Dagmar Oakland (born Edna Martine Dagmar Andersen; August 21, 1897 – October 8, 1989) was an American actress of stage and screen from San Francisco, California. Twice she was a member of the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

Family

Oakland's parents were Edward Andersen of

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

, Norway and Anna Marthine Olsen, also of Norway. Her siblings' names were Edward, Herbert (née Hagbart), and Vivien. Her sister performed on Broadway and in motion pictures as Vivien Oakland. After the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

, Anna Andersen, a widow since 1898, moved the family to Oakland, California, where the sisters took their stage names.

Stage

Edna and Vivien appeared in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

as the Anker sisters (an old family name). They changed their surname to Oakland in tribute to their hometown. They performed as the Oakland Sisters in the Boston Juveniles, a vaudeville group. They traveled the west coast as far as Seattle, Washington. The sisters ended up in New York City, appearing with the

and other shows. In 1915, Oakland began a solo stage career. In November 1924, she had an important role in ''Heidelberg'', the musical version of a play made famous by

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was a German-born English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1887 play), Dr. Jekyll and Mr ...

Film career

Beginning in 1930, Oakland performed in Hollywood motion pictures. Her first feature was '' The Heart Breaker'' (1930) directed by Edmund Joseph. She was cast with

Joan Blondell Rose Joan Blondell (August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on a film career, estab ...

, Gloria Shea, and Walter Kinsella. She played a reporter in ''

Wedding Present The Wedding Present are an English indie rock group formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, by members of The Lost Pandas. The band has been led by vocalist and guitarist David Gedge, the band's only constant member. Closely linked to the C86 scene ...

'' (1936) and a nurse in ''Hit Parade of 1937''. Oakland's film career lasted into the late 1940s with uncredited roles in ''

Tonight and Every Night Tonight may refer to: Television * Tonight (1957 TV programme), ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * Tonight (1975 TV programme), ''Tonigh ...

'' (1945), ''

Thrill of a Romance ''Thrill of a Romance'' (also known as ''Thrill of a New Romance'') is an American Technicolor romance film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1945, starring Van Johnson, Esther Williams and Carleton G. Young, with musical performances by Tommy D ...

'' (1945), and ''Riverboat Rhythm'' (1946).

Marriage

In 1919, she married Captain Garnette Rotan, who served with distinction in World War I and later wrote as a theatre critic under the name Pierre de Rohan. Their romance began in 1917 when Oakland was playing in a Broadway theater production. They divorced in 1925. The actress became engaged to English actor Thomas Oliver Neville Clark. Clark was deported from America in June 1935 because he overstayed his visitor's permit.

References

* ''Davenport Democrat and Leader'', "Stage and Screen", April 26, 1925, Page 23. * ''

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County. Indianapolis is situated in the state's central till plain region along the west fork of ...

'', "Photo Section", November 11, 1924, Page 71. * ''

Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's ...

'', "Beautiful Dagmar's 13-Day Nightmare", January 3, 1926, Page 3. * ''

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the '' East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ...

'', "Dagmar Oakland Loses English Actor Fiance in Deportation Sweep", June 5, 1935, pg 1

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakland, Dagmar 1897 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American actresses American stage actresses American vaudeville performers American female dancers Dancers from California Actresses from San Francisco American people of Norwegian descent 20th-century American dancers