Dona Drake was an American singer, dancer and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She was born Eunice Westmoreland in Miami, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, in 1914. Entering show business in the 1930s, she used the names Una Velon, Rita Rio and Rita Shaw. She settled on the stage name Dona Drake in the early 1940s. Studio publicity during her heyday incorrectly stated that Drake was of Mexican origin and was born Rita Novella. (Novella was actually her mother's first name.)

Because of her dark hair and Latin-looking features, Drake generally played Latin or other "ethnic" types. She is probably best known for playing the American Indian maid of Bette Davis

Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...

 in Beyond the Forest

Beyond the Forest

Beyond the Forest is a 1949 American film, representative of the film noir genre. It was nominated for an Academy Award for best score.-Plot:...

. She also appeared as an Arab girl opposite Bob Hope

Bob Hope

Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...

 in Road to Morocco

Road to Morocco

Road to Morocco is an 1942 American comedy film about two fast-talking guys tossed up on a desert shore and sold into slavery to a beautiful princess...

in 1942. Her biggest "non-ethnic" role was the second female lead in the 1949 comedy The Girl from Jones Beach, playing opposite Eddie Bracken

Eddie Bracken

Edward Vincent "Eddie" Bracken was an American actor.-Life and career:Bracken was born in Astoria, New York, the son of Catherine and Joseph L. Bracken. Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical Too Many Girls in a role he reprised for the 1940...

. She died in 1989.

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1935	Moonlight and Melody	Rita	credited as Rita Rio
1936	Strike Me Pink	Mademoiselle Fifi	credited as Rita Rio
1938	Sweet Shoe	Rita Rio	credited as Rita Rio
1938	Beautiful, But Dummies	Model	credited as Rita Ray
1939	Gals and Gallons	Orchestra Leader	credited as Rita Rio
1939	Rita Rio and Her Orchestra	Rita Rio	played self in this 10 minute short
1941	I Look at You	Rita Rio
1941	Fresh as a Freshman	Rita Rio
1941	Aloma of the South Seas Aloma of the South Seas (1941 film) Aloma of the South Seas is a 1941 island romance adventure starring Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall and directed by Alfred Santell. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on the 1925 Broadway play by LeRoy Clemens and John B. Hymer. It is a remake of the 1926 film of the same name...	Nea	first film credit as Dona Drake
1941	Louisiana Purchase Louisiana Purchase (film) Louisiana Purchase is a 1941 film adaptation of the musical theater play, Louisiana Purchase. A Paramount Pictures production, the film was directed by Irving Cummings with Robert Emmett Dolan serving as musical director as he had done for the play. Starring comedian Bob Hope, the film featured...	Beatrice
1942	Road to Morocco Road to Morocco Road to Morocco is an 1942 American comedy film about two fast-talking guys tossed up on a desert shore and sold into slavery to a beautiful princess...	Mihirmah	credited as Dona Drake
1943	Star Spangled Rhythm Star Spangled Rhythm Star Spangled Rhythm is a 1943 all-star cast musical film made by Paramount Pictures during World War II as a morale booster. Many of the Hollywood studios produced such films during the war, generally musicals, frequently with flimsy storylines, and with the specific intent of entertaining the...	herself	performs song "On the Swing Shift" with Marjorie Reynolds Marjorie Reynolds Marjorie Reynolds was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 70 films.Born Marjorie Goodspeed, in Buhl, Idaho, as her parents made the cross-country trip from Maine to settle in California, she was featured as a child actressin silent films such as Scaramouche...  and Betty Jane Rhodes
1943	Salute for Three	Dona Drake and Her Girl Band	credited as Dona Drake
1943	Let's Face It! Let's Face It! Let's Face It! is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields is based on the 1925 play The Cradle Snatchers by Russell Medcraft and Norma Mitchell....	Muriel
1944	Hot Rhythm	Mary Adams
1946	Without Reservations Without Reservations Without Reservations is a comedy film starring Claudette Colbert and John Wayne, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film was adapted by Andrew Solt from the novel Thanks, God! I'll Take It From Here by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston.The opening shot shows "Arrowhead"...	Dolores Ortega
1946	Dangerous Millions	Elena Valdez
1948	Another Part of the Forest Another Part of the Forest (film) Another Part of the Forest is a 1948 American drama film directed by Michael Gordon. The screenplay by is based on the 1946 play of the same name by Lillian Hellman, which was a prequel to her 1939 drama The Little Foxes.-Plot:...	Laurette Sincee
1948	So This Is New York	Kate Goff
1949	The Doolins of Oklahoma	Cattle Annie
1949	The Girl from Jones Beach	Connie Martin
1949	Beyond the Forest Beyond the Forest Beyond the Forest is a 1949 American film, representative of the film noir genre. It was nominated for an Academy Award for best score.-Plot:...	Jenny
1950	Fortunes of Captain Blood Fortunes of Captain Blood Fortunes of Captain Blood is a pirate film directed by Gordon Douglas. Based on the famous Captain Blood depicted in the novel by Rafael Sabatini, Fortunes was produced by Columbia Pictures as yet another remake about the notorious swashbuckler. The film is complete with daring sword fights,...	Pepita Maria Rosados
1951	Valentino Valentino (1951 film) Valentino is a 1951 American drama film billed as the life story of movie legend Rudolph Valentino.- Cast :*Anthony Dexter as Rudolph Valentino*Eleanor Parker as Joan Carlisle / Sarah Gray*Richard Carlson as William 'Bill' King...	Maria Torres
1952	Kansas City Confidential	Teresa
1953	The Bandits of Corsica The Bandits of Corsica The Bandits of Corsica is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Richard Greene, Paula Raymond and Raymond Burr. In the eighteenth century a pair of twin brothers overthrow a sadistic aristocrat...	Zelda
1953	Son of Belle Starr	Dolores
1953	Down Laredo Way	Narita
1953	Adventures of Superman Adventures of Superman (TV series) Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...	Joyce	episode 35 "The Dog Who Knew Superman" 9th episode of 1953; aired 14 November
1954	Superman Flies Again	Joyce	theatrical re-release of 3 episodes of the television series included episode 35
1954	Princess of the Nile	Mirva
1954	City Detective	Francesca	1 episode
1955	Soldiers of Fortune Soldiers of Fortune (TV) Soldiers of Fortune was a 1955 syndicated half hour American television adventure series. It starred John Russell as Tim Kelly and Chick Chandler as his sidekick Toubo Smith who were international adventurers. Each episode would take place in a different country...	Cheu	1 episode
1955	The Lone Wolf	Lee	1 episode

External links