Dorothy Lamour

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Dorothy Lamour in an Argentine magazine (1938)

Dorothy Lamour , actually Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton (born December 10, 1914 in New Orleans , † September 22, 1996 in Los Angeles ), was an American actress.

biography

Dorothy Lamour, the trained stenographer, won the title of "Miss New Orleans" at a beauty pageant in 1931 and then went to Chicago to become a professional singer. She received her first attention as a singer in Herbie Kay's band . In 1935 she received her own music program on the NBC radio station ; she also sang on the popular radio show by Rudy Vallee . She chose her stage name "Lamour" based on the name of her stepfather, Carlo Lambour.

Dorothy Lamour made her film debut in 1933 in Lloyd Bacon's musical Footlight Parade , a revue film in which she appeared in a tiny supporting role alongside James Cagney and Joan Blondell . In 1936 she signed a seven-year studio contract with Paramount Pictures . It was the same year in The Jungle Princess as a sort of female Tarzan alongside Ray Milland used. As a child of nature, Lamour wore an extremely tight sarong tailor-made by Edith Head , which flattered her figure and showed as many curves as the censor would just allow. Lamour was therefore also presented as a sarong girl by the studio .

In later years, Lamour played endless repetitions of her first major role. Whether she appeared as Ulah, Aloma, Tura or Lona in strips like Her Jungle Love , Tropic Holiday or Beyond the Blue Horizon , Lamour always exuded a good mood and a touch of self-irony with her bathing scenes in the studio's own lagoons. In 1937 she was loaned to Samuel Goldwyn for the disaster film ... then the hurricane came as part of a loan-out , which presented her again in a sarong. Lamour's exotic charisma was well cast in High, Wide, and Handsome , which was lavishly produced for $ 1.8 million and presented Irene Dunne in a musical with original score by Jerome Kern and directed by Rouben Mamoulian as a circus princess in 1937 . In the same year, she had a supporting role in Swing High, Swing Low, alongside Carole Lombard .

In 1940 she finally made the film that she was to make part of American folklore: The Road to Singapore . In addition to Bing Crosby and Bob Hope , Lamour made a total of six films from the Road series, in which she is always the girl Bing and Bob fight over. While the two perform their funny dialogues (many of them were improvised, so-called ad-libs ), Lamour was decorative on the sidelines and was occasionally allowed to give one or the other punch line. The films were a mix of adventure, slapstick, and inside jokes.

Lamour played her personal favorite role in 1940 alongside Tyrone Power in Johnny Apollo , a drama about violence and love. Seldom was Lamour's talent for comedy as well used as it was in Masquerade, Mexico , in 1944 , the remake of Claudette Colbert's film Midnight . During the Second World War, Dorothy Lamour was one of the most popular pin-up girls for American soldiers - alongside Betty Grable , Rita Hayworth , Jane Russell and Lana Turner . She was also one of the first Hollywood stars to use its popularity to advertise war bond sales .

After the war, Dorothy Lamour's film career stalled. The studio tried to present Lamour as a film noir heroine alongside Sterling Hayden in Manhandled in 1948 , but the slogan You've never seen a Lamour like this did not lure viewers to the cinema either. She last appeared in a road film in 1952, this time to Bali, and then retired into private life.

She later embarked on a new career as a nightclub entertainer; occasionally she also appeared on theatrical stages. In the 1960s she returned to film for a few supporting roles, but also turned increasingly to serious acting. At the end of the decade, she joined an ensemble for a year with the musical Hello, Dolly! went on tour. In the 1970s, Lamour performed successfully in dinner theaters. In 1980 she published her autobiography , entitled My Side of the Road , re-performed her nightclub number, and appeared in drama and television. In the 1990s she only worked occasionally as an actress, but continued to be present in the media through talk shows and interviews. In 1995, Johnny Burke's musical Swinging on the Star was released on Broadway ; Lamour was on the production staff as a "special advisor". Burke had written the songs for many road films and the music for And the Angels Sing (1944). The show ran on Broadway for only three months, but was nominated for a Tony Award (best music). Even Kathy Fitzgerald - the actress who portrayed in the play Dorothy Lamour - received a nomination.

Dorothy Lamour died at the age of 81 in her North Hollywood home .

Lamour was married to the musician Herbie Kaye (real name: Herbie Kaumyer) from 1935 to 1939; the marriage ended in divorce. In 1943 she married the businessman William Ross Howard III, with whom they had a son.

Awards

Dorothy Lamour has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , for her achievements in film (at 6332 Hollywood Blvd) and on radio (at 6240 Hollywood Blvd).

In 1948 she won a Golden Apple Award for Most Cooperative Actress.

In 1988 she was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her participation in the horror comedy Creepshow 2 .

Filmography

cinemamovies

Television appearances

  • 1952: Hollywood Opening Night (episode 2x08)
  • 1952: The Colgate Comedy Hour
  • 1953/54: Toast of the Town
  • 1954: A Star Is Born World Premiere
  • 1955: Damon Runyon Theater (episode 1x13)
  • 1955/58: What's My Line?
  • 1957: The Steve Allen Show
  • 1963: To Tell the Truth
  • 1964: The Celebrity Game
  • 1964: Amos Burke ( Burke's Law , 2 episodes)
  • 1966: The Hollywood Palace
  • 1967: Tennis rackets and cannons ( I Spy , episode 3x06)
  • 1967: Dateline: Hollywood
  • 1968: The Joey Bishop Show
  • 1969: The Name of the Game (episode 2x05)
  • 1970: Where Love Falls ( Love, American Style , Episode 1x14)
  • 1971: Dr. med. Marcus Welby ( Marcus Welby, MD , episode 3x10)
  • 1976: Death at Love House
  • 1978: Happy Birthday, Bob
  • 1980: Love Boat ( The Love Boat , episode 4x11)
  • 1984: Hard but warm ( Hart to Hart , episode 5x14)
  • 1984: Remington Steele (episode 3x09)
  • 1986: The Cases of Harry Fox ( Crazy Like a Fox , episode 2x20)
  • 1987: Happy 100th Birthday Hollywood
  • 1987: Murder is her hobby ( Murder, She Wrote , episode 3x19)

Autobiography

  • My Side on the Road, (Prentice-Hall) 1980

literature

  • American National Biography. Supplement 1, New York (Oxford University Press) 2002, pp. 338-339.

Web links

Commons : Dorothy Lamour  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Lamour, Dorothy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Slaton, Mary Leta Dorothy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film actress
DATE OF BIRTH December 10, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH New Orleans
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1996
Place of death los Angeles