Antoinette Davidson

Antoinette Davidson passed away on Thanksgiving night November 24, 2016 at the advanced age of 109.  Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on July 23, 1907, she grew up in Sao Paolo, Brazil.  During her childhood, her family moved between South America and Europe.  As a result, she became fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and French, with English as her fifth language.  Her father died in 1918 as part of the Influenza pandemic, and she moved with her family to Los Angeles in the mid-1920’s.

She was the Brazilian flag bearer in the opening ceremonies of the 1932 Olympics at the Los Angeles Coliseum.  During this time, she was involved in radio, and was known as the “Melody Girl from Rio”.  In 1933, she appeared on KTM Radio on Wednesday nights as well as RKO Radio.  She also worked for the movie studios as both a singer who dubbed the music into other languages and an actress playing small roles. Throughout her life she also utilized her language skills to serve as an interpreter.

In 1938, she married attorney Manley Davidson.  This was followed by the birth of her first son, Stuart, the next year, and her second son, Howard, four years thereafter.  During her life she was passionate about knitting; travels to Las Vegas; visits to the racetrack, where she was on a first name basis with the various tellers; and the daily lineup of ABC Soap Operas. Not lost on anyone, was that she was a good friend to those close to her and maintained a generous spirit.  Most importantly, she was a loving and dotting grandmother to her three grandchildren.   She remained active and independent into her early nineties, and was known for cruising in her black 1969 Cadillac.  She moved to San Diego in 2000.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Manley, in 1971.  She is survived by her two sons, Stuart (Sharon) and Howard, along with three grandchildren Mark (Jen), Aron (Diana), and Desiree, and two great-granddaughters Hannah and Bela.  A private service will be held on Monday December 5th at Forest Lawn.