Dorothy Dell (born Dorothy Dell Goff; January 30, 1915 – June 8, 1934) was an American film actress. She died in an auto accident at the age of 19.
Early life and career
Born Dorothy Dell Goff in
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The city popu ...
to entertainers, she moved with the family to
, at age 13. She was born into a socially prominent family, and her mother was a descendant of
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
.
Initially desiring to become a singer, she was discovered by composer Wesley Lord, and soon signed a radio contract.
She began entering and winning beauty pageants and at the age of 17 won the title of "Miss New Orleans" in 1930. That same year she attended the
International Pageant of Pulchritude
The International Pageant of Pulchritude, also known as Miss Universe or the International Beauty Contest, was a beauty contest that began in 1920, featuring contestants from multiple nations. This pageant originated the title "Miss Universe" an ...
in
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
, and won the title of ''Miss Universe'' (not to be confused with the later
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...
founded in 1952). With this success, she established a successful
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
act. Although she had received better offers, she decided to enter the vaudeville circuit, because she believed it would enable her to help her friend
Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...
rise to fame, a promise she had made shortly before winning the Miss Universe title at the Pageant.
After working on the vaudeville circuit for 32 weeks, she moved to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in 1931. One night, she sang at a benefit and was discovered by
Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...
,
who arranged for her to appear on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in the
Ziegfeld Follies
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...
, and she followed this success with her role in the production of ''
Tattle Tales
''Tattletales'' is an American game show produced by Goodson-Todman Productions in association with Fremantle. The program had two runs on the CBS daytime schedule between February 1974 and June 1984. It was hosted by Bert Convy, with several ...
'' in 1933. During this time she was closely associated with
Russ Colombo, and her celebrity status was elevated by the media attention she received while denying rumors of an impending marriage. Dell and Columbo had met at her Ziegfeld audition; Columbo's manager,
Con Conrad
Con Conrad (born Conrad K. Dober, June 18, 1891 – September 28, 1938) was an American songwriter and producer.
Biography
Conrad was born in Manhattan, New York, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...
, was determined to end their relationship and did so with a series of "publicity only" romances between Columbo and other, more famous actresses.
She moved to
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
in December 1933 and was signed to a contract by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. Initially being contracted for bit parts, she won her first film role over such established contenders as
Mae Clarke
Mae Clarke (born Violet Mary Klotz; August 16, 1910 – April 29, 1992) was an American actress. She is widely remembered for playing Henry Frankenstein's bride Elizabeth, who is chased by Boris Karloff in ''Frankenstein'', and for being o ...
and
Isabel Jewell
Isabel Jewell (July 19, 1907 – April 5, 1972) was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some of her more famous films were '' Ceiling Zero'', ''Marked Woman'', ''A Tale of Two Cities'', and ''Gone with t ...
and made her debut in ''
Wharf Angel'' (1934). The film was a success and the reviews for Dell were favorable; Paramount began to consider her as a potential star. Her most important and substantial role followed in the
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...
film ''
Little Miss Marker''.
Death
On Friday, June 8, 1934, Dell agreed to a car ride to Pasadena with 38-year-old Dr. Carl Wagner, because he insisted that she take some time for relaxation between retakes of ''Shoot the Works'', and to meet his mother, whom he wanted to show "how sweet a little movie star can be."
After the meeting, they went to an all-night party at an inn in
Altadena, California
Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...
. Afterward they were going to
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
when the car left the highway, hit a telephone pole, bounced off a palm tree and hit a boulder. Dell was killed instantly. Wagner, who was driving between 50 and 70 miles an hour,
died six hours later in a hospital.
It has been claimed that she was engaged to Wagner, but this was dismissed by different sources, who believed that she was to be married to caricaturist Nat Carson, whom she met while performing as a
chorus girl
A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed.
Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms s ...
in
Earl Carroll
Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer.
Early life
Carroll was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fine ...
's ''Vanities''.
["What Never Was Told About the Tragic Crash Of Lovely Dorothy Dell", '']The Salt Lake Tribune
''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871."
History
...
'', August 12, 1934, p. 7 A week before her death, Carson left for work in London and proposed over the telephone. Dell planned on taking off six months for an extended honeymoon vacation.
When Carson found out about her death, he decided not to return to Broadway, and he remained in London.
According to news reports, a day before her death, Dell mused: "You know, they say deaths go in cycles of three. First it was
Lilyan Tashman
Lilyan Tashman (October 23, 1896 – March 21, 1934) was an American actress. Tashman was best known for her supporting roles as tongue-in-cheek villainesses or playing the vindictive "other woman". She made 66 films over the course of her ...
, then
Lew Cody
Lew Cody (born Louis Joseph Côté; February 22, 1884 – May 31, 1934) was an American stage and film actor whose career spanned the silent film and early sound film age. He gained notoriety in the late 1910s for playing "male vamps" in films ...
. I wonder who'll be next?"
["Death Dogged Dorothy Dell", '']The Pittsburgh Press
''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...
'', June 9, 1934, p. 1
Dell was interred in
Metairie Cemetery
Metairie Cemetery is a cemetery in southeastern Louisiana. The name has caused some people to mistakenly presume that the cemetery is located in Metairie, Louisiana, but it is located within the New Orleans city limits, on Metairie Road (and fo ...
, in
.
During her life, Dell had claimed several encounters with near-death experiences. As a child, she narrowly escaped death when being attacked by a dog. The dog was killed by her father to save Dell's life.
In 1931, while at the Follies, she was invited to board a yacht for a party of
Harry Richman
Harry Richman (born Henry Reichman Jr.; August 10, 1895 – November 3, 1972) was an American singer, actor, dancer, comedian, pianist, songwriter, bandleader, and nightclub performer, at his most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. In his peak yea ...
. She declined, and the girl who took her place died in an explosion on board.
A few weeks later she was critically injured following a car accident and hospitalized for two months.
Furthermore, she fell ill with
influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
shortly afterwards and broke a leg during a Follies performance.
Legacy
Dell's role in ''Now and Forever'' was recast with
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 2 ...
, and provided Lombard with one of her earliest significant successes. The news of Dell's death was kept from her dear friend Temple until filming started on the scene in which Temple's character discovers that her father had lied to her about stealing the necklace. When Temple threw herself on the bed and cried bitter tears, the tears were genuine, being connected to her friend's death.
[Shirley Temple Black, "Child Star: An Autobiography" (New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1988), 60-65.]
Dorothy Lamour won the title of "Miss New Orleans" in 1931, succeeding her friend Dell who had won the title the previous year.
Filmography
See also
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dell, Dorothy
American film actresses
Vaudeville performers
Actresses from Mississippi
American beauty pageant winners
People from Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Actresses from New Orleans
Road incident deaths in California
1915 births
1934 deaths
20th-century American actresses
Burials at Metairie Cemetery