Frances Dewey Wormser (June 23, 1903 – January 28, 2008) was an American stage actress, entertainer and vaudeville performer.

Personal life

Frances Dewey was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on June 23, 1903, the daughter of Alfred James Dewey (1874–1958), a

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

artist who was considered the "

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

" of an early

art colony An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior existence o ...

in Sierra Madre, California. She later took up

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

herself. Dewey married her first husband, Orin Zoline, in the later 1930s, approximately the same time that she retired from

entertaining Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousan ...

. Zoline died in the 1950s. She married her second husband, Morton Wormser, during the same decade. They lived in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

, for over 25 years. Morton Wormser was an avid

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player and supporter of the sport. As a result of this interest, professional tennis player Martina Navratilova lived with Frances and Morton when she first arrived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the early 1970s. Frances and Morton Wormser traveled "around the world" on their honeymoon. She took her last major trip to visit friends in Maui when she was 100 years old. She was a major contributor to the Aviation Museum of Santa Paula, which she supported in honor of her brother, pilot Jim Dewey.

Career

Dewey spent more than a decade in

showbusiness Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

during the 1920s and 1930s. She played the lead role in a number of shows, including the 1925 revival of ''Sally, Irene & Mary''. It was her performance in ''

The Girl Friend ''The Girl Friend'' is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields. This was the longest running show for the trio to that date.Secrest, Meryle. ''Somewhere for me:a biography of Richard Rodge ...

'' in 1926, which caught the attention of producer

Lew Fields Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre Management, manager, and Theatrical producer, producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber (vaudevillian), Joe We ...

. Fields created the ''Dewey and Gold Revue'', specifically for Dewey and her professional performing partner, Al Gold. Dewey and Gold toured together on the Pantages Circuit in 1927 and 1928. She toured in ''Good Boy'' in 1929. Wormser also performed with

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

(who was still using his name of Archie Leach) and

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...

in an out-of-town tryout of ''Boom Boom'' in late 1928, which was one of Grant's earliest roles. She later appeared in '' Shoot the Works'', a 1931 revue on Broadway by Heywood Broun. Dewey was also featured in the very first franchised list of Leonard Sillman's ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...

'' in 1934. Silman's ''New Faces'' introduced audiences to new up-and-coming Broadway actors, such as Wormser. The 1934 first edition of New Faces also included

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

and

Imogene Coca Imogene Coca (born Emogeane Coca; November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on ''Your Show of Shows''. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and wishe ...

. Coca became a lifelong friend of Frances Wormser, who also counted

Leo Lerman Leo Lerman (May 23, 1914 – August 22, 1994) was an American writer and editor who worked for Condé Nast Publications for more than 50 years.Grimes, William (August 23, 1994). Leo Lerman, 80, Editor at Conde Nast Magazines. ''The New York Time ...

, the former editor of

Vogue Magazine ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vogu ...

and

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of '' Vanity Fair'', to be her professional "soul mate". He died in 1994. Dewey officially retired from the entertainment industry during the 1930s. She was a

buyer Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or serv ...

for Jane Engel, a women's clothing company, around this time.

Death

Frances Dewey Wormser died on January 28, 2008, from natural causes in

Santa Paula, California Santa Paula (Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pau ...

. She was 104 years old. She had no children.

References

External links

* *
Santa Paula Times: Frances Dewey Wormser: 1903 - 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dewey Wormser, Frances American stage actresses Vaudeville performers 1903 births 2008 deaths American centenarians American entertainers Actresses from New York City People from Santa Paula, California 20th-century American actresses People from Sierra Madre, California Women centenarians 21st-century American women