Dorris Estelle Bowdon (December 27, 1914 – August 9, 2005) was an American actress, best known for her role as ''Rosasharn'' in ''
The Grapes of Wrath
''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award
and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...
''
Early life
Dorris Estelle Bowdon was born on December 27, 1914, in
Coldwater, Mississippi, one of seven children of Lillian and James Bowdon. She attended
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
.
Career
Bowdon was an actress in the 1930s and 1940s. When she was 20 years old, talent scout Ivan Kahn found her in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, and brought her to
Hollywood, California, for a screen test with
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. She "didn't fare so well" in her first test, so she was given another try.
[ ]
Personal life
She was married to
Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...
from 1939 until his death in 1977, and they had three children together, the first of whom was born in 1942, which prematurely ended Bowden's acting career. They resided in a mansion located at 625 Mountain Drive in
Beverly Hills, California.
[Victoria Talbot, 'Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission Splits 2 To 2 on Mountain Drive Landmark Vote', ''The Beverly Hills Courier'', October 03, 2014, Vol. XXXXVIIII, No. 39, p. 4] It was designed by architect
Paul R. Williams and built from 1937 to 1938 by O' Neal and Son.
Actor
Jack Johnson is her grandson.
Death
Bowdon died in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
at the age of 90 of a stroke and heart failure. She was cremated and a portion of her ashes were scattered at sea and another portion interred with her husband
Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...
in
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue.
The cemetery was ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
.
Filmography
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowdon, Dorris
1914 births
2005 deaths
People from Coldwater, Mississippi
People from Beverly Hills, California
American film actresses
Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American women