HARRIMAN, Tenn. — A historic Hollywood actress with the stage name Dixie Lee made quite an impression on Chris Hammond of Powell. In part because Lee always honored her home.
"She's just a local girl that's been forgotten in many ways," said Hammond. "She was one of us. She was an East Tennessean. She was super-talented, charismatic. She could sing. She could act. She could dance."
Dixie Lee was born and raised Harriman. She also lived a few years in Knoxville as a child and had relatives in Lenoir City. That was before anyone knew her as Dixie Lee.
"Dixie Lee is not her name. Her birth name is Wilma Winifred Wyatt. She lived in Chicago and entered a singing contest and said she changed her name to 'Dixie Carroll' so her classmates wouldn't know it was her when she lost. But she won," said Hammond.
Her talent launched a career on Broadway and then with Fox in Hollywood. The studio said there were too many other stars with the name Carroll, and she would need to find a different name.
The new moniker came from one of the main mergers of highways back home in Tennessee at the Knox County and Loudon County line.
"Dixie Lee Highway or Dixie Lee Junction was one of the main landmarks for travelers in Tennessee," said Hammond.
Dixie Lee's fame faded over time. One reason was many of her films went up in smoke.
"The Fox vault fire of 1937 destroyed a lot of the original negatives of the films she made," said Hammond. "She also chose to step out of the limelight and raise her family."
Dixie Lee's fame was also overshadowed by the enormity of her husband's career. In the 1930s she defied the Fox executives who pressured her not to marry Bing Crosby.
"They tried to get her not to marry him because he wasn't well-known, and her trajectory was still rising. But love is love. Like a lot of East Tennesseans, she was stubborn and had some sass. She did what she wanted," said Hammond. "Because he became so big, when people talked about her it was just, 'That's Dixie Lee, Bing Crosby's wife.' She has been a footnote in Bing Crosby's story when really she has an incredible story of her own."
Hammond contacted Dixie Lee Crosby in California, the granddaughter of Dixie Lee and Bing Crosby. They pondered how to memorialize and properly acknowledge her career in her hometown.
"That's when we came up with the idea for the historical marker and we couldn't have done anything without the city manager of Harriman. The city made this happen by getting a spot on the right-of-way to place the marker and funding the project," said Hammond.
The exact date for installation is yet to be determined. Hammond expects it to likely happen later this fall. The marker will be placed in the Walnut Hill neighborhood of Harriman where Dixie Lee was born.
"The house where she was born burned down in the 1950s. The only houses where she lived that are still standing are in California," said Hammond.
Hammond said he hopes the marker will not only honor the actress's past, but help people in the future.
"In talking with her granddaughter, one of the things we're hoping will come out of this is to raise awareness for ovarian cancer. Dixie died when she was just a few days from turning 43 years old in 1952. Ovarian cancer is genetic. We now have the means to test for the gene," said Hammond.
Now 67 years after her death, Dixie Lee's career returns to the spotlight. She leaves a lasting mark on entertainment history, hometown pride, and possibly future health.
"Dixie Lee was more than an actress. She was more than a singer. She was more than Bing Crosby's wife. She was a wonderful mother and a proud Tennessean. I think she should be honored and hope she would be happy knowing we can use the story of her life for something bigger, to help other people," said Hammond.