Tamara Drasin
Encyclopedia
Tamara Drasin often credited as simply Tamara, was a singer and actress who introduced the song Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
in the 1933 Broadway musical Roberta
.
village of Sorochintsï, in what is modern-day Ukraine
.
, 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.
" 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!
.
, Drasin died in a USO plane crash near Lisbon
, Portugal
in March 1943.
Her story was partially told in the Jane Froman
biopic With a Song in My Heart
(1952), as both were in the same plane crash. Froman later said that she had given Drasin her seat, which bothered Froman for the rest of her life.
Tamara Drasin is sometimes confused with two other performers of the thirties musical era: the dancers Tamara Geva
and Tamara Toumanova
.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes was later re-recorded by The Platters
.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for their 1933 operetta Roberta. It was originally recorded by Gertrude Niesen, on 13 October 1933 on the Victor label 24454. It was performed by Irene Dunne for the 1935 film adaptation,...
in the 1933 Broadway musical Roberta
Roberta
Roberta is a musical from 1933 with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics and book by Otto Harbach. The musical is based on the novel Gowns by Roberta by Alice Duer Miller...
.
Early life
Drasin was born sometime around 1905 in the Imperial RussianRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
village of Sorochintsï, in what is modern-day Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Stage career
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 AllFree For All
Free For All is a television episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner. It originally aired in the UK on ITV on 20 October 1967. This episode was filmed second, and was titled "Episode Two"...
, she was Marishka Tarasov; in Roberta
Roberta
Roberta is a musical from 1933 with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics and book by Otto Harbach. The musical is based on the novel Gowns by Roberta by Alice Duer Miller...
, she was Princess Stephanie of Russian nobility; and in Right This Way
Right This Way
Right This Way is a Broadway production that opened at the 46th Street Theatre on January 5, 1938, and ran for fifteen performances. It was categorized as an original musical comedy and was set in Paris and Boston....
and Leave It to Me!
Leave It to Me!
Leave It to Me! is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The "book" was a collaborative effort by Samuel and Bella Spewack, who also directed the Broadway production. The musical was based on the play Clear All Wires by the Spewacks...
, she portrayed Frenchwomen. In all, Drasin appeared in seven musicals, from 1927 to 1938.
Music career
Besides "Smoke Gets in Your EyesSmoke Gets in Your Eyes
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for their 1933 operetta Roberta. It was originally recorded by Gertrude Niesen, on 13 October 1933 on the Victor label 24454. It was performed by Irene Dunne for the 1935 film adaptation,...
" and another ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
, "The Touch of Your Hand", in Roberta, Drasin introduced three other standards: "I Can Dream, Can't I?
I Can Dream, Can't I?
"I Can Dream, Can't I?" is a popular song written by Sammy Fain with lyrics by Irving Kahal. The song was published in 1938, included in a flop musical, Right This Way...
" and "I'll Be Seeing You
I'll Be Seeing You (song)
"I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938, the song was inserted into the Broadway musical Right This Way, which closed after fifteen performances. The song is a jazz standard, and has been covered by countless musicians.The...
" in Right This Way
Right This Way
Right This Way is a Broadway production that opened at the 46th Street Theatre on January 5, 1938, and ran for fifteen performances. It was categorized as an original musical comedy and was set in Paris and Boston....
and "Get Out of Town
Get Out of Town
"Get Out of Town" is a 1938 popular song written by Cole Porter, for his musical Leave It to Me!, where it was introduced by Tamara Drasin.-Notable recordings:*Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook...
" in Leave It to Me!
Leave It to Me!
Leave It to Me! is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The "book" was a collaborative effort by Samuel and Bella Spewack, who also directed the Broadway production. The musical was based on the play Clear All Wires by the Spewacks...
.
Death and legacy
Ironically, as I'll Be Seeing You was becoming one of the homefront anthems of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Drasin died in a USO plane crash near Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
in March 1943.
Her story was partially told in the Jane Froman
Jane Froman
Jane Froman was an American singer and actress. During her thirty-year career, Froman performed on stage, radio and television despite chronic injuries that she sustained from a 1943 plane crash...
biopic With a Song in My Heart
With a Song in My Heart (film)
With a Song in My Heart is a 1952 biographical film which tells the story of actress and singer Jane Froman, who was crippled by an airplane crash on February 22, 1943, when the Boeing 314 Pan American Clipper flying boat she was on suffered a crash landing in the Tagus River near Lisbon, Portugal....
(1952), as both were in the same plane crash. Froman later said that she had given Drasin her seat, which bothered Froman for the rest of her life.
Tamara Drasin is sometimes confused with two other performers of the thirties musical era: the dancers Tamara Geva
Tamara Geva
Tamara Geva was a Russian actress, ballet dancer and choreographer. She was the first wife of dancer/choreographer George Balanchine.-Biography:...
and Tamara Toumanova
Tamara Toumanova
Tamara Toumanova was an American ballerina and actress. "Toumanova" was a stage name proposed by Olga Preobrazhenskaya, after her mother’s family name of Tumanishvili.-Personal life:...
.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes was later re-recorded by The Platters
The Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
.