Dorothy Wellman (born Dorothy Rae Coonan; November 25, 1913 – September 16, 2009) was an American actress and dancer. Wellman was the widow of film director
William Wellman, to whom she was married from 1934 until his death in 1975.
Wellman cast her in several of his films.
Early life
Wellman was born Dorothy Rae Coonan in Minnesota in 1913.
[ She was the fourth child of six children of Florence (]née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Taylor) and Daniel Raymond Coonan, who was a traveling salesman.["United States Census, 1920", digital image of original enumeration page, Dorothy Coonan in entry for family of D. R. and Florence Coonan, ]Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, Alameda County, California, ED (Enumeration District) 79, January 2, 1920; United States Bureau of the Census, NARA
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
, Washington, D.C. Retrieved via FamilySearch archives, June 14, 2022. By 1920, she had moved to Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
with her family and later that decade relocated with her mother and siblings to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
Career
Her career as a dancer began at the age of 14 with Warner Brothers Studios
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
.[ Her early film credits as an on-screen dancer and actress included small, uncredited parts in early sound films such as '']The Broadway Melody
''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor sequen ...
'' (1929), ''Whoopee!
''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...
'' (1930), '' Kiki'' (1931) ''Palmy Days
''Palmy Days'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film written by Eddie Cantor, Morrie Ryskind, and David Freedman, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, and choreographed by Busby Berkeley (who makes a cameo appearance as a fortune teller ...
'' (1931), and '' The Kid from Spain'' (1932). Her best-known films were '' 42nd Street'' (1933) and '' Gold Diggers of 1933''.[ Many of the films in which she appeared were choreographed by Busby Berkeley.][
]
Career highlight
Film director William Wellman cast Coonan as Sally, a "hobo
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works.
E ...
" disguised as a male, in the 1933 Depression-era
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The Financial contagion, ...
drama ''Wild Boys of the Road
''Wild Boys of the Road'' is a 1933 pre-Code Depression-era American drama film directed by William Wellman and starring Frankie Darro, Rochelle Hudson, and Grant Mitchell. It tells the story of several teens forced into becoming hobos. The s ...
''.[ This was her only role in which she was credited on screen. She does make a later uncredited appearance in Wellman's '']The Story of G.I. Joe
''The Story of G.I. Joe'', also credited in prints as ''Ernie Pyle's Story of G.I. Joe'', is a 1945 American war film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, i ...
'' (1945), portraying a World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
army nurse nicknamed "Red" who marries a soldier on the battlefield, where he is soon killed.
Personal life and death
Coonan and Wellman were married in Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
in March 1934.[ The couple remained married for over four decades, until William's death on December 9, 1975.][ Their seven children all worked in entertainment to some extent.]
References
External links
*
Dorothy Coonan
– Daily Telegraph obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellman, Dorothy
1913 births
2009 deaths
American film actresses
American female dancers
Dancers from Minnesota
Actresses from Minneapolis
Actresses from Los Angeles
People from Brentwood, Los Angeles
20th-century American dancers
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American women