Dagmar Oakland


Dagmar Oakland was an American actress of stage and screen from San Francisco, California. Twice she was a member of the Ziegfeld Follies.

Family

Oakland's parents were Edward Andersen of Fredrikstad, Norway and Anna Marthine Olsen, also of Norway. Her siblings' names were Edward, Herbert, and Vivien. Her sister performed on Broadway and in motion pictures as Vivian Oakland. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Anna Andersen, a widow since 1898, moved the family to Oakland, California, where the sisters took their stage names.

Stage

Edna and Vivien appeared in vaudeville as the Anker sisters. They changed their surname to Oakland in tribute to their hometown. They performed as the Oakland Sisters in the Boston Juveniles, a vaudeville group.
They traveled the west coast as far as Seattle, Washington. The sisters ended up in New York City, appearing with the Ziegfeld Follies and other shows. In 1915, Oakland began a solo stage career. In November 1924, she had an important role in Heidelberg, the musical version of a play made famous by Richard Mansfield.

Film career

Beginning in 1930, Oakland performed in Hollywood motion pictures. Her first feature was The Heart Breaker directed by Edmund Joseph. She was cast with Joan Blondell, Gloria Shea, and Walter Kinsella. She played a reporter in Wedding Present and a nurse in Hit Parade of 1937. Oakland's film career lasted into the late 1940s with uncredited roles in Tonight and Every Night, Thrill of a Romance, and Riverboat Rhythm.

Marriage

In 1919, she married Captain Garnette Rotan, who served with distinction in World War I. Their romance began in 1917 when Oakland was playing in a Broadway theater production. The actress became engaged to English actor Thomas Oliver Neville Clark. Clark was deported from America in June 1935 because he overstayed his visitor's permit.
Vivian met and married actor John Murry. The couple had a daughter named Joan. They continued their careers in movies and relocated to southern California. The Murry's operated a small bookshop on Ventura Boulevard in the 1940s. Dagmar Oakland died in Burbank, California in 1989.