Constance Dowling was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 model

Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

 turned actress of the 1940s and 1950s.

Early life and career

Born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Dowling was a model and chorus girl before moving to California in 1943. She was the elder sister of actress Doris Dowling

Doris Dowling

Doris Dowling was an American actress of film, stage and television.After her time as a chorus-girl on Broadway, Detroit-born Doris Dowling followed her elder sister Constance to Hollywood. Her first credited film role was that of Gloria, barfly and drinking companion to fellow alcoholic Ray...

. Prior to her move to Hollywood, Dowling appeared in several Broadway productions, including Panama Hattie

Panama Hattie

Panama Hattie is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. It is also the title of a 1942 MGM musical based upon the play...

(with sister Doris), Hold On To Your Hats, and The Strings, My Lord, Are False. Dowling began her screen career appearing in Up in Arms

Up in Arms

Up in Arms is a 1944 film directed by Elliott Nugent. It stars Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore. It was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1945.-Cast:*Danny Kaye as Danny Weems*Dinah Shore as Nurse Lt. Virginia Merrill*Dana Andrews as Joe Nelson...

(1944) for Samuel Goldwyn

Samuel Goldwyn

Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...

. She appeared in a few films after that, including the film noir

Film noir

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...

 Black Angel

Black Angel

Black Angel is a 1946 film noir, based on the novel The Black Angel by Cornell Woolrich. The film was director Roy William Neill's last film.-Plot:...

(1946) but her film career did not advance.

Dowling lived in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 in 1947 through 1950 and appeared in some unmemorable Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 films. Dowling returned to Hollywood in the 1950s and landed a part in the sci-fi film Gog

Gog (film)

Gog is a 1954 science fiction film directed by Herbert L. Strock and released in 1954 by United Artists. It is notable for having been shot in color, widescreen and 3-D...

, her last film.

Personal life

Dowling had been involved in a long affair with married director Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...

 in New York. He couldn't bring himself to leave his wife and the affair ended when Dowling went to Hollywood under contract to Goldwyn. She was later linked with Italian poet/novelist Cesare Pavese

Cesare Pavese

Cesare Pavese was an Italian poet, novelist, literary critic and translator; he is widely considered among the major authors of the 20th century in his home country.- Early life and education :...

 who committed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 in 1950 after being rejected by Dowling. One of his last poems is entitled "Death Will Come and Look at Me with Your Eyes".

In 1955, Dowling married film producer Ivan Tors

Ivan Tors

Ivan Tors was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater filmed television and films, and films about animals...

, with whom she had three sons: Steven, David, and Peter Tors, as well as a foster child, Alfred Ndwego of Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. She retired from acting after this marriage.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1944	Up in Arms	Nurse Lt. Mary Morgan
	Knickerbocker Holiday Knickerbocker Holiday Knickerbocker Holiday is a musical written by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson ; it was directed by Joshua Logan. Among the songs introduced was the "September Song", now considered a pop standard.- History :...	Tina Tienhoven
1946	The Well-Groomed Bride	Rita Sloane
	Black Angel Black Angel Black Angel is a 1946 film noir, based on the novel The Black Angel by Cornell Woolrich. The film was director Roy William Neill's last film.-Plot:...	Mavis Marlowe
	Boston Blackie and the Law	Dinah Moran	Alternative title: Blackie and the Law
1947	Addio Mimí!	Student	Alternative title: Her Wonderful Lie
	Blind Spot	Evelyn Green
	The Flame	Helen Anderson
1948	Città dolente	Lubitza	Alternative title: City of Pain
1949	Duello Senza Onore	Olga	Alternative title: Duel Without Honor
	Follie Per l'Opera	Margaret Jones	Alternative title: Mad About Opera
	Una Voce nel tuo Cuore	Dolly	Alternative title: A Voice in your Heart
1950	Miss Italia	Lilly
	La Strada finisce sul fiume	Barbara	Alternative title: Stormbound
1951	Nash Airflyte Theatre		TV, 1 episode
	Pulitzer Prize Playhouse Pulitzer Prize Playhouse The Pulitzer Prize Playhouse is an American television anthology drama series which offered adaptations of Pulitzer Prize winning plays, stories and novels. The distinguished journalist Elmer Davis was the host and narrator of this 1950-52 ABC series....		TV, 1 episode
	The Adventures of Ellery Queen The Adventures of Ellery Queen The Adventures of Ellery Queen is the title of a radio series and four separate television series made from the 1950s through the 1970s. They were based on the fictional character and pseudonymous writer Ellery Queen.-Radio:...		TV, 1 episode
	Cosmopolitan Theatre		TV, 1 episode
1951–1952	Lights Out		TV, 2 episodes
1953–1954	City Detective		TV, 2 episodes
1954	Gog Gog (film) Gog is a 1954 science fiction film directed by Herbert L. Strock and released in 1954 by United Artists. It is notable for having been shot in color, widescreen and 3-D...	Joanna Merritt
1955	Fireside Theater Fireside Theater Fireside Theater is an American anthology drama series that ran from on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Stories were low budget and often based on public domain stories or written by freelance writers such as Rod Serling. While it was panned...	Betty	TV, 1 episode

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