Early life

She was born Dorothy Herskind on August 6, 1911 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 . As a child she often sang in church and developed good vocability. She first appeared on stage at the age of seven.

Hollywood years

She first began her singing and acting career in several of Ziegfeld's shows and then appeared in Vitaphone shorts that ran twenty minutes in length. In time, interest was growing with young Dorothy and by 1934 she was signed under contract to Warner Bros. Studios and made her debut in Very Close Vangs (1934). In time she found herself co-starring with the likes of Dick Powell

Dick Powell

Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...

, Bette Davis

Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...

, George Brent

George Brent

George Brent was an Irish film and television actor in American cinema.-Early life:He was born George Brendan Nolan in Raharabeg, County Roscommon on the opposite bank of the River Shannon from the town of Shannonbridge, County Offaly, Ireland, the son of a British Army officer.During the Irish...

, Ross Alexander

Ross Alexander

Ross Alexander was an American stage and film actor.- Early life :Born Alexander Ross Smith in Brooklyn, New York, Alexander began his acting career in Broadway productions during the 1920s. By 1926 he was regarded as a promising leading man, with good looks and an easy and charming style and...

, Gloria Stuart

Gloria Stuart

Gloria Frances Stuart was an American actress, activist, painter, bonsai artist and fine printer. Over a Hollywood career which spanned, with a long break in the middle, from 1932 until 2004, she appeared on stage, television, and film, for which she was best-known...

, and Irene Dunne

Irene Dunne

Irene Dunne was an American film actress and singer of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performances in Cimarron , Theodora Goes Wild , The Awful Truth , Love Affair and I Remember Mama...

 in full length featured films by 1935.

During the 1930s, she starred in a string of successful films such as Gold Diggers of 1935

Gold Diggers of 1935

Gold Diggers of 1935 is a Warner Bros. musical film directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley and starring Dick Powell, Gloria Stuart, Adolphe Menjou, Winifred Shaw, Alice Brady, Hugh Herbert and Frank McHugh...

, Front Page Woman

Front Page Woman

Front Page Woman is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay by Roy Chanslor, Laird Doyle, and Lillie Hayward is based on the novel Women Are Bum Newspapermen by Richard Macauley.-Plot:...

(1935), High Hat

High Hat

High Hat is an album compiling tracks from Boy George's second and third UK and European solo albums, Tense Nervous Headache and Boyfriend.-Overview:...

(1937), and Clothes and the Woman (1937). She sang such songs as Red Headed and Blue and Yoo Hoo Hoo.

Later life and death

By the late 1930s and early 1940s, Dare began to lose parts. In 1942, she made her final film appearance as Peggy in The Yanks Are Coming

The Yanks Are Coming (1942 film)

- Cast :*Henry King*Mary Healy*Jack Heller*Max Rosenbloom *William Roberts*Harry Parke*Dorothy Dare*Lynn Starr*Jane Novak*Dave O'Brien*Forrest Taylor*Charles Purcell*Lew Pollack*Henry King's Orchestra- Soundtrack :...

and in 1944 she sang her last musical number in Musical Movieland. Dare left movies and moved to Orange County, California

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

. She seldom granted interviews or wrote about her Hollywood years.

In 1981, she died of natural causes at her home. She was buried in Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar, Orange County, California

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

.

Death controversy

When her death certificate was issued it confirmed that she had been a former actress for Warner Bros. Studios; in later years, an actress residing in New York City claimed that she was Dorothy Dare but further investigations proved that these claims were untrue.

Filmography

• The Yanks Are Coming (1942) .... Peggy
• Cut Out for Love (1937) .... Dorothy
• Clothes and the Woman (1937) .... Carol Dixon
• Rose of Tralee (1937) .... Jean Hale
• High Hat (1937) .... Elanda Lee
• Romance of the West (1935)
• Front Page Woman (1935) .... Mae LaRue
• Springtime in Holland (1935)
• Gold Diggers of 1935 .... Arline Davis
• Maybe It's Love (1935) .... Lila
• Sweet Adeline (1934) .... Dot - Band Leader
• The St. Louis Kid (1934) .... Gracie Smith
• Happiness Ahead (1934) .... Josie
• Syncopated City (1934) .... Hal's Assistant/The New Mayor
• The Winnah! (1934) .... Dorothy
• Private Lessons (1934) .... Babs Henderson
• Very Close Veins (1934)

Short Subjects

• Musical Movieland (1944)
• Private Lessons (1934)
• Happiness Ahead (1934)

Stage appearances

• The Only Girl (1934)
• Strike Me Pink (1933)
• Manhattan Vanities (1932)
• Here Comes the Groom (1931)
• America's Sweetheart (1931)

External links