
By Photo by "Bruno of Hollywood" - eBayfrontback, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31137662
S23E8: Joan McCracken and Jack Dunphy
Dancer and actress Joan McCracken became one of America’s biggest stars in the 1940s after her scene-stealing role in Oklahoma! as Sylvie, “The Girl Who Fell Down.” In her real life, she was challenged by a secret diagnosis of diabetes in an era where management of the disease was complicated at best, and her marriage to fellow dancer Jack Dunphy – who would go on to be Truman Capote’s partner for decades – was wrecked her affair with a French songwriter. Joan would become Bob Fosse’s second wife and a major influence in his career. Given how brief her life was – she died at just 43 – her story is an impressive array of spiderwebs into both the Trashy Divorces Cinematic Universe, and Alicia’s Done & Dunne podcast.
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Alicia’s Receipts
The Girl Who Fell Down: A Biography of Joan McCracken, by Lisa Jo Sagolla (Amazon)
Fosse/Verdon: The Tragic Story of Bob Fosse’s Second Wife, Joan McCracken | Vanity Fair
Truman Capote’s Complete Dating History and Boyfriends, Explained (townandcountrymag.com)
There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This (hazlitt.net)
Celebrity history – Joan McCracken (pineshistory.org)
Joan McCracken Was More than Bob Fosse’s Second Wife (townandcountrymag.com)