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
William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on a ...
, 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 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, 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 ...
, 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 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 ...
.
Career
Her career as a dancer began at the age of 14 with Warner Brothers Studios.[ 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 seque ...
'' (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'' (1931), and ''The Kid from Spain
''The Kid from Spain'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Leo McCarey. Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar composed the songs, and Busby Berkeley is credited with creating and directing the film's musical scenes. It was Jane Wyman's film debut ...
'' (1932). Her best-known films were '' 42nd Street'' (1933) and ''Gold Diggers of 1933
''Gold Diggers of 1933'' is a pre-Code Warner Bros. musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics), staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It stars Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline M ...
''.[ Many of the films in which she appeared were choreographed by ]Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...
.[
]
Career highlight
Film director William Wellman cast Coonan as Sally, a " hobo" 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 economic contagio ...
drama '' Wild Boys of the Road''.[ 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'' (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 opposing ...
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 state in the 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. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
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