Obituary: Marpessa Dawn (1934 – 2008)

I don’t know how I missed this obituary, especially considering that BLACK ORPHEUS is one of my all time favorite films!

The beautiful, and exquisite Marpessa Dawn passed away of a heart attack last August (August 25, 2008) in her home, in Paris, France. A magnificent, multilingual actress, Ms. Dawn played the lead role of Eurydice in Marcel Camus’ film, BLACK ORPHEUS.

Unusual for its time because it featured African Brazilians in the most un-glamorous of locations –a favela– as the actors recreated the ancient Greek story of Orpheus’ and Eurydice’s undying love. Her co-star in the film, Breno Mello, was a gorgeous, African Brazilian man, who defiantly played the lead in an ageless love story, when few Black love stories were being presented on film. Sadly, Mr. Mello also passed away just 41 days before Ms. Dawn.

BLACK ORPHEUS was filmed in Brazil, and was sub-titled for international audiences because it was entirely in Portuguese. Ahead of its time, BLACK ORPHEUS spring boarded Marpessa Dawn into the movie spotlight. Many thought she was an “exotic” beauty from Brazil, but she was American born, specifically, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her original name was Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Meno.

Ms. Dawn was an amazingly “global” woman before the average American barely knew what was outside of their town’s borders. She was fluent in many languages, including, French and Portuguese. She raised eyebrows in the late-1950′s by marrying a white, European man, and lived as an expatriat in Paris, France.

Ms. Dawn will always be remembered in the hearts of movie lovers everywhere. She is survived by her daughter Dhyana Kluth.

More: NY Times