Tamara Drasin
Tamara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tamara Drasin |
| Born | c. 1905 Sorochintsï, Russian Empire |
| Died | 22 February 1943 (aged c.37) near Lisbon, Portugal |
| Genres | jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1927–1943 |
Tamara Drasin (c. 1905 – 22 February 1943), often credited as simply Tamara, was a singer and actress who introduced the song "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"[1] in the 1933 Broadway musical Roberta.
Tamara Drasin is sometimes confused with two other performers of the 1930s musical era, the dancers Tamara Geva and Tamara Toumanova.
Early life
[edit]Drasin was born around 1905 in the village of Sorochintsï in Poltava Governorate (modern-day Ukraine), the daughter of Hinda "Eda" and Boris Drasin, a tailor. Her family moved to the U.S. in 1922.[2]
Stage career
[edit]With her dark, exotic looks and throbbing vocal style, Drasin was ideal casting material for European characters in musicals of the 1930s. In Free for All, she was Marishka Tarasov; in Roberta, she was Princess Stephanie of Russian nobility; and in Right This Way and Leave It to Me!, she portrayed Frenchwomen. In all, Drasin appeared in seven musicals, from 1927 to 1938.
Music career
[edit]Besides "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and another ballad, "The Touch of Your Hand", in Roberta, Drasin introduced three other standards: "I Can Dream, Can't I?" and "I'll Be Seeing You" in Right This Way and "Get Out of Town" in Leave It to Me!.
Death and legacy
[edit]As I'll Be Seeing You was becoming one of the homefront anthems of World War II, Drasin died in a United Service Organizations plane crash near Lisbon, Portugal, on 22 February 1943.[3][4]
Drasin's story was partially told in the Jane Froman film With a Song in My Heart (1952).[5] Froman suffered serious injuries in the same plane crash[4][5] and later said that she had given Drasin her seat, which bothered Froman for the rest of her life.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Jazz Standards Songs and Instrumentals (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes)". www.jazzstandards.com. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Guide to the Drasin Family Papers, 1900-1999".
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 314A NC18603 Lisboa". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Famous people who died in aviation accidents". planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Tamara Drasin @ JazzStandards.com as retrieved December 31, 2006". Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ Holding the High Notes: The Life of Jane Froman (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 13 November 2017.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1900s births
- 1943 deaths
- American women jazz singers
- American film actresses
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Portugal
- 20th-century American actresses
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American women singers
- Soviet emigrants to the United States
- American civilians killed in World War II