Tamara (1907–1943)

views updated

Tamara (1907–1943)

Russian-born actress. Born Tamara Drasin, 1907, in Poltava, Odessa, Russia; died Feb 22, 1943, in plane crash in Portugal; educated in Ukraine and at Hunter College; m. Erwin D. Swann.

Moved to US (1912); became popular on radio; made stage debut in Crazy Quilt (1931) and came to prominence in Roberta (1933); other plays include Free For All, Americana, They All Come to Moscow, Tide Rising and Leave It to Me; films include Sweet Surrender and No No Nanette; was one of 24 casualties in a plane crash near Lisbon during WWII (Jane Froman survived).