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North American Way
It was at this time she became "discovered"
for the American Stage and was brought to New York by Lee
Schubert. Upon her arrival, the already alerted press were
on hand to greet her. She remarked, "this is the golden
dream of my life to come here. “Commenting on her meager understanding
of English (besides speaking Portuguese, Spanish and French)
by saying her vocabulary was limited to saying, "money,
money, money, ... hot dog. I say yes, no, and I say, money,
money, money, and I say turkey sandwich and I say grape juice."
While performing on Broadway in "Streets of Paris"
and at local nightclubs after-theatre, Hollywood came calling.
Her lively sambas, Carnaval marches, bubbling stage presence
and her highly demanding rapid-delivery numbers completely
overwhelmed and delighted audiences. Twentieth Century Fox
hired her to appear in the Betty Grable film "Down Argentine
Way" and was paid $20,000. She was unable to leave New
York due to her theatrical engagements, so Fox filmed her
scenes in the Movietone Studios in Manhattan. The New York
Times said of her appearance, "Miss Miranda sings "South
American Way" and a few Spanish trifles scorchingly,
but we don't see enough of her." "Down Argentine
Way" would be successful for Carmen and begin a series
of films for Fox that included, "The Gang's All Here,"
"Greenwich Village," "Springtime In The Rockies,"
"Something For The Boys," "Four Jills In A
Jeep" and "Doll Face." Shortly after her first
film in Hollywood, she returned to Rio, only to find her countrymen
no longer found her to be "one of them." During
performances the crowds fell silent and in some cases, boo-ed.
She left Brazil disappointed and did not return for over 14
years.
In 1943, Carmen became very ill and had to have an
emergency surgery for a "stomach ailment." Her ill
health set of a series of events including depression, mental
exhaustion and fears of becoming sick again. She never seemed
to recover from this illness and became reliant on sleeping
pills and other medications to alter her moods and health.
The following year she very nearly faced death with a general
infection.
In 1947 she signed a film contract with Universal and
appeared in their film "Copacabana" with Groucho
Marx. Another echelon marked this year; she married for the
first time to film producer David Sebastian. During her entire
stint in Hollywood she was never romantically linked with
anyone nor did she use sex as a means to get ahead in Hollywood.
She admitted to leaving a lawyer in Brazil when she came to
the US In 1939, but Carmen was clearly married to her role
of an entertainer. "Copacabana" was box-office poison
and she made appearances at the Copacabana nightclub to support
the film. Hollywood became less and less interested in her
character and so, she returned to the nightclub scene again,
making appearances at El Rancho in Las Vegas and the London
Palladium in 1948. She came back for MGM in a supporting role
in "A Date With Judy" that same year, for which
she received beaming notices from critics. It would be two
more years before her next film appearance, "Nancy Goes
To Rio" with Jane Powell and Ann Sothern. Her final film
would be "Scared Stiff" with Jerry Lewis in 1953,
in which he made a (terrible) spoof on her.
The Final Years ->
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