Biography
In a situation reminiscent of Fannie Hurst's "Imitation of Life," where a girl strives to pass as white, the light-skinned African-American actress, singer, dancer, and bandleader Dona (pronounced "dough-nuh") Drake denied her heritage and passed as white (specifically Mexican) for the sake of her career. Although this did not make her a major star, her lively talents and charm significantly contributed to wartime music. Unlike the story, Dona did not abandon or deny her parents.
Born Eunice ("Una") Westmoreland in Jacksonville, Florida (some sources say Miami) on November 15, 1914, to African-American parents Joseph Andrew Westmoreland and Novella Smith Westmoreland, she was musically gifted from a young age. Her father moved the family to Philadelphia, where he opened a restaurant. At five, Eunice began performing and playing instruments there as entertainment. After completing her schooling, she moved to New York City where, billed as Una Villon, she attracted attention on Broadway and in nightclubs, appearing in shows like "Murder at the Vanities" (1930) and performing as a chorus girl and in Earl Carroll revues. Claiming Latino heritage, she even learned Spanish.
In 1935, she changed her name to Rita Rio to highlight her "ethnicity," enhancing her image when she landed a featured role in Eddie Cantor's film Strike Me Pink (1936). Though this didn’t lead to further film roles, it helped her form her own glamorous all-female band, Rita Rio and Her Rhythm Girls (also known as The Girlfriends), which toured successfully.
On her own, Dona appeared in short films and two-reelers, sang on the radio, and boosted her profile. With help from friend Dorothy Lamour, she signed with Paramount, where the studio renamed her "Dona Drake" and promoted her Latino background, issuing resumes stating she was named Rita Novella, of Mexican, Irish, and French descent, and born and raised in Mexico City. Her first Paramount film was the Dorothy Lamour vehicle Aloma of the South Seas (1941). She also appeared in the Bob Hope film Louisiana Purchase (1941) and played an Arab girl in the Hope/Crosby/Lamour comedy Road to Morocco (1942). Unable to escape typecasting as a spicy singing supporting character, her contract was dropped after a lead singing role in the Monogram big band film Hot Rhythm (1944). Around this time, she married Oscar- and Emmy-winning costume designer William Travilla.
Dona freelanced in Without Reservations (1946), co-starred with Kent Taylor in Dangerous Millions (1946), and appeared in Another Part of the Forest (1948) as Dan Duryea’s girlfriend, Beyond the Forest (1949) as Bette Davis’ Indian maid, The Girl from Jones Beach (1949) as Eddie Bracken’s love interest, and played the gold-digging second lead in So This Is New York (1948). After marrying and having a daughter, Nia Novella, she reduced her film work but returned in the mid-1950s for some film and TV roles before retiring in 1957 due to health and emotional issues, including a heart condition and seizures/epilepsy. She and Travilla separated in 1956 but never divorced and occasionally appeared together at events. Dona died of pneumonia and respiratory failure in 1989; Travilla passed away the following year.
