The Suicide of Dorothy Hale
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Dorothy Hale (January 11, 1905 – October 21, 1938) was an American
socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...
and aspiring actress who died from jumping off a building in New York City. Her husband's death, followed by several unsuccessful relationships, had left her financially dependent on her wealthy friends. The artist
Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...
created a famous painting commissioned by
Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which h ...
, titled ''The Suicide of Dorothy Hale''.''The Suicide of Dorothy Hale'' (Frida Kahlo painting)
phxart.org; accessed December 11, 2017.


Early life

Hale was born Dorothy Donovan, the daughter of a real estate agent, in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
.Dorothy Hale Obituary. ''The New York Times''. October 22, 1938. p.34
/ref> In 1919, after attending a
convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
and a drama school, Hale left home to pursue a career. Her family hired detectives to find her, but she subsequently returned when her funds ran out. With the assistance of friends, she eventually landed a job in the chorus of a Broadway production of '' ''Lady, Be Good''''. According to former NBC News producer Pamela Hamilton, who researched Hale's life extensively, Fred Astaire offered Hale the role in Lady, Be Good. While she was studying sculpture in Paris, she married millionaire stockbroker Gaillard Thomas, son of the wealthy
gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...
T. Gaillard Thomas; the brief marriage ended in
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
. She married Gardner Hale (1894–1931) in 1927. Gardner Hale was a
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
, mural, and society portrait artist. During this marriage Dorothy Hale continued moving in creative, sophisticated, and
high-class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the economic inequality, wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, t ...
social circles. In her west coast period, she socialized with artists
Miguel Covarrubias Miguel Covarrubias, also known as José Miguel Covarrubias Duclaud (22 November 1904 — 4 February 1957) was a Mexican painter, caricaturist, illustrator, ethnologist and art historian. Along with his American colleague Matthew W. Stirling, ...
, Rosa Rolanda,
Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...
, and photographer Nickolas Muray.


Career

Hale's stage work was limited to several seasons in stock companies and some work as a dancer and
Ziegfeld girl Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls and showgirls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), in New York City, which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris. Descripti ...
. In the summer of 1935, Hale and her friend Rosamond Pinchot, another New York socialite and aspiring actress, opened in ''
Abide with Me "Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte. A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is most often sung ...
'', a psychological drama written by their friend
Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which h ...
. Though the three friends enjoyed the experience tremendously, the play was panned and it died quietly. Pinchot went on to take her life by
carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as "flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large e ...
in January 1938.


Personal life

She lost her husband Gardner Hale when his car went over a Santa Maria cliff in December 1931.


Affairs

Hale was rumored to be romantically linked with
Constantin Alajalov Constantin Alajálov (also Aladjalov) (18 November 1900 — 23 October 1987) was an Armenian-American painter and illustrator. He was born in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, and immigrated to New York City in 1923, becoming a US citizen in 1928. M ...
, a well-known New York cover artist. Early in 1933,
Noguchi Noguchi (野口 lit. "field entrance") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Akira Noguchi ( 野口明), baseball player, older brother of Jirō Noguchi * Akiyo Noguchi ( 野口啓代), Japanese climber who won multiple ...
and Hale took a Caribbean cruise, where he was introduced to many of her wealthy and influential friends from New York, several of whom commissioned portraits, including Luce for a sculpture bust. Noguchi traveled to London and Paris with Hale, hoping to find more patrons. Noguchi had begun a portrait sculpture of Hale, but it was never finished, and its fate is unknown. In 1934, Hale and Luce accompanied Noguchi on a road trip through Connecticut in a car Noguchi had designed with Buckminster Fuller, the Dymaxion car. The threesome stopped to see Thornton Wilder in Hamden, Connecticut, before going on to Hartford to join Fuller for the out-of-town opening of Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson's '' Four Saints in Three Acts''. By 1937, Hale was involved in a serious romance with
Harry Hopkins Harry Lloyd Hopkins (August 17, 1890 – January 29, 1946) was an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor. A trusted deputy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hopkins directed New Deal relief programs before servi ...
,
WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing *Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance Ana ...
administrator and Franklin D. Roosevelt's top adviser. Anticipating a " White House wedding" Hale moved into
Hampshire House Hampshire House is an apartment building and hotel located at 150 Central Park South in Manhattan, New York City, on the southern edge of Central Park between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. It contains 155 apartments on 36 floors. History Origi ...
, a 27-story apartment building at 150 Central Park South, and began putting together a ''trousseau''. She died several months after becoming engaged. Gossip soon spread that they had broken off their engagement, but this was never confirmed. In later years the story began to spread that in 1938,
Bernard Baruch Bernard Mannes Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier and statesman. After amassing a fortune on the New York Stock Exchange, he impressed President Woodrow Wilson by managing the nation's economic mobilization in ...
advised Hale that at 33, she was too old for a professional career and she should look for a wealthy husband. Baruch even gave her $1,000 with the instructions, "... to buy a dress glamorous enough to capture a husband." According to Hale's biographer Pamela Hamilton, there's more to that story. The tabloid press reported that Hale became despondent over her stalled career, constant debt, and unhappy love life, but according to research by Hamilton, there is no evidence of this; on the contrary, she was looking forward to a "long stay" in Washington, D.C., a role in an upcoming film, and get togethers with friends.


Death


Party

The evening of her death, Hale informally entertained some friends; she had told them that she was planning a long trip and invited them to a party in honor of a U.S. ambassador. Among the guests were Mrs. Brock Pemberton; Prince del Drago of Italy; painter Dorothy Swinburne, who was married to Admiral Luke McNamee (President of the McKay Radio and Telegraph company); and Margaret Case (later Harriman, daughter of
Frank Case Frank Case (November 7, 1872 – June 7, 1946) was an American hotelier and author. He owned and managed the Algonquin Hotel during the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table and wrote a number of books about his experiences with the hotel and the Ro ...
), an editor at '' Vogue'' who would go on to write ''The Vicious Circle''. After the party Hale went on to the theater with Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Morgan to see the Stokes' play ''
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
''. After an evening on the town, Hale returned to her home at the Hampshire House—at about 1:15 am, leaving a large number of friends partying at the
21 Club The 21 Club, often simply 21, was a traditional American cuisine restaurant and former prohibition-era speakeasy, located at 21 West 52nd Street in New York City. Prior to its closure in 2020, the club had been active for 90 years, and it had h ...
. According to Pamela Hamilton, Hale's biographer, she died at 6:15 am on October 21, 1938, still wearing her favorite Madame X black velvet dress with a corsage of small yellow roses, given to her by Noguchi. Detectives reported to the press that she "fell or jumped," though Hamilton raises the question of possible foul play. Hamilton reports that weeks after Hale's death, the tabloids claimed it was suicide, but there was no definitive evidence. Hamilton based her claims on the evidence she uncovered during 20 years of research, and which she has in her possession. '' The New York Times'' and newspapers nationwide covered her death. It became clear that Baruch had used his influence to mute the reporting of Hale's death and diffuse his involvement in the affair. In his interview for the Herrera book on Frida Kahlo, Noguchi would say of Hale:
She was very beautiful girl, all my girls are beautiful. I went to London with her in 1933. Bucky ( Buckminster Fuller) and I were there the night before she did it. I remember very well she said, 'Well that's the end of the vodka. There isn't any more.' Just like that you know. I wouldn't have thought of it much, except afterward I realized that that's what she was talking about. Dorothy was very pretty, and she traveled in this false world. She didn't want to be second to anybody, and she must have thought she was slipping.
Hale biographer Pamela Hamilton questions the assumptions that have been made by "friends" and by the press.


Frida Kahlo painting

Hale's friend
Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which h ...
, an ardent admirer of Mexican artist
Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...
, almost immediately commissioned Kahlo to paint a ''recuerdo'' (remembrance) portrait of their deceased mutual friend, so that in Kahlo's words: "her life must not be forgotten". Luce understood a ''recuerdo'' to be an idealized memorial portrait and was doubtless expecting a conventional over-the-fireplace portrait for her $400. After being shown in March in Paris, the completed painting arrived in August 1939: Luce claims she was so shocked by the unwrapped painting that she "almost passed out". What Kahlo created was a graphic, narrative '' retablo'', detailing every step of Hale's alleged suicide. It depicts Hale standing on the balcony, falling to her death while also lying on the bloody pavement below. Luce was so offended that she seriously considered destroying it, but instead, she had the sculptor Isamu Noguchi paint out the part of the legend that bore Luce's name. Luce simply left the work crated up in the care of Frank Crowninshield, only to be presented with it again decades later, when Crowninshield's heirs discovered it in storage. She donated it anonymously to the Phoenix Art Museum, where it was eventually outed as a Luce donation. The museum retains ownership, although the painting is frequently on tour in exhibitions of Kahlo's works. In 2010, the painting was included in a "sweeping view" of Noguchi's career in the "On Becoming an Artist: Isamu Noguchi and His Contemporaries, 1922-1960" show at the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, Queens, New York City.


Portrayals and dramatizations


Stage play

''The Rise of Dorothy Hale'', written by Myra Bairstow, premiered
off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at the St. Luke's Theater on September 30, 2007. The play explores the life and death of Hale through the creative process of Frida Kahlo. Questions are raised as to whether Hale's death was a suicide or a murder. The original cast members were Emmy Award winner Michael Badalucco,
Patrick Boll Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick o ...
,
Sarita Choudhury Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury (born 18 August 1966) is a British actress, known for her role as Mina in the Mira Nair-directed feature film ''Mississippi Masala'' (1991). Choudhury has played roles in American and international films and tel ...
,
Laura Koffman Laura Bonarrigo-Koffman (born Laura Bonarrigo) is an American actress. Early life Laura Bonarrigo was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. She became a member of ''The Shoestring Players'', a professional children’s theater group, while still in ...
, Sarah Wynter, and
Mark LaMura Mark LaMura (October 18, 1948 – September 11, 2017) was an American actor. His name was occasionally spelled as Mark La Mura or Mark Lamura. Early years LaMura was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, one of six siblings born to Robert E. LaMur ...
. The cast and playwright of ''The Rise of Dorothy Hale'' were featured guests of
NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
on October 18, 2007, to ring the closing bell.


Biography

''Lady Be Good: The Life and Times of Dorothy Hale'', written by former NBC News producer Pamela Hamilton, was published on March 31, 2021, to critical acclaim. Drawing on original research, the fictionalized biography portrays Hale as a smart, talented, determined woman, upending the widely held belief that Hale was hapless. At the heart of the novel is Hale's friendship with
Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which h ...
and the life they led together in café society. Hamilton spent two decades conducting research on Hale, her life, and her friends. Lady Be Good received a
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
starred review and was selected as a Kirku
Best Indie Book of the Year
as well as a Booklife by Publishers Weeklybr>Editors Pick
It has won the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Benjamin Franklin Award, th
National Indie Excellence Award
the Royal Dragonfly Book Award in the Fiction and Historical Fiction categories, the Mark Twain Book Award for Humor and Satire, and others. Reviewers of the book included famed artist
Ashley Longshore Sarah Ashley Longshore is a Louisiana-based painter and entrepreneur. She is the owner of the Longshore Studio Gallery, located on Magazine Street in New Orleans. Longshore's art focuses on pop culture, Hollywood glamour, and American consumerism ...
, who said "''Lady Be Good'' is an absolute candy dish of luxury, opulence, and grandeur. A lens into the upper echelon of the Roaring 20s."
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winner and ''New York Times'' bestselling author Bill Dedman said: "Meticulously researched and well told, ''Lady be Good'' is a magnificent debut novel that takes readers on an enthralling and heartbreaking journey. Hamilton beautifully captures the themes of love and betrayal, class and culture, and the price of fame."


References


External links

*
Hale Biographer Pamela Hamilton website

Kirkus Reviews starred review of Lady Be Good: The Life and Times of Dorothy Hale

Publishers Weekly review of Lady Be Good: The Life and Times of Dorothy Hale

Hampshire House website



The Phoenix Art Museum website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Dorothy 1905 births 1938 suicides 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American socialites American stage actresses Actresses from New York (state) Actresses from Pennsylvania Suicides by jumping in New York City 1938 deaths Female suicides