stands. It's been preserved inside a glass and 596 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,520 Speaker 1: steel structure, and outside are clear markers of where the 597 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:51,960 Speaker 1: first movie was shot, including where the camera would have 598 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,719 Speaker 1: had to have been positioned to record the film. She 599 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 1: also sent pictures of it. She said, visiting this museum 600 00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: and standing in the place where this first movie movie 601 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:02,759 Speaker 1: was was a cinephiles dream. It was a privilege to 602 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:05,560 Speaker 1: experience them both, especially with the background of the research 603 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:08,160 Speaker 1: you've done for the podcast, the details of which came 604 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:10,680 Speaker 1: flooding back as I walked through the exhibits. I recommend 605 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,719 Speaker 1: the visit to anyone with even a meager interest in 606 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:19,560 Speaker 1: film or photography. Uh. And then she suggests another topic 607 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,560 Speaker 1: for us. But that is really cool. I, like I said, 608 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:24,719 Speaker 1: I have not been to the Lumire Museum, but I 609 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:26,600 Speaker 1: sure want to go now. I wanted to go before. 610 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:28,759 Speaker 1: Now it is doubly so, so thank you so much 611 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:30,880 Speaker 1: for sharing that with us. Kelly. If you would like 612 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:32,880 Speaker 1: to write to us, you can do so at History 613 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,479 Speaker 1: Podcast at how stuffworks dot com. You can also find 614 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,160 Speaker 1: us at missed in history dot com and across the 615 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:41,239 Speaker 1: spectrum of social media as missed in History. So come 616 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:43,759 Speaker 1: to our website explore all of the back episodes of 617 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:45,719 Speaker 1: the show from way before Tracy and I have ever 618 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:48,239 Speaker 1: been here uh, and you can look at show notes 619 00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:49,960 Speaker 1: from the ones that Tracy and I have done together. 620 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,640 Speaker 1: We look forward to seeing you at missed in History 621 00:35:52,719 --> 00:36:00,640 Speaker 1: dot com. For more on this and thousands of other topics, 622 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:07,759 Speaker 1: visit how staff works dot com. Mhm hm