Steffi Duna (born Erzsébet Berindey; 8 February 1910 – 22 April 1992) was a Hungarian-born film actress.

Hungarian dancer

Born in the Eastern name order in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

of Czech extraction and nicknamed Stefi (Stefánia) by her friends and family, Duna started dancing at the age of nine and first attracted attention as a thirteen-year-old

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. She made her first stage appearance in dramatized

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...

at the Children's Theater of Budapest. Initially opposed to the idea, her father sent her to the best schools in the Hungarian capital to learn dancing, and soon she had danced in most of the capitals of Europe. In 1932, she appeared on the London stage in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's revue '' Words and Music'' as one of the four actresses to create the song " Mad about the Boy".

Film actress

When she came to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

in 1932, Duna could not speak a word of English. She made up her mind to learn quickly. Directors advised her to stay away from her Hungarian friends to speed up her learning. Within a few years, she could speak not only English but five other languages. During the 1930s, she played a variety of nationalities. However, despite her European background, she was often cast as fiery Latin ''femmes fatale'' in films that made full use of her exotic and glamorous persona, such as ''

La Cucaracha La Cucaracha (, "The Cockroach") is a popular folk song about a cockroach who cannot walk. The song's origins are Spanish, but it became popular in the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution. The modern song has been adapted using the Mexican genr ...

'' (1934), the first live-action short film made in three-strip

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

. She made her film debut in '' The Indiscretions of Eve'' (1932) in the starring role (along with

Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British actress. An icon in the film industry, she appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAF ...

, also making her debut). Signed by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

, she played Guninana, the

Eskimo ''Eskimo'' () is a controversial Endonym and exonym, exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Canadian Inuit, and the Greenlandic Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Sibe ...

wife of Francis Lederer, in '' Man of Two Worlds'' (1934). Lederer had performed with Duna in the

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

production of ''Die Wunderbar''. In 1936, she played Nedda in the British film version of ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'', starring

Richard Tauber Richard Tauber (16 May 1891, Linz – 8 January 1948, London) was an Austrian lyric tenor and film actor. He performed the tenor role in numerous operas, including ''Don Giovanni'' by Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte. Early life Richard Tauber was b ...

. Films in which she played lead roles, such as '' Panama Lady'' (1939) with

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

, were popular but did not make her a major star. Her best remembered films include ''

Anthony Adverse ''Anthony Adverse'' is a 1936 American epic historical drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Fredric March and Olivia de Havilland. The screenplay by Sheridan Gibney draws elements of its plot from eight of the nine books in Hervey ...

'' (1936) and ''

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

'' (1940).

Personal life and death

Duna was married twice. Her first marriage was in 1935 to actor John Carroll, her co-star in the screen comedy '' Hi, Gaucho!''. They had one child, a daughter, and divorced in 1938. On October 18, 1940, Duna married actor

Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vance Flanagan; March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor. Early years O'Keefe was born in Fort Madison, Iowa, as Edward Vance Flanagan, the son of Edward J. Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan ( ...

in Phoenix, Arizona. They had a son. Duna died on 22 April 1992 (aged 82) of cancer at her home in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

Partial filmography

* '' The Indiscretions of Eve'' (1932) - Eve * '' The Iron Stair'' (1933) - Elsa Damond * '' Man of Two Worlds'' (1934) - Guninana * ''

'' (1934, Short) - Chaquita * '' Red Morning'' (1934) - Kara Perava * '' One New York Night'' (1935) - Countess Louise Broussiloff * '' Hi, Gaucho!'' (1935) - Inez del Campo * ''

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara ''La Fiesta de Santa Barbara'' is a 1935 American comedy film, comedy short film directed by Louis Lewyn. It was nominated for an Academy Award at the 9th Academy Awards in 1936 for Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, Best Short Subj ...

'' (1935, Short) - Herself * '' I Conquer the Sea!'' (1936) - Rosita Gonzales * ''

Dancing Pirate ''Dancing Pirate'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Lloyd Corrigan. It is the List of three-strip Technicolor films, third film shot in the Technicolor#Three strip Technicolor, three strip Technicolor process and the first music ...

'' (1936) - Serafina Perena * ''

'' (1936) - Neleta * ''

'' (1936) - Nedda Salvatini * '' Escape by Night'' (1937) - Josephine 'Jo' Elliott * '' Rascals'' (1938) - Stella * '' Flirting with Fate'' (1938) - Carlita * '' Panama Lady'' (1939) - Cheema * '' The Girl and the Gambler'' (1939) - Dolores 'The Dove' Romero * '' The Magnificent Fraud'' (1939) - Carmelita * '' Way Down South'' (1939) - Pauline * '' Hitler – Beast of Berlin'' (1939) - Elsa Memling * '' Law of the Pampas'' (1939) - Chiquita * '' The Marines Fly High'' (1940) - Teresa * ''

'' (1940) - Lydia * '' Phantom Raiders'' (1940) - Dolores * '' The Great McGinty'' (1940) - The Dancing Girl * '' River's End'' (1940) - Cheeta * '' Girl from Havana'' (1940) - Chita (final film role)

Sources

*'' Bismarck Tribune'', "Steffi Duna Important Character In Picture", Wednesday, November 20, 1935, p. 8. *''Hammond Times'', "Hollywood", March 16, 1939, p. 35. *''

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'' ...

'', "Money-Important In Marriage, Or Is It?", Sunday, November 26, 1939, p. 79. *''Salisbury Times'', "Dennis O'Keefe Picks That As Official Name", Monday Evening, August 28, 1944, p. 5.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duna, Steffi 1910 births 1992 deaths Actresses from Budapest 20th-century Hungarian actresses Hungarian ballerinas Hungarian film actresses Hungarian emigrants to the United States Western (genre) film actresses Hungarian people of Czech descent