Dorothy Frooks
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Frooks was an American
author, publisher, military figure and actress. An intriguing figure for most of her long life, Frooks was active in public affairs and in the military.
In 1934, she ran on the Law Preservation
ticket for U.S. Representative-at-large
.
She worked as a writer for the New York Evening World and published the Murray Hill News in 1952. She also wrote a pamphlet, entitled Labor Courts Outlaw Strikes, calling for the establishment of a labor court.
As an author, Frooks wrote many fiction and nonfiction books, including The Olympic Torch, The American Heart and Lady Lawyer, her autobiography.
A veteran of both World War I
(United States Navy
) and World War II
(United States Army
), Frooks also served as the National Commander of the Women World War Veterans.
Frooks appeared as one of 'The Witnesses' in Warren Beatty's 1981 film Reds along with fellow centenarian
radicals Scott Nearing
and George Seldes
. Frooks, Nearing and Seldes were all first-hand witnesses of the red-baiting
, McCarthyism
, and Cold War
hysteria of the 1950s.
Frooks died in 1997 at the age of 101.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, publisher, military figure and actress. An intriguing figure for most of her long life, Frooks was active in public affairs and in the military.
In 1934, she ran on the Law Preservation
Law Preservation Party
The Law Preservation Party was a New York State regional political party of the 1930s, which supported the continuance of Prohibition in the United States....
ticket for U.S. Representative-at-large
New York's At-large congressional district
Briefly from 1873 to 1875, and 1883-1885 with one representative respectively, and again from 1933 through 1945, after New York was apportioned two extra seats in the United States House of Representatives, the state elected representatives at-large, instead of from districts...
.
She worked as a writer for the New York Evening World and published the Murray Hill News in 1952. She also wrote a pamphlet, entitled Labor Courts Outlaw Strikes, calling for the establishment of a labor court.
As an author, Frooks wrote many fiction and nonfiction books, including The Olympic Torch, The American Heart and Lady Lawyer, her autobiography.
A veteran of both World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
) and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
), Frooks also served as the National Commander of the Women World War Veterans.
Frooks appeared as one of 'The Witnesses' in Warren Beatty's 1981 film Reds along with fellow centenarian
Centenarian
A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...
radicals Scott Nearing
Scott Nearing
Scott Nearing was an American radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, and advocate of simple living.-The early years:...
and George Seldes
George Seldes
George Seldes was an American investigative journalist and media critic. The writer and critic Gilbert Seldes was his younger brother. Actress Marian Seldes is his niece....
. Frooks, Nearing and Seldes were all first-hand witnesses of the red-baiting
Red-baiting
Red-baiting is the act of accusing, denouncing, attacking or persecuting an individual or group as communist, socialist, or anarchist, or sympathetic toward communism, socialism, or anarchism. The word "red" in "red-baiting" is derived from the red flag signifying radical left-wing politics. In the...
, McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
, and Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
hysteria of the 1950s.
Frooks died in 1997 at the age of 101.
External links
- Dorothy Frooks papers finding aid at New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
- Dorothy Frooks, Lady Lawyer
- Dorothy Frooks, Lawyer and Suffragist, Dies New York Times, April 19, 1997