Lamour, Dorothy

From New World Encyclopedia
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{{epname|Lamour, Dorothy}}
 
{{epname|Lamour, Dorothy}}
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{{Infobox person
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| name          = Dorothy Lamour
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| image        = DOROTHYLamour (cropped).jpg
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| caption      = Lamour in 1945
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| birth_name    = Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton
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| birth_date    = {{birth date|1914|12|10|mf=yes}}
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| birth_place  = [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], U.S.
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| death_date    = {{death date and age|1996|09|22|1914|12|10|mf=yes}}
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| death_place  = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
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| resting_place = [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]],<br>Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| other_names  =
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| occupation    = {{hlist|Actress|singer}}
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| years_active  = 1933–1995
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| spouse        = {{marriage|Herbie Kay|1935|1939|reason=divorced}}<br>{{marriage|William Ross Howard III|1943|1978|reason=died}}
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| children      = 2
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| website      =
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}}
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'''Dorothy Lamour''' (born '''Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton'''; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the ''[[Road to...]]'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Bob Hope]].<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news| title=Dorothy Lamour, 81, Sultry Sidekick in Road Films, Dies| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=September 23, 1996| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/23/us/dorothy-lamour-81-sultry-sidekick-in-road-films-dies.html?scp=66&sq=murder%20she%20wrote&st=cse| access-date=August 20, 2010| first=Richard| last=Severo}}</ref>
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Lamour began her career in the 1930s as a [[big band]] singer. In 1936, she moved to Hollywood, where she signed with [[Paramount Pictures]]. Her appearance as Ulah in ''[[The Jungle Princess]]'' (1936) brought her fame and marked the beginning of her image as the "[[Sarong]] Queen".
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In 1940, Lamour made her first ''Road series'' comedy film ''[[Road to Singapore]]''. The ''Road series'' films were popular during the 1940s. The sixth film in the series, ''[[Road to Bali]]'', was released in 1952. By this time, Lamour's screen career began to wane, and she focused on stage and television work. In 1961, Crosby and Hope teamed for ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'', but actress [[Joan Collins]] was cast as the female lead. Lamour made a brief appearance and sang a song near the end of that film.
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In the 1970s, Lamour revived her nightclub act, and in 1980, released her autobiography ''My Side of the Road''. She made her final movie appearance in 1987.
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Lamour married her second husband, William Ross Howard III, in 1943. They had two sons and remained married until Howard's death in 1978. Lamour died at her home in 1996 at the age of 81.
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==Early life==
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Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton<ref>{{cite book| last1=Lamour| first1= Dorothy| first2=Dick| last2=McInnes| publisher=Prentice-Hall| year=1980| isbn=978-0132185943| quote=It does get a little confusing; for example, my full name would be Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton Lambour Lamour Kay Kaumeyer Howard if you keep count. But at this point, I was just terribly happy to be Mrs. Herbie Kay.| title=My Side of the Road| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQbeA1a0ze0C&q=kaumeyer+howard| page=39}}</ref> was born on December 10, 1914, in [[New Orleans]],<ref name=HS477>{{cite book| title=Hollywood Songsters: Garland to O'Connor| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3HWDtBhLykC&q=lamour| page=477| isbn=978-0415943338| first1=James Robert |last1=Parish| first2=Michael R. |last2=Pitts| publisher=Taylor & Francis| year=2003}}</ref> the daughter of Carmen Louise (née LaPorte; 1892–1930) and John Watson Slaton{{efn-lr|State of Louisiana, Parish of Orleans, First City Court of New Orleans marriage license states name of groom as "John Wilson Slaton". His mother's was Leta Wilson (also noted on license).}} (1895–1963), both of whom were waiters.<ref>{{cite web |last1=LoBianco |first1=Lorraine |title=Starring Dorothy Lamour |url=http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/411177%7C411178/Dorothy-Lamour-Profile.html |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=August 28, 2018}}</ref> Lamour was of Spanish with some English, French and possibly also distant Irish descent. Her parents' marriage lasted only a few years. Her mother married for the second time to Clarence Lambour, whose surname Dorothy later adopted and modified as her stage name.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| title=Dorothy Lamour| last=Room| first=Adrian| work=Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins| edition=5th| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSIhzKnNUf4C&q=dorothy+lamour| date= 2014| publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-0786457632| page=272}}</ref> That marriage also ended in divorce when Dorothy was a teenager.
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[[File:Dorothy Lamour in Road to Bali.jpg|right|thumb|Lamour in ''[[Road to Bali]]'' (1952)]]
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Lamour quit school at age 14. After taking a business course, she worked as a secretary to support herself and her mother. She began entering beauty pageants, was crowned Miss New Orleans in 1931, and went on to compete in Galveston's Pageant of Pulchritude.<ref>{{cite video |title=The Rosenberg Library Collection – Pageant of Pulchritude and Oleanders (1931) |publisher=Rosenberg Library and Texas Archive of the Moving Image |date=1931 |url=https://texasarchive.org/2015_01971}}</ref> Miss Lamour was close friends with Dorothy Dell, who was in the [[Ziegfeld Follies]]. Lamour used the prize money to support herself while she worked in a stock theatre company. She and her mother later moved to Chicago. Lamour found a job working at [[Marshall Field's]] department store, working as an elevator operator at the age of 16. Her boss, Douglas Singleterry, referred to her as 'Dolly Face'; he also recalled that she'd spend a lot of her time auditioning around Chicago. She was discovered by orchestra leader [[Herbie Kay]] when he spotted her in performance at a Chicago talent show held at the Hotel Morrison. She had an audition the next day; Kay hired her as a singer for his orchestra and, in 1935, Lamour went on tour with him. Her work with Kay eventually led Lamour to [[vaudeville]] and work in radio.<ref name= HS477 /> In 1935, she had her own 15-minute weekly musical program on [[NBC Radio]]. Lamour also sang on the popular [[Rudy Vallée]] radio show and ''[[The Chase and Sanborn Hour]]''. On January 30, 1944, Lamour starred in "For This We Live", an episode of ''[[Silver Theater (radio program)|Silver Theater]]'' on CBS radio.<ref>{{cite news| title=Drama| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2108508/st_dorothy_lamour/| work=[[Lincoln Journal Star|Nebraska State Journal]]| date=January 30, 1944| page=36| via=Newspapers.com| access-date=March 31, 2015| archive-date=April 2, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123451/http://www.newspapers.com/clip/2108508/st_dorothy_lamour/| url-status=dead}}</ref>
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==Career==
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In 1936, Lamour moved to Hollywood. Around that time, Carmen married her third husband, Ollie Castleberry, and the family lived in Los Angeles.<ref>1940 United States Federal Census</ref> That same year, she did a [[screen test]] for [[Paramount Pictures]] and signed a contract with them.<ref name=parish>{{cite book| last1=Parish| first1=James Robert |last2=Pitts| first2=Michael R.| title=Hollywood Songsters: Singers Who Act and Actors Who Sing: A Biographical Dictionary| volume=2| year=2003| publisher=Taylor & Francis| isbn=978-0415937757| page=447}}</ref>
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Lamour made her first film for Paramount, ''[[College Holiday]]'' (1936), in which she has a bit part as an uncredited dancer.
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===''The Jungle Princess'' and "sarong" roles===
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Her second film for Paramount, ''[[The Jungle Princess]]'' (1936) with [[Ray Milland]], solidified her fame. In the film, Lamour plays the role of "Ulah", a jungle native who wore an [[Edith Head]]-designed [[sarong]] throughout the film. ''The Jungle Princess'' was a big hit for the studio and Lamour would be associated with sarongs for the rest of her career. It also gave her a hit song "Moonlight and Shadows".<ref>{{cite book| last=Jorgensen| first=Jay| title=Edith Head: The Fifty-Year Career of Hollywood's Greatest Costume Designer| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyjob_gq3yoC&q=lamour|year= 2010| publisher=Running Press| location=Philadelphia| isbn=978-0-762-44173-0| pages=50–51}}</ref>
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She followed it with a support role in a [[Carole Lombard]]–[[Fred MacMurray]] musical ''[[Swing High, Swing Low (film)|Swing High, Swing Low]]'' (1937) where she got to sing "Panamania". She was top billed in ''[[The Last Train from Madrid]]'' (1937).
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Lamour supported [[Irene Dunne]] and [[Randolph Scott]] in ''[[High, Wide and Handsome]]'' (1937), singing "The Things I Want". [[Sam Goldwyn]] borrowed her for [[John Ford]]'s ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]'' (1937), where she was back in a sarong playing an island princess alongside [[Jon Hall (actor)|Jon Hall]]. Her swimming and diving scenes were handled by stunt double [[Lila Shanley|Lila Finn]], who at one point dropped the sarong and was filmed diving into a lagoon in the nude.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_dCqCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32| title=Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story| first=Mollie| last=Gregory| year=2015| publisher=University Press of Kentucky| location=Lexington| isbn=978-0-813-16624-7| page=32}}</ref> The film was a massive success and gave Lamour another hit song with "The Moon of Manakoora".
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Lamour had a cameo in ''[[Thrill of a Lifetime (film)|Thrill of a Lifetime]]'' (1937) and was third billed in ''[[The Big Broadcast of 1938]]'' (1938) after [[W.C. Fields]] and [[Martha Raye]]; the cast also included [[Bob Hope]] in an early appearance.
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Paramount reunited her with Milland and a sarong for ''[[Her Jungle Love]]'' (1938). ''[[Tropic Holiday]]'' (1938) cast her as a Mexican alongside [[Bob Burns (humorist)|Bob Burns]], Raye and Milland, then she supported [[George Raft]] and [[Henry Fonda]] in the adventure film ''[[Spawn of the North]]'' (1938). Raft was meant to be Lamour's leading man in ''[[St. Louis Blues (1939 film)|St. Louis Blues]]'' (1939) but he turned down the part and was replaced by Lloyd Nolan.
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Lamour was [[Jack Benny]]'s leading lady in the musical ''[[Man About Town (1939 film)|Man About Town]]'' (1939) then played a Chinese girl in a melodrama, ''[[Disputed Passage]]'' (1939).
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===The "Road" movies===
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[[Image:Dorothy Lamour in Road to Singapore trailer.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dorothy Lamour]]
 
[[Image:Dorothy Lamour in Road to Singapore trailer.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dorothy Lamour]]
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[[File:Dorothy Lamour in Road to Bali 3.jpg|thumb|left|Lamour in ''[[Road to Bali]]'' (1952)]]
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In 1940, Lamour starred in ''[[Road to Singapore]]'', a spoof of Lamour's "sarong" films. It was originally meant to co-star [[Fred MacMurray]] and [[Jack Oakie]], then [[George Burns]] and [[Gracie Allen]], before Paramount decided to use [[Bob Hope]] and [[Bing Crosby]]; Lamour was billed after Crosby and above Hope. The two male stars began ad-libbing during filming. "I was trying to follow the script but just couldn't get my lines out", she said later. "Finally, I realised that I should just get the general idea of a scene rather than learn the words by heart, then go along with the boys." Said Hope, "Dottie is one of the bravest gals in pictures. She stands there before the camera and ad-libs with Crosby and me knowing that the way the script is written she'll come second or third best, but she fears nothing."<ref>{{cite news| last=Vallance| first=Ton| date=September 24, 1996| title=Obituary: Dorothy Lamour| newspaper=The Independent| location=London| url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/312518321| id={{ProQuest|312518321}}}}</ref>
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The movie was a solid hit and response to the team was enthusiastic.
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[[20th Century Fox]] borrowed her to play [[Tyrone Power]]'s leading lady in the gangster film ''[[Johnny Apollo (film)|Johnny Apollo]]'' (1940). She sang "This is the Beginning of the End" and "Dancing for Nickels and Dimes".
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It was back to sarongs for ''[[Typhoon (1940 film)|Typhoon]]'' (1940). Her male co-star in the latter was [[Robert Preston (actor)|Robert Preston]] who was also with Lamour in ''[[Moon Over Burma]]'' (1940). Fox borrowed her again for ''[[Chad Hanna]]'' (1941) with [[Henry Fonda]].
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Response to ''Road to Singapore'' had been such that Paramount reunited Lamour, Hope and Crosby in ''[[Road to Zanzibar]]'' (1941) which was even more successful and eventually led to a series of pictures (although from this point on Lamour was billed beneath Hope). She and Hope then did ''[[Caught in the Draft]]'' (1941) which was one of the biggest hits of the year.<ref>{{cite news| title=Film Money-makers Selected by Variety:  'Sergeant York' Top Picture Gary Cooper Leading Star| newspaper=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/12/31/archives/film-moneymakers-selected-by-variety-sergeant-york-top-picture-gary.html?searchResultPosition=1| date=December 31, 1941| page=21| url-access=subscription}}</ref>
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Lamour was reunited with her old ''Hurricane'' star, Jon Hall, in ''[[Aloma of the South Seas (1941 film)|Aloma of the South Seas]]'' (1941). She did a popular musical with [[Eddie Bracken]], [[William Holden]] and [[Betty Hutton]], ''[[The Fleet's In]]'' (1942), which gave her a hit song, "I Remember You".
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There was another sarong movie, ''[[Beyond the Blue Horizon (film)|Beyond the Blue Horizon]]'' (1942). Both were well liked by the public but neither was as popular as her third "Road" movie, ''[[Road to Morocco]]'' (1942).<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://archive.org/stream/variety149-1943-01#page/n57/mode/1up| title=101 Pix Gross in Millions|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]| date=November 21, 1943| via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
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Lamour was one of many Paramount stars who did guest shots in ''[[Star Spangled Rhythm]]'' (1942). She and Hope were borrowed by Sam Goldwyn for a comedy ''[[They Got Me Covered]]'' (1943), then she did one with Crosby without Hope, ''[[Dixie (film)|Dixie]]'' (1943), a popular biopic of [[Dan Emmett]].
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During World War II, Lamour was among the more popular [[pinup]] girls among American servicemen, along with [[Betty Grable]], [[Rita Hayworth]], [[Lana Turner]], and [[Veronica Lake]]. Lamour was also known for her volunteer work, selling [[war bond]]s during tours in which movie stars would travel the country selling U.S. government bonds to the public. Lamour reportedly sold $300 million worth of bonds earning her the nickname "The Bond Bombshell". She also volunteered at the [[Hollywood Canteen]] where she would dance and talk to soldiers. In 1965, Lamour was awarded a belated citation from the United States Department of the Treasury for her war bond sales.<ref name=nytimes />
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Lamour made ''[[Melody Inn]]'' (1943) with [[Dick Powell]], then ''[[And the Angels Sing]]'' (1944) with Fred MacMurray and Hutton, where she sang "It Should Happen to You". She made one last sarong movie, ''[[Rainbow Island (1944 film)|Rainbow Island]]'' (1944), co-starring Bracken.
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Lamour played a Mexican in ''[[A Medal for Benny]]'' (1945), based on a story by [[John Steinbeck]], co-starring [[Arturo de Córdova]]. She was one of many Paramount stars to cameo in ''[[Duffy's Tavern (film)|Duffy's Tavern]]'' (1945), then did a fourth "Road", ''[[Road to Utopia]]'' (1945), then ''[[Masquerade in Mexico]]'' (1945) with de Cordova.
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She was in three big hits in a row: ''[[My Favorite Brunette]]'' (1947), a comedy with Hope; ''[[Wild Harvest]]'' (1947), a melodrama with [[Alan Ladd]] and Preston; and ''[[Road to Rio]]'' (1947). She also sang a duet with Ladd in ''[[Variety Girl]]'' (1947). Then she left Paramount.
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===After Paramount===
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[[File:Dorothy Lamour and Bing Crosby in Road to Bali.jpg|thumb|Lamour with [[Bing Crosby]] in ''[[Road to Bali]]'' (1952)]]
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Lamour emceed ''Front and Center'', a 1947 variety comedy show, as a summer replacement for ''[[The Fred Allen Show]]'', with the Army Air Force recruiting as sponsors.<ref name=HS477/> The show changed to ''The Sealtest''<ref>{{cite book| url=https://archive.org/details/onairencyclop00dunn|url-access=registration| page=[https://archive.org/details/onairencyclop00dunn/page/602 602]| quote=Front and Center {{!}} Sealtest Variety Hour Dorothy Lamour.| title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio| first=John| last=Dunning| year= 1998| publisher=Oxford University Press| via=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0199770786}}</ref> ''Variety Theater'' in September<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/_QwoODz2DEU Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140123134920/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QwoODz2DEU Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QwoODz2DEU| title=Sealtest Boris Karloff Halloween Party 1948| via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 1948.
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After leaving Paramount, Lamour made a series of films for producer [[Benedict Bogeaus]]: the all-star comedy ''[[On Our Merry Way]]'' (1948); ''[[Lulu Belle (film)|Lulu Belle]]'' (1948), a melodrama with [[George Montgomery (actor)|George Montgomery]]; and ''[[The Girl from Manhattan]]'' (1948), also with Montgomery.
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She tried two comedies: ''[[The Lucky Stiff]]'' (1949), produced by Jack Benny co-starring [[Brian Donlevy]], then ''[[Slightly French]]'' (1949) with [[Don Ameche]]. ''[[Manhandled (1949 film)|Manhandled]]'' (1950) was a film noir with [[Dan Duryea]] for [[Pine-Thomas]]. None of these films were particularly popular.
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Lamour played a successful season at the London Palladium in 1950 then was in two big hits: ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'' (1952), [[Cecil B. De Mille]]'s circus epic, and ''[[Road to Bali]]'' (1952). However this did not seem to lead to better film offers, and Lamour began concentrating on being a nightclub entertainer and a stage actress.
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She also began working on television, guest starring on ''[[Damon Runyon Theater]]'' and was on Broadway in ''[[Oh Captain!]]'' (1958).
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===1960s===
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Lamour returned to movies with a cameo in the final "Road" film, ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'' (1962); she was replaced as a love interest by [[Joan Collins]] because Bing Crosby wanted a younger actress. However, Bob Hope would not do the film without Lamour, so she appeared in an extended cameo.
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She had a bigger part in [[John Ford]]'s ''[[Donovan's Reef]]'' (1963) with [[John Wayne]] and [[Lee Marvin]], and made guest appearances on shows like ''[[Burke's Law (1963 TV series)|Burke's Law]]'', ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]'' and ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]'', and films such as ''[[Pajama Party (film)|Pajama Party]]'' (1964) and ''[[The Phynx]]'' (1970).
  
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'''Dorothy Lamour''' (December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an [[United States|American]] [[film|motion picture]] [[actor|actress]]. She is probably best-remembered for appearing in the ''[[Road to...]]'' movies, a series of successful comedies co-starring [[Bob Hope]] and [[Bing Crosby]].
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Lamour moved to Baltimore with her family, where she appeared on TV and worked on the city's cultural commission. Then [[David Merrick]] offered her the chance to headline a road company of ''[[Hello, Dolly! (musical)|Hello Dolly!]]'' which she did for over a year near the end of the decade.<ref>{{cite news| last=Scott| first=John L.| date=February 1, 1968| title=No Time for Sarongs for Dorothy Lamour in 'Dolly'| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|155831793}}}}</ref>
  
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==Biography==
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==Singing==
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===Early life===
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Lamour starred in a number of movie musicals and sang in many of her comedies and dramatic films as well. For several years beginning in the late 1930s, [[Harriet Lee (singer)|Harriet Lee]] was her [[voice teacher]].<ref>{{cite news| last=Johnson| first=Erskine| author-link=Erskine Johnson| title=In Hollywood| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61972382/dixon-evening-telegraph-441951/| agency=[[Newspaper Enterprise Association|NEA]]| newspaper=Dixon Evening Telegraph| date=April 4, 1951| page=4| via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Lamour introduced a number of standards, including "[[Manakoora|The Moon of Manakoora]]", "[[I Remember You (1941 song)|I Remember You]]", "[[It Could Happen to You (song)|It Could Happen to You]]", "[[Personality (1946 song)|Personality]]", and "[[But Beautiful (song)|But Beautiful]]".
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Lamour was born '''Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton''' in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], the daughter of Carmen Louise ([[married and maiden names|née]] LaPorte) and John Watson Slaton, both of whom were waiters.<ref>[http://community.mcckc.edu/crosby/lamoubio.htm Dorothy Lamour: 1914-1996] By RICHARD SEVERO</ref> Lamour had [[French Louisiana]]n ethnicity from her [[maternal]] side; she was often mistaken to be of [[South America]]n descent, though her BIO was mentioned on the ''[[Hispanic Hollywood]]'' channel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0483787/bio|title=Biography of Dorothy Lamour on IMDB|accessdate=2008-07-11|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]}}</ref> She did however, have ancestors from [[Spain]] and was also part [[Irish American|Irish]]. Her parents' marriage lasted only a few years, with her mother re-marrying to Clarence [[Lamour]], and Dorothy took his last name. The marriage also ended in divorce when Dorothy was a teenager. The family finances were so desperate that when she was 15, she forged her mother's name to a document that authorized her to drop out of school. Later, however, she did go to a secretarial school that did not require her to have a high school diploma. She regarded herself as an excellent typist and usually typed her own letters, even after she became quite wealthy.  
 
  
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After she won the 1931 Miss New Orleans beauty contest, she and her mother moved to [[Chicago]], where Lamour earned $17 a week as an elevator operator for the [[Marshall Field]] department store on [[State Street (Chicago)|State Street]]. She had no training as a singer but was persuaded by a friend to try out for a female vocalist's spot with [[Herbie Kay]], a band leader who had a national [[radio show]] called "The Yeast Foamers," apparently because it was sponsored by [[Fleischmann's Yeast]].
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==Later years==
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===1970s===
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In the 1970s, Lamour was a popular draw at dinner theatres and in shows such as ''[[Anything Goes]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dorothy Lamour Stars on Stage|date=February 5, 1971|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|156644159}}}}</ref>
  
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She left Kay's group and moved to [[Manhattan]], where [[Rudy Vallee]], then a popular singer, helped her get a singing job at a popular night club, [[El Morocco]]. She later worked at 1 [[Fifth Avenue]], a [[cabaret]] where she met [[Louis B. Mayer]], the [[Hollywood]] studio chief. It was Mayer who eventually arranged for her to have a screen test, which led to her [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] contract in 1935.
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She guest starred on shows such as ''[[Marcus Welby, M.D.]]'' and ''[[The Love Boat]]'' and films like ''[[Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood]]'' (1976) and ''[[Death at Love House]]'' (1976). In 1977, she toured in the play ''Personal Appearance''.<ref>{{cite news| last=Wisehart| first=Bob| date=October 2, 1977| title=The Road yes, films no, for Lamour at 63| newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]| id={{ProQuest|169621710}}}}</ref>
  
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In 1935, she had her own fifteen-minute weekly musical program on [[NBC Radio]]. She also sang on the popular [[Rudy Vallee]] [[radio]] show. When she was at her zenith as a star, her fans suggested that an agent had adopted her last name from the [[French language|French]] word for "love" as a box-office ploy. In fact, the name was close to one in the family; Lamour adapted it herself from Lambour, which was the last name of her stepfather, Clarence.
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Her husband died in 1978, but she continued to work for "therapy".<ref name="therapy"/>
  
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Early in her career, Lamour met [[J. Edgar Hoover]], director of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigations]]. According to Hoover's biographer [[Richard Hack]],<ref>Hack, Richard ''Puppetmaster: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover''. (2007). Phoenix Books. ISBN 1597775126</ref> Hoover pursued Lamour romantically, but she was initially interested only in friendship with him. Hoover and Lamour remained close friends to the end of Hoover's life, and after his 1972 death, Lamour did not deny rumors that she'd had an affair with him in the years after she divorced Kay.
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===1980s===
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In 1980, Lamour published her autobiography ''My Side of the Road'' and revived her nightclub act.<ref>{{cite news| author=Wilson, J. S.|date=February 12, 1982| title=Cabaret: Dorothy Lamour| newspaper=The New York Times| id={{ProQuest|424302078}}}}</ref>
  
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===Career===
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During the remainder of the decade, she performed in plays and television shows such as ''[[Hart to Hart]]'', ''[[Crazy Like a Fox (TV series)|Crazy Like a Fox]]'', ''[[Remington Steele]]'', and ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]''.
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In 1936, she moved to Hollywood and began appearing regularly in films for [[Paramount Pictures]]. The role that made her a star was ''Ulah'' (a sort of female [[Tarzan]]) in ''[[The Jungle Princess]]'' (1936). She wore a [[sarong]], which would become associated with her, and captivated many viewers with her sensuous exotic attractive appearance. While she first achieved stardom as a [[sex symbol]], Lamour also showed talent as both a [[comedy|comic]] and [[drama]]tic actress. She was among the most popular actresses in motion pictures from 1936 to 1952.
 
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[[Image:Dorothy Lamour, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in Road to Bali.jpg|thumb|right|Dorothy Lamour, [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Bob Hope]] in a scene from ''Road to Bali'']]
 
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She appeared in the classic series of "''[[Road to...]]''" movies, such as ''[[Road to Morocco]]'', also starring [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Bob Hope]] in the 1940s and 1950s. The movies were enormously popular during the 1940s, and they regularly placed among the very top moneymaking films each year as a new one came out. While the films centered more on the talents of Hope and Crosby, Lamour held her own as their "[[straight man]]," looked beautiful, and sang some of her most popular songs. Her appearance in the films was considered by the public and theater owners of equal importance to the contributions of Crosby and Hope during the series' golden era, 1940-1952. It was only after the series was essentially over with the release of ''[[Road to Bali]]'' in 1952 and her career declining while  co-stars Hope and Crosby remained major show business figures that her contributions to the series began being downplayed by journalists. During the [[World War II]] years, Lamour was among the most popular [[pinup]] girls among American servicemen, along with [[Betty Grable]], [[Rita Hayworth]], and [[Lana Turner]]. Lamour was also largely responsible for starting up the [[war bond]] tours in which movie stars would travel the country selling war bonds for the U.S. Government to the public. Lamour alone promoted the sale of over $21 million dollars worth of war bonds, and other stars promoted the sale of a billion more.
 
  
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Some of Dorothy Lamour's other notable films include [[John Ford]]'s ''[[The Hurricane (1937 movie)|The Hurricane]]'' (1937), ''[[Spawn of the North]]'' (1938), ''[[Disputed Passage]]'' (1939), ''Johnny Apollo'' (1940), ''[[Aloma of the South Seas]]'' (1941), ''[[Beyond the Blue Horizon]]''  (1942), ''[[Dixie (film)|Dixie]]'' (1943),
+
In 1984, she toured in a production of ''[[Barefoot in the Park]]''.
−
''[[A Medal for Benny]]'' (1945), ''[[My Favorite Brunette]]'' (1947), ''[[On Our Merry Way]]'' (1948) and the best picture [[Academy Award|Oscar]]-winner ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth]]'' (1952). Her leading men included  [[William Holden]], [[Tyrone Power]], [[Ray Milland]], [[Henry Fonda]], [[Jack Benny]], [[George Raft]], and [[Fred MacMurray]].
 
  
−
[[Image:Dorothy Lamour in The Greatest Show on Earth trailer 1.jpg|thumb|left|Dorothy Lamour in ''The Greatest Show on Earth'']]
+
In 1986 she said "I'm still as busy at 71 as I was when I was just a slip of a girl. I do concerts, television and a lot of dinner theatre, where I sing old songs and talk about Bob and Bing and starting out at Paramount at $200 a week and working myself up to $450,000 a picture...I feel wonderful. Age is only in the mind and I'm grateful that God has taken care of me. And I'm very grateful for that sarong. It did a lot for me! But to be truthful, the sarong was never my favorite wearing apparel."<ref name="therapy">{{cite news| last=Mitchell| first=Smyth| date=August 31, 1986| title= Whatever happened to...Dorothy Lamour? 'Sarong Girl' won't stop working| newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]| id={{ProQuest|435476804}}}}</ref>
  
−
Dorothy Lamour starred in a number of movie musicals and sang in many of her comedies and dramatic films as well, introducing a number of standards including "The Moon of Manakoora," "I Remember You," "It Could Happen to You," "Personality," and "But Beautiful." Lamour's film career petered out in the early 1950s and she began a new career as a nightclub entertainer and occasional stage actress. In the 1960s she returned to the screen for secondary roles in three films and became more active in the legitimate theater, headlining a road company of ''[[Hello, Dolly! (musical)|Hello Dolly!]]'' for over a year near the end of the decade.
+
In 1987, she made her last big-screen appearance in the movie ''[[Creepshow 2]]'', appearing with [[George Kennedy]] as an aging couple who are killed during a robbery. The wooden, Native American statue in front of their general store comes to life to avenge their death. The 72-year-old Lamour quipped: "Well, at my age you can't lean against a palm tree and sing 'Moon of Manakoora'", she said. "People would look at that and say 'What is she trying to do?{{'"}}<ref name=nytimes/>
  
−
===Later years===
+
===1990s===
−
Lamour's lack of pretension and good humor allowed her to have a remarkably long career in show business for someone best known as a glamour girl. She was a popular draw on the [[dinner theatre]] circuit of the 1970s. In the 1960s and 1970s, she lived with her longtime husband [[William Ross Howard III]] (whom she married in 1943), in the [[Hampton, Maryland|Hampton]] suburb of [[Towson, Maryland]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Mary Katherine Scheeler ("One of the hits of the tour was the former home of Dorothy Lamour")|title=Towson Times|date=December 7 2006|url=http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=659&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1233906&om=1|accessdate=2008-01-17 }}</ref> After he died in 1978, ´´Lamour]] kicked her career into high gear, publishing her autobiography ''[[My Side of the Road]]'' in 1980, reviving her nightclub act, and performing in plays and acting on such television shows as ''[[Hart to Hart]]'', ''[[Crazy Like a Fox (TV series)|Crazy Like a Fox]]'', and ''[[Murder She Wrote]]''.  
+
During the 1990s, she made only a handful of professional appearances but remained a popular interview subject for publications and TV talk and news programs. Lamour's final stage performance was as "Hattie" in the Long Beach Civic Light Opera's 1990 production of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies".
  
−
As she entered her late seventies, in 1990, she made only a handful of professional appearances but she remained a popular interview subject for publications and TV talk and news programs. In 1995 the musical ''[[Swinging on a Star]]'', a revue of songs written by [[Johnny Burke (lyricist)|Johnny Burke]] opened on Broadway and ran for three months; Lamour was credited as a "special advisor" in the credits. Burke wrote many of the most famous "''Road to...''" movie songs as well as the score to Lamour's ''[[And the Angels Sing]]''. The musical only ran three months but was nominated for the Best Musical [[Tony Award]] and the actress playing "Dorothy Lamour" in the [[Road movie]] segment, [[Kathy Fitzgerald]], was also nominated.  
+
In 1995, the musical ''[[Swinging on a Star (musical)|Swinging on a Star]]'', a revue of songs written by [[Johnny Burke (lyricist)|Johnny Burke]] (who wrote many of the most famous ''Road to ...'' movie songs as well as the score to Lamour's film ''[[And the Angels Sing]]'' (1944)) opened on Broadway and ran for three months; Lamour was credited as a "special advisor". It was nominated for the Best Musical [[Tony Award]]; the actress playing her in the [[road movie]] segment, Kathy Fitzgerald, also was nominated.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}
  
−
Lamour died at her home in [[North Hollywood, California]] at the age of 81 from a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. She was interred in the [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery]] in [[Los Angeles, California]], after a Catholic funeral service.
+
==Personal life==
 +
[[File:The Hurricane Trailer screenshot Dorothy Lamour.jpg|thumb|left|Lamour in ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]'' (1937)]]
 +
Lamour's first marriage was to orchestra leader [[Herbie Kay]], with whose orchestra Lamour sang. The two married in 1935 and divorced in 1939.<ref>{{cite book| last=Lee| first=William F.| title=American Big Bands| year=2005|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation| location=Milwaukee| isbn=978-0634080548| page=[https://archive.org/details/americanbigbands00leew/page/119 119]| url=https://archive.org/details/americanbigbands00leew/page/119}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| last=Adelson| first=Suzanne| date=February 22, 1982| title=It's Toujours Lamour – Dorothy Is Back on the Road Again at Age 67| magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]| volume=17| issue=7| issn=0093-7673| url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20081511,00.html}}</ref>
  
−
==Legacy==
+
Early in her career, Lamour met [[J. Edgar Hoover]], director of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]. According to Hoover's biographer [[Richard Hack]], Hoover pursued a romantic relationship with Lamour, and the two spent a night together at a Washington, D.C. hotel. When Lamour was later asked if she and Hoover had a sexual relationship, she replied: "I cannot deny it."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-j-edgar-hoover/2011/11/07/gIQASLlo5M_story.html| title=Five myths about J. Edgar Hoover| last=Ackerman| first=Kenneth D.| date=November 9, 2001| newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| access-date=December 11, 2012}}</ref> In her autobiography ''My Side of the Road'' (1980), Lamour does not discuss Hoover in detail; she refers to him only as "a lifelong friend".{{sfn|Lamour|1980|page=33}}
 +
 
 +
On April 7, 1943, Lamour married Air Force captain and advertising executive [[William Ross Howard III]] [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3696323/bio] in Beverly Hills.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UvguAAAAIBAJ&pg=5449,1494031&dq=dorothy+lamour+married&hl=en| title=Indoors Setting For Wedding Of Dorothy Lamour| date=April 6, 1943| newspaper=[[Ottawa Citizen]]| page=19| access-date=December 11, 2012}}</ref> The couple had two sons: John Ridgely (1946–2018<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fresnobee/obituary.aspx?n=john-ridgely-howard&pid=188295708&fhid=3678| title=John Howard Obituary| newspaper=[[Fresno Bee]]| via=Legacy}}</ref>) and Richard Thomson Howard (born 1949).<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hEIKAAAAIBAJ&pg=1837,236718&dq=dorothy+lamour+sons&hl=en| title=Son Is Born To Dorothy Lamour| date=January 8, 1946| newspaper=Ellensburg Daily Record| page=1| access-date=December 11, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sz4aAAAAIBAJ&pg=3129,195881&dq=dorothy+lamour+sons&hl=en| title=Dorothy Lamour Gives Birth to Her Second Son| date=October 21, 1949| newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|The Milwaukee Journal]]| page=22| access-date=December 11, 2012}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
In 1957, Lamour and Howard moved to the Baltimore, Maryland, suburb of [[Sudbrook Park]].<ref>{{cite journal| title=Dorothy Lamour| journal=Baltimore Magazine| page=53| url=http://sudbrookpark.com/docs/1984_Baltimore_Magazine.pdf}}</ref> In 1962, the couple and their two sons moved to [[Hampton, Maryland|Hampton]], another Baltimore suburb in Dulaney Valley, with their oldest son, John, attending [[Towson High School]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Dorothy Lamour at Home in Maryland| newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun|Sunday Sun Magazine]] ([[Rotogravure]])| date=September 8, 1963| pages=16–17| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62039240/baltimore-sun-981963/| via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Scheeler| first=Mary Katherine| title=One of the hits of the tour was the former home of Dorothy Lamour| date=December 7, 2006| newspaper=[[Towson Times]]}}</ref> She also owned a home in Palm Springs, California.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Meeks| first1=Eric G.| title=The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes| year=2012| publisher=Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe| isbn=978-1479328598| page=151}}</ref> Howard died in 1978.<ref name=nytimes />
 +
 
 +
Lamour was a registered [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] who supported the presidency of [[Ronald Reagan]] as well as Reagan's re-election in 1984.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/11/04/Mixing-politics-with-show-business-makes-for-star-wars-in-Hollywood/5322468392400/| title=Mixing politics with show business makes for star wars in Hollywood| website=[[United Press International]]}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
==Death==
 +
[[File:Dorothy Lamour Grave.JPG|thumb|200px|Grave of Dorothy Lamour, at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills]]
 +
 
 +
Lamour died at her home in North Hollywood on September 22, 1996, at the age of 81.<ref name=nytimes /> Her funeral was held at St. Charles Catholic Church in North Hollywood, California, where she was a member.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thecompassnews.org/2015/09/where-actors-go-to-pray/| title=Where actors go to pray| date=September 19, 2015| first=Patricia| last=Kasten| newspaper=The Compass| location=Green Bay}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-dorothy-lamour-19960923-story.html| title=From the Archives: Dorothy Lamour, Sultry Movie Star, Dies| date=September 23, 1996| newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> She was interred in the [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery]] in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite book| last=Keister| first=Douglas| title=Forever L.A.: A Field Guide to Los Angeles Area Cemeteries & Their Residents| year=2010| publisher=Gibbs Smith| isbn=978-1-423-60522-5| page=[https://archive.org/details/foreverlafieldgu00keis/page/167 167]| url=https://archive.org/details/foreverlafieldgu00keis/page/167}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
For her contribution to the radio and motion picture industry, Lamour has two stars on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. Her star for her radio contributions is located at 6240 Hollywood Boulevard, and her star for her motion picture contributions is located at 6332 Hollywood Boulevard.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/dorothy-lamour/| title=Hollywood Star Walk: Dorothy Lamour| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| access-date=December 11, 2012}}</ref>
  
 
==Filmography==
 
==Filmography==
−
===Features===
+
===Film===
−
{{col-begin}}
+
{| class="wikitable sortable"
−
{{col-2}}
+
|+
−
*''[[Footlight Parade]]'' ([[1933 in film|1933]])
+
|-
−
*''[[College Holiday]]'' ([[1936 in film|1936]])
+
! Year
−
*''[[The Jungle Princess]]'' (1936)
+
! Title
−
*''[[Swing High, Swing Low (film)|Swing High, Swing Low]]'' ([[1937 in film|1937]])
+
! Role
−
*''The Last Train from Madrid'' (1937)
+
! class="unsortable" | Notes
−
*''[[High, Wide, and Handsome]]'' (1937)
+
|-
−
*''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]'' (1937)
+
| 1936
−
*''Thrill of a Lifetime'' (1937)
+
| ''[[College Holiday]]''
−
*''[[The Big Broadcast of 1938]]'' ([[1938 in film|1938]])
+
| Dancer
−
*''[[Her Jungle Love]]'' (1938)
+
| Film debut; uncredited
−
*''[[Tropic Holiday]]'' (1938)
+
|-
−
*''[[Spawn of the North]]'' (1938)
+
| 1936
−
*''[[St. Louis Blues (1939 film)|St. Louis Blues]]'' ([[1939 in film|1939]])
+
| ''[[The Jungle Princess]]''
−
*''Man About Town'' (1939)
+
| Ulah
−
*''Disputed Passage'' (1939)
+
|
−
*''[[Road to Singapore]]'' ([[1940 in film|1940]])
+
|-
−
*''[[Johnny Apollo (film)|Johnny Apollo]]'' (1940)
+
| 1937
−
*''Typhoon'' (1940)
+
| ''[[Swing High, Swing Low (film)|Swing High, Swing Low]]''
−
*''Moon Over Burma'' (1940)
+
| Anita Alvarez
−
*''Chad Hanna'' (1940)
+
|
−
*''[[Road to Zanzibar]]'' ([[1941 in film|1941]])
+
|-
−
*''[[Caught in the Draft]]'' (1941)
+
| 1937
−
*''Aloma of the South Seas'' (1941)
+
| ''[[The Last Train from Madrid]]''
−
*''[[The Fleet's In]]'' ([[1942 in film|1942]])
+
| Carmelita Castillo
−
*''Beyond the Blue Horizon'' (1942)
+
|
−
*''[[Road to Morocco]]'' (1942)
+
|-
−
*''[[Star Spangled Rhythm]]'' (1942)
+
| 1937
−
*''They Got Me Covered'' ([[1943 in film|1943]])
+
| ''[[High, Wide, and Handsome]]''
−
{{col-break}}
+
| Molly Fuller
−
*''[[Dixie (film)|Dixie]]'' (1943)
+
|
−
*''[[Riding High (1943 film)|Riding High]]'' (1943)
+
|-
−
*''[[And the Angels Sing]]'' ([[1944 in film|1944]])
+
| 1937
−
*''Rainbow Island'' (1944)
+
| ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]''
−
*''[[A Medal for Benny]]'' ([[1945 in film|1945]])
+
| Marama
−
*''[[Duffy's Tavern]]'' (1945)
+
|
−
*''Masquerade in Mexico'' (1945)
+
|-
−
*''[[Road to Utopia]]'' ([[1946 in film|1946]])
+
| 1937
−
*''[[My Favorite Brunette]]'' ([[1947 in film|1947]])
+
| ''[[Thrill of a Lifetime (film)|Thrill of a Lifetime]]''
−
*''[[Variety Girl]]'' (1947)
+
| Specialty
−
*''Wild Harvest'' (1947)
+
|
−
*''[[Road to Rio]]'' (1947)
+
|-
−
*''[[On Our Merry Way]]'' ([[1948 in film|1948]])
+
| 1938
−
*''Lulu Belle'' (1948)
+
| ''[[The Big Broadcast of 1938]]''
−
*''The Girl from Manhattan'' (1948)
+
| Dorothy Wyndham
−
*''The Lucky Stiff'' ([[1949 in film|1949]])
+
|
−
*''Slightly French'' (1949)
+
|-
−
*''[[Manhandled]]'' (1949)
+
| 1938
−
*''Here Comes the Groom'' ([[1951 in film|1951]]) (Cameo)
+
| ''[[Her Jungle Love]]''
−
*''[[The Greatest Show on Earth]]'' ([[1952 in film|1952]])
+
| Tura
−
*''[[Road to Bali]]'' (1952)
+
|
−
*''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'' ([[1962 in film|1962]]) (cameo)
+
|-
−
*''[[Donovan's Reef]]'' ([[1963 in film|1963]])
+
| 1938
−
*''[[Pajama Party (film)|Pajama Party]]'' ([[1964 in film|1964]])
+
| ''[[Tropic Holiday]]''
−
*''[[The Phynx]]'' ([[1970 in film|1970]])
+
| Manuela
−
*''Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood'' ([[1976 in film|1976]]) (cameo)
+
|
−
*''[[Creepshow 2]]'' ([[1987 in film|1987]])
+
|-
−
{{col-end}}
+
| 1938
 +
| ''[[Spawn of the North]]''
 +
| Nicky Duval
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1939
 +
| ''[[St. Louis Blues (1939 film)|St. Louis Blues]]''
 +
| Norma Malone
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1939
 +
| ''[[Man About Town (1939 film)|Man About Town]]''
 +
| Diana Wilson
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1939
 +
| ''[[Disputed Passage]]''
 +
| Audrey Hilton
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1940
 +
| ''[[Road to Singapore]]''
 +
| Mima
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1940
 +
| ''[[Johnny Apollo (film)|Johnny Apollo]]''
 +
| Lucky Dubarry
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1940
 +
| ''[[Typhoon (1940 film)|Typhoon]]''
 +
| Dea
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1940
 +
| ''[[Moon Over Burma]]''
 +
| Arla Dean
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1940
 +
| ''[[Chad Hanna]]''
 +
| Albany Yates / Lady Lillian
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1941
 +
| ''[[Road to Zanzibar]]''
 +
| Donna Latour
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1941
 +
| ''[[Caught in the Draft]]''
 +
| Antoinette "Tony" Fairbanks
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1941
 +
| ''[[Aloma of the South Seas (1941 film)|Aloma of the South Seas]]''
 +
| Aloma
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1942
 +
| ''[[The Fleet's In]]''
 +
| The Countess
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1942
 +
| ''[[Star Spangled Rhythm]]''
 +
| Herself
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1942
 +
| ''[[Beyond the Blue Horizon (film)|Beyond the Blue Horizon]]''
 +
| Tama
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1942
 +
| ''[[Road to Morocco]]''
 +
| Princess Shalmar
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1943
 +
| ''[[They Got Me Covered]]''
 +
| Christina Hill
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1943
 +
| ''[[Dixie (film)|Dixie]]''
 +
| Millie Cook
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1943
 +
| ''[[Riding High (1943 film)|Riding High]]''
 +
| Ann Castle
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1944
 +
| ''[[And the Angels Sing]]''
 +
| Nancy Angel
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1944
 +
| ''[[Rainbow Island (1944 film)|Rainbow Island]]''
 +
| Lona
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1945
 +
| ''[[A Medal for Benny]]''
 +
| Lolita Sierra
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1945
 +
| ''[[Duffy's Tavern#Film and television|Duffy's Tavern]]''
 +
| Herself
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1945
 +
| ''[[Road to Utopia]]''
 +
| Sal Van Hoyden
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1945
 +
| ''[[Masquerade in Mexico]]''
 +
| Angel O'Reilly
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1947
 +
| ''[[My Favorite Brunette]]''
 +
| Carlotta Montay
 +
| Alternative title: ''The Private Eye''
 +
|-
 +
| 1947
 +
| ''[[Variety Girl]]''
 +
| Herself
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1947
 +
| ''[[Wild Harvest]]''
 +
| Fay Rankin
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1947
 +
| ''[[Road to Rio]]''
 +
| Lucia Maria de Andrade
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1948
 +
| ''[[On Our Merry Way]]''
 +
| Gloria Manners
 +
| Alternative title: ''A Miracle Can Happen''
 +
|-
 +
| 1948
 +
| ''[[Lulu Belle (film)|Lulu Belle]]''
 +
| Lulu Belle
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1949
 +
| ''[[The Girl from Manhattan]]''
 +
| Carol Maynard
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1949
 +
| ''[[The Lucky Stiff]]''
 +
| Anna Marie St. Claire
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1949
 +
| ''[[Slightly French]]''
 +
| Mary O'Leary
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1949
 +
| ''[[Manhandled (1949 film)|Manhandled]]''
 +
| Merl Kramer
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1951
 +
| ''[[Here Comes the Groom]]''
 +
| Herself
 +
| Uncredited
 +
|-
 +
| 1952
 +
| ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]''
 +
| Phyllis
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1952
 +
| ''[[Road to Bali]]''
 +
| Princess Lala
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1962
 +
| ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]''
 +
| Herself
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1963
 +
| ''[[Donovan's Reef]]''
 +
| Miss Laflour
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1964
 +
| ''[[Pajama Party (film)|Pajama Party]]''
 +
| Head Saleslady
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1970
 +
| ''[[The Phynx]]''
 +
| Herself
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1976
 +
| ''[[Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood]]''
 +
| Visiting Film Star
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
| 1987
 +
| ''[[Creepshow 2]]''
 +
| Martha Spruce
 +
| (segment "Old Chief Wood'nhead"), (final film role)
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
===Television===
 +
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 +
|+
 +
|-
 +
! Year
 +
! Title
 +
! Role
 +
! class="unsortable" | Notes
 +
|-
 +
| 1955
 +
| ''[[Damon Runyon Theater]]''
 +
| Sally Bracken
 +
| Television debut
 +
Episode: "The Mink Doll"
 +
|-
 +
| 1967
 +
| ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]''
 +
| Halima
 +
| Episode: "The Honorable Assassins"
 +
|-
 +
| 1969
 +
| ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]''
 +
| Stella Fisher
 +
| Episode: "Chains of Command"
 +
|-
 +
| 1970
 +
| ''[[Love, American Style]]''
 +
| Holly's Mother
 +
| Segment: "Love and the Pick-Up"
 +
|-
 +
| 1971
 +
| ''[[Marcus Welby, M.D.]]''
 +
| Mary DeSocio
 +
| Episode: "Echos from Another World"
 +
|-
 +
| 1976
 +
| ''[[Death at Love House]]''
 +
| Denise Christian
 +
| Television movie<br />Alternative title: ''The Shrine of Lorna Love''
 +
|-
 +
| 1980
 +
| ''[[The Love Boat]]''
 +
| Lil Braddock
 +
| Episode: "That's My Dad/The Captain's Bird/Captive Audience"
 +
|-
 +
| 1984
 +
| ''[[Hart to Hart]]''
 +
| Katherine Prince
 +
| Episode: "Max's Waltz"
 +
|-
 +
| 1984
 +
| ''[[Remington Steele]]''
 +
| Herself
 +
| Episode: "Cast in Steele"
 +
|-
 +
| 1986
 +
| ''[[Crazy like a Fox (TV series)|Crazy like a Fox]]''
 +
| Rosie
 +
| Episode: "Rosie"
 +
|-
 +
| 1987
 +
| ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]''
 +
| Mrs. Ellis
 +
| Episode: "No Accounting for Murder"
 +
|}
  
−
===Short Subjects===
+
==Broadway musicals==
−
*''The Stars Can't Be Wrong'' ([[1936 in film|1936]])
+
{| class="wikitable"
−
*''Hollywood Handicap'' ([[1938 in film|1938]])
+
! Year
−
*''Meet the Stars #1: Chinese Garden Festival'' ([[1940 in film|1940]])
+
! Show
−
*''[[Show Business at War]]'' ([[1943 in film|1943]])
+
|-
−
*''Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday'' ([[1947 in film|1947]])
+
|1958
−
*''Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Shower of Stars'' ([[1955 in film|1955]])
+
|''[[Oh, Captain!]]''
 +
|-
 +
|1995
 +
|''[[Swinging on a Star (musical)|Swinging on a Star]]''
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
−
==References==
+
==Books==
−
*Lamour, Dorothy, and Dick McInnes. 1980. ''My Side of the Road.'' Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0132185946
+
* {{cite book |url= http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2046510.My_Side_of_the_Road |title=My Side of the Road |first=Dorothy |last=Lamour |display-authors= 0 |date= 1980 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |series= Autobiography |isbn=978-0132185943 |website=Good Reads |access-date=April 17, 2010 }}
−
*Parish, James Robert. 1972. ''The Paramount Pretties.'' New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House. ISBN 0870001809
+
 
 +
==In popular culture==
 +
Lamour is the heroine of Matilda Bailey's [[young adult fiction|young adult]] novel, ''Dorothy Lamour and the Haunted Lighthouse'' (1947), whose "heroine has the same name and appearance as the famous actress but has no connection ... it is as though the famous actress has stepped into an alternate reality in which she is an ordinary person." The story was written for a young teenage audience and is reminiscent of the adventures of [[Nancy Drew]]. It is part of a series known as "[[Whitman Authorized Editions]]", 16 books published between 1941 and 1947 that each featured a film actress as heroine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.series-books.com/whitman/whitman.html |title=Whitman Authorized Editions for Girls |access-date=September 10, 2009 |website=Whitman Publishing}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
She was featured in a brief print run of 2-3 issues during the 1950s, in ''Dorothy Lamour Jungle Princess Comics'', a series of comic books dedicated to her on-film Jungle Princess persona (featuring screenshots from past movies as the covers).<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.comics.org/series/711/| title=Dorothy Lamour| website=Grand Comics Database| access-date=December 6, 2020}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was featured in David Lynch's 2006 film Inland Empire.
 +
 
 +
Name-checked in Little Feat song Apolitical Blues.
 +
 
 +
Name-checked in Michael Penn's song "Seen the Doctor" (rhymed with "Singapore").
 +
 
 +
Referenced in the TV sitcom "The Golden Girls" when Sophia Petrillo refers to her son as a " six foot two, married man with kids who likes to dress up like Dorothy Lamour."
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 +
 +
==References==
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
{{Commons}}
 
−
{{wikiquote}}
 
−
*[http://www.cmgww.com/stars/lamour/ Dorothy Lamour] ''Cmgww.com.''
 
−
*de Seife, Ethan. [http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/02/22/lamour.html What's Sarong with this Picture?] ''Archive.senseofcinema.com.''
 
−
*[http://www.fandango.com/dorothylamour/biographies/p40193 Dorothy Lamour Biography] ''Fandango.com.''
 
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*{{ibdb name|id=70928|name=Dorothy Lamour}}
 
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*{{imdb name|id=0483787|name=Dorothy Lamour}}
 
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*{{tcmdb name|id=107751|name=Dorothy Lamour}}
 
−
*[http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=321 Photographs of Dorothy Lamour]
 
−
*Severo, Richard. 1996. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2D9103DF930A1575AC0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Sultry Sidekick in Road Films, Dies] ''Query.nytimes.com.''
 
−
* {{Find A Grave|id=1728}}
 
  
−
<!—spacing, please do not remove—>
+
* {{IBDB name}}
 +
* {{IMDb name|0483787}}
 +
* {{Tcmdb name}}
 +
* {{cite web |url=http://www.post-blitzclydebank.co.uk/downloads.php#war_memorial_solidarity_plaza |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726192010/http://www.post-blitzclydebank.co.uk/downloads.php#war_memorial_solidarity_plaza |website=Post-Blitz Clydebank |title=Dorothy Lamour at the Singer Sports Gala |year=1950 |format=mov}}
 +
* {{cite web |url=http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=321 |series=Photographs |title=Dorothy Lamour |website=Virtual History}}
  
−
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{{Persondata
 
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|NAME= Lamour, Dorothy
 
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|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Slaton, Mary Leta Dorothy
 
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|SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress, singer
 
−
|DATE OF BIRTH= December 10, 1914
 
−
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[New Orleans, Louisiana]]
 
−
|DATE OF DEATH= September 22, 1996
 
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|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Los Angeles, California]]
 
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}}
 
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{{Lifetime|1914|1996|Lamour, Dorothy}}
 
  
 
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Revision as of 13:48, 30 July 2022

Dorothy Lamour
250px
Lamour in 1945
BornMary Leta Dorothy Slaton
December 10 1914(1914-12-10)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedSeptember 22 1996 (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park,
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation{{safesubst:#invoke:list|horizontal}}
Years active1933–1995
Spouse(s)
{{#invoke:Message box|ambox}}
(m. 1935; div. 1939)

{{#invoke:Message box|ambox}}
(m. 1943; died 1978)
Children2

Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.[1]

Lamour began her career in the 1930s as a big band singer. In 1936, she moved to Hollywood, where she signed with Paramount Pictures. Her appearance as Ulah in The Jungle Princess (1936) brought her fame and marked the beginning of her image as the "Sarong Queen".

In 1940, Lamour made her first Road series comedy film Road to Singapore. The Road series films were popular during the 1940s. The sixth film in the series, Road to Bali, was released in 1952. By this time, Lamour's screen career began to wane, and she focused on stage and television work. In 1961, Crosby and Hope teamed for The Road to Hong Kong, but actress Joan Collins was cast as the female lead. Lamour made a brief appearance and sang a song near the end of that film.

In the 1970s, Lamour revived her nightclub act, and in 1980, released her autobiography My Side of the Road. She made her final movie appearance in 1987.

Lamour married her second husband, William Ross Howard III, in 1943. They had two sons and remained married until Howard's death in 1978. Lamour died at her home in 1996 at the age of 81.

Early life

Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton[2] was born on December 10, 1914, in New Orleans,[3] the daughter of Carmen Louise (née LaPorte; 1892–1930) and John Watson SlatonTemplate:Efn-lr (1895–1963), both of whom were waiters.[4] Lamour was of Spanish with some English, French and possibly also distant Irish descent. Her parents' marriage lasted only a few years. Her mother married for the second time to Clarence Lambour, whose surname Dorothy later adopted and modified as her stage name.[5] That marriage also ended in divorce when Dorothy was a teenager.

File:Dorothy Lamour in Road to Bali.jpg
Lamour in Road to Bali (1952)

Lamour quit school at age 14. After taking a business course, she worked as a secretary to support herself and her mother. She began entering beauty pageants, was crowned Miss New Orleans in 1931, and went on to compete in Galveston's Pageant of Pulchritude.[6] Miss Lamour was close friends with Dorothy Dell, who was in the Ziegfeld Follies. Lamour used the prize money to support herself while she worked in a stock theatre company. She and her mother later moved to Chicago. Lamour found a job working at Marshall Field's department store, working as an elevator operator at the age of 16. Her boss, Douglas Singleterry, referred to her as 'Dolly Face'; he also recalled that she'd spend a lot of her time auditioning around Chicago. She was discovered by orchestra leader Herbie Kay when he spotted her in performance at a Chicago talent show held at the Hotel Morrison. She had an audition the next day; Kay hired her as a singer for his orchestra and, in 1935, Lamour went on tour with him. Her work with Kay eventually led Lamour to vaudeville and work in radio.[3] In 1935, she had her own 15-minute weekly musical program on NBC Radio. Lamour also sang on the popular Rudy Vallée radio show and The Chase and Sanborn Hour. On January 30, 1944, Lamour starred in "For This We Live", an episode of Silver Theater on CBS radio.[7]

Career

In 1936, Lamour moved to Hollywood. Around that time, Carmen married her third husband, Ollie Castleberry, and the family lived in Los Angeles.[8] That same year, she did a screen test for Paramount Pictures and signed a contract with them.[9]

Lamour made her first film for Paramount, College Holiday (1936), in which she has a bit part as an uncredited dancer.

The Jungle Princess and "sarong" roles

Her second film for Paramount, The Jungle Princess (1936) with Ray Milland, solidified her fame. In the film, Lamour plays the role of "Ulah", a jungle native who wore an Edith Head-designed sarong throughout the film. The Jungle Princess was a big hit for the studio and Lamour would be associated with sarongs for the rest of her career. It also gave her a hit song "Moonlight and Shadows".[10]

She followed it with a support role in a Carole Lombard–Fred MacMurray musical Swing High, Swing Low (1937) where she got to sing "Panamania". She was top billed in The Last Train from Madrid (1937).

Lamour supported Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott in High, Wide and Handsome (1937), singing "The Things I Want". Sam Goldwyn borrowed her for John Ford's The Hurricane (1937), where she was back in a sarong playing an island princess alongside Jon Hall. Her swimming and diving scenes were handled by stunt double Lila Finn, who at one point dropped the sarong and was filmed diving into a lagoon in the nude.[11] The film was a massive success and gave Lamour another hit song with "The Moon of Manakoora".

Lamour had a cameo in Thrill of a Lifetime (1937) and was third billed in The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) after W.C. Fields and Martha Raye; the cast also included Bob Hope in an early appearance.

Paramount reunited her with Milland and a sarong for Her Jungle Love (1938). Tropic Holiday (1938) cast her as a Mexican alongside Bob Burns, Raye and Milland, then she supported George Raft and Henry Fonda in the adventure film Spawn of the North (1938). Raft was meant to be Lamour's leading man in St. Louis Blues (1939) but he turned down the part and was replaced by Lloyd Nolan.

Lamour was Jack Benny's leading lady in the musical Man About Town (1939) then played a Chinese girl in a melodrama, Disputed Passage (1939).

The "Road" movies

File:Dorothy Lamour in Road to Singapore trailer.jpg
Dorothy Lamour
Lamour in Road to Bali (1952)

In 1940, Lamour starred in Road to Singapore, a spoof of Lamour's "sarong" films. It was originally meant to co-star Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie, then George Burns and Gracie Allen, before Paramount decided to use Bob Hope and Bing Crosby; Lamour was billed after Crosby and above Hope. The two male stars began ad-libbing during filming. "I was trying to follow the script but just couldn't get my lines out", she said later. "Finally, I realised that I should just get the general idea of a scene rather than learn the words by heart, then go along with the boys." Said Hope, "Dottie is one of the bravest gals in pictures. She stands there before the camera and ad-libs with Crosby and me knowing that the way the script is written she'll come second or third best, but she fears nothing."[12]

The movie was a solid hit and response to the team was enthusiastic.

20th Century Fox borrowed her to play Tyrone Power's leading lady in the gangster film Johnny Apollo (1940). She sang "This is the Beginning of the End" and "Dancing for Nickels and Dimes".

It was back to sarongs for Typhoon (1940). Her male co-star in the latter was Robert Preston who was also with Lamour in Moon Over Burma (1940). Fox borrowed her again for Chad Hanna (1941) with Henry Fonda.

Response to Road to Singapore had been such that Paramount reunited Lamour, Hope and Crosby in Road to Zanzibar (1941) which was even more successful and eventually led to a series of pictures (although from this point on Lamour was billed beneath Hope). She and Hope then did Caught in the Draft (1941) which was one of the biggest hits of the year.[13]

Lamour was reunited with her old Hurricane star, Jon Hall, in Aloma of the South Seas (1941). She did a popular musical with Eddie Bracken, William Holden and Betty Hutton, The Fleet's In (1942), which gave her a hit song, "I Remember You".

There was another sarong movie, Beyond the Blue Horizon (1942). Both were well liked by the public but neither was as popular as her third "Road" movie, Road to Morocco (1942).[14]

Lamour was one of many Paramount stars who did guest shots in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942). She and Hope were borrowed by Sam Goldwyn for a comedy They Got Me Covered (1943), then she did one with Crosby without Hope, Dixie (1943), a popular biopic of Dan Emmett.

During World War II, Lamour was among the more popular pinup girls among American servicemen, along with Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, and Veronica Lake. Lamour was also known for her volunteer work, selling war bonds during tours in which movie stars would travel the country selling U.S. government bonds to the public. Lamour reportedly sold $300 million worth of bonds earning her the nickname "The Bond Bombshell". She also volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen where she would dance and talk to soldiers. In 1965, Lamour was awarded a belated citation from the United States Department of the Treasury for her war bond sales.[1]

Lamour made Melody Inn (1943) with Dick Powell, then And the Angels Sing (1944) with Fred MacMurray and Hutton, where she sang "It Should Happen to You". She made one last sarong movie, Rainbow Island (1944), co-starring Bracken.

Lamour played a Mexican in A Medal for Benny (1945), based on a story by John Steinbeck, co-starring Arturo de Córdova. She was one of many Paramount stars to cameo in Duffy's Tavern (1945), then did a fourth "Road", Road to Utopia (1945), then Masquerade in Mexico (1945) with de Cordova.

She was in three big hits in a row: My Favorite Brunette (1947), a comedy with Hope; Wild Harvest (1947), a melodrama with Alan Ladd and Preston; and Road to Rio (1947). She also sang a duet with Ladd in Variety Girl (1947). Then she left Paramount.

After Paramount

File:Dorothy Lamour and Bing Crosby in Road to Bali.jpg
Lamour with Bing Crosby in Road to Bali (1952)

Lamour emceed Front and Center, a 1947 variety comedy show, as a summer replacement for The Fred Allen Show, with the Army Air Force recruiting as sponsors.[3] The show changed to The Sealtest[15] Variety Theater in September[16] 1948.

After leaving Paramount, Lamour made a series of films for producer Benedict Bogeaus: the all-star comedy On Our Merry Way (1948); Lulu Belle (1948), a melodrama with George Montgomery; and The Girl from Manhattan (1948), also with Montgomery.

She tried two comedies: The Lucky Stiff (1949), produced by Jack Benny co-starring Brian Donlevy, then Slightly French (1949) with Don Ameche. Manhandled (1950) was a film noir with Dan Duryea for Pine-Thomas. None of these films were particularly popular.

Lamour played a successful season at the London Palladium in 1950 then was in two big hits: The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Cecil B. De Mille's circus epic, and Road to Bali (1952). However this did not seem to lead to better film offers, and Lamour began concentrating on being a nightclub entertainer and a stage actress.

She also began working on television, guest starring on Damon Runyon Theater and was on Broadway in Oh Captain! (1958).

1960s

Lamour returned to movies with a cameo in the final "Road" film, The Road to Hong Kong (1962); she was replaced as a love interest by Joan Collins because Bing Crosby wanted a younger actress. However, Bob Hope would not do the film without Lamour, so she appeared in an extended cameo.

She had a bigger part in John Ford's Donovan's Reef (1963) with John Wayne and Lee Marvin, and made guest appearances on shows like Burke's Law, I Spy and The Name of the Game, and films such as Pajama Party (1964) and The Phynx (1970).

Lamour moved to Baltimore with her family, where she appeared on TV and worked on the city's cultural commission. Then David Merrick offered her the chance to headline a road company of Hello Dolly! which she did for over a year near the end of the decade.[17]

Singing

Lamour starred in a number of movie musicals and sang in many of her comedies and dramatic films as well. For several years beginning in the late 1930s, Harriet Lee was her voice teacher.[18] Lamour introduced a number of standards, including "The Moon of Manakoora", "I Remember You", "It Could Happen to You", "Personality", and "But Beautiful".

Later years

1970s

In the 1970s, Lamour was a popular draw at dinner theatres and in shows such as Anything Goes.[19]

She guest starred on shows such as Marcus Welby, M.D. and The Love Boat and films like Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) and Death at Love House (1976). In 1977, she toured in the play Personal Appearance.[20]

Her husband died in 1978, but she continued to work for "therapy".[21]

1980s

In 1980, Lamour published her autobiography My Side of the Road and revived her nightclub act.[22]

During the remainder of the decade, she performed in plays and television shows such as Hart to Hart, Crazy Like a Fox, Remington Steele, and Murder, She Wrote.

In 1984, she toured in a production of Barefoot in the Park.

In 1986 she said "I'm still as busy at 71 as I was when I was just a slip of a girl. I do concerts, television and a lot of dinner theatre, where I sing old songs and talk about Bob and Bing and starting out at Paramount at $200 a week and working myself up to $450,000 a picture...I feel wonderful. Age is only in the mind and I'm grateful that God has taken care of me. And I'm very grateful for that sarong. It did a lot for me! But to be truthful, the sarong was never my favorite wearing apparel."[21]

In 1987, she made her last big-screen appearance in the movie Creepshow 2, appearing with George Kennedy as an aging couple who are killed during a robbery. The wooden, Native American statue in front of their general store comes to life to avenge their death. The 72-year-old Lamour quipped: "Well, at my age you can't lean against a palm tree and sing 'Moon of Manakoora'", she said. "People would look at that and say 'What is she trying to do?Template:'"[1]

1990s

During the 1990s, she made only a handful of professional appearances but remained a popular interview subject for publications and TV talk and news programs. Lamour's final stage performance was as "Hattie" in the Long Beach Civic Light Opera's 1990 production of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies".

In 1995, the musical Swinging on a Star, a revue of songs written by Johnny Burke (who wrote many of the most famous Road to ... movie songs as well as the score to Lamour's film And the Angels Sing (1944)) opened on Broadway and ran for three months; Lamour was credited as a "special advisor". It was nominated for the Best Musical Tony Award; the actress playing her in the road movie segment, Kathy Fitzgerald, also was nominated.[citation needed]

Personal life

Lamour in The Hurricane (1937)

Lamour's first marriage was to orchestra leader Herbie Kay, with whose orchestra Lamour sang. The two married in 1935 and divorced in 1939.[23][24]

Early in her career, Lamour met J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to Hoover's biographer Richard Hack, Hoover pursued a romantic relationship with Lamour, and the two spent a night together at a Washington, D.C. hotel. When Lamour was later asked if she and Hoover had a sexual relationship, she replied: "I cannot deny it."[25] In her autobiography My Side of the Road (1980), Lamour does not discuss Hoover in detail; she refers to him only as "a lifelong friend".[26]

On April 7, 1943, Lamour married Air Force captain and advertising executive William Ross Howard III [1] in Beverly Hills.[27] The couple had two sons: John Ridgely (1946–2018[28]) and Richard Thomson Howard (born 1949).[29][30]

In 1957, Lamour and Howard moved to the Baltimore, Maryland, suburb of Sudbrook Park.[31] In 1962, the couple and their two sons moved to Hampton, another Baltimore suburb in Dulaney Valley, with their oldest son, John, attending Towson High School.[32][33] She also owned a home in Palm Springs, California.[34] Howard died in 1978.[1]

Lamour was a registered Republican who supported the presidency of Ronald Reagan as well as Reagan's re-election in 1984.[35]

Death

File:Dorothy Lamour Grave.JPG
Grave of Dorothy Lamour, at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills

Lamour died at her home in North Hollywood on September 22, 1996, at the age of 81.[1] Her funeral was held at St. Charles Catholic Church in North Hollywood, California, where she was a member.[36][37] She was interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.[38]

For her contribution to the radio and motion picture industry, Lamour has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her star for her radio contributions is located at 6240 Hollywood Boulevard, and her star for her motion picture contributions is located at 6332 Hollywood Boulevard.[39]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1936 College Holiday Dancer Film debut; uncredited
1936 The Jungle Princess Ulah
1937 Swing High, Swing Low Anita Alvarez
1937 The Last Train from Madrid Carmelita Castillo
1937 High, Wide, and Handsome Molly Fuller
1937 The Hurricane Marama
1937 Thrill of a Lifetime Specialty
1938 The Big Broadcast of 1938 Dorothy Wyndham
1938 Her Jungle Love Tura
1938 Tropic Holiday Manuela
1938 Spawn of the North Nicky Duval
1939 St. Louis Blues Norma Malone
1939 Man About Town Diana Wilson
1939 Disputed Passage Audrey Hilton
1940 Road to Singapore Mima
1940 Johnny Apollo Lucky Dubarry
1940 Typhoon Dea
1940 Moon Over Burma Arla Dean
1940 Chad Hanna Albany Yates / Lady Lillian
1941 Road to Zanzibar Donna Latour
1941 Caught in the Draft Antoinette "Tony" Fairbanks
1941 Aloma of the South Seas Aloma
1942 The Fleet's In The Countess
1942 Star Spangled Rhythm Herself
1942 Beyond the Blue Horizon Tama
1942 Road to Morocco Princess Shalmar
1943 They Got Me Covered Christina Hill
1943 Dixie Millie Cook
1943 Riding High Ann Castle
1944 And the Angels Sing Nancy Angel
1944 Rainbow Island Lona
1945 A Medal for Benny Lolita Sierra
1945 Duffy's Tavern Herself
1945 Road to Utopia Sal Van Hoyden
1945 Masquerade in Mexico Angel O'Reilly
1947 My Favorite Brunette Carlotta Montay Alternative title: The Private Eye
1947 Variety Girl Herself
1947 Wild Harvest Fay Rankin
1947 Road to Rio Lucia Maria de Andrade
1948 On Our Merry Way Gloria Manners Alternative title: A Miracle Can Happen
1948 Lulu Belle Lulu Belle
1949 The Girl from Manhattan Carol Maynard
1949 The Lucky Stiff Anna Marie St. Claire
1949 Slightly French Mary O'Leary
1949 Manhandled Merl Kramer
1951 Here Comes the Groom Herself Uncredited
1952 The Greatest Show on Earth Phyllis
1952 Road to Bali Princess Lala
1962 The Road to Hong Kong Herself
1963 Donovan's Reef Miss Laflour
1964 Pajama Party Head Saleslady
1970 The Phynx Herself
1976 Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood Visiting Film Star
1987 Creepshow 2 Martha Spruce (segment "Old Chief Wood'nhead"), (final film role)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1955 Damon Runyon Theater Sally Bracken Television debut

Episode: "The Mink Doll"

1967 I Spy Halima Episode: "The Honorable Assassins"
1969 The Name of the Game Stella Fisher Episode: "Chains of Command"
1970 Love, American Style Holly's Mother Segment: "Love and the Pick-Up"
1971 Marcus Welby, M.D. Mary DeSocio Episode: "Echos from Another World"
1976 Death at Love House Denise Christian Television movie
Alternative title: The Shrine of Lorna Love
1980 The Love Boat Lil Braddock Episode: "That's My Dad/The Captain's Bird/Captive Audience"
1984 Hart to Hart Katherine Prince Episode: "Max's Waltz"
1984 Remington Steele Herself Episode: "Cast in Steele"
1986 Crazy like a Fox Rosie Episode: "Rosie"
1987 Murder, She Wrote Mrs. Ellis Episode: "No Accounting for Murder"

Broadway musicals

Year Show
1958 Oh, Captain!
1995 Swinging on a Star

Books

In popular culture

Lamour is the heroine of Matilda Bailey's young adult novel, Dorothy Lamour and the Haunted Lighthouse (1947), whose "heroine has the same name and appearance as the famous actress but has no connection ... it is as though the famous actress has stepped into an alternate reality in which she is an ordinary person." The story was written for a young teenage audience and is reminiscent of the adventures of Nancy Drew. It is part of a series known as "Whitman Authorized Editions", 16 books published between 1941 and 1947 that each featured a film actress as heroine.[40]

She was featured in a brief print run of 2-3 issues during the 1950s, in Dorothy Lamour Jungle Princess Comics, a series of comic books dedicated to her on-film Jungle Princess persona (featuring screenshots from past movies as the covers).[41]

Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was featured in David Lynch's 2006 film Inland Empire.

Name-checked in Little Feat song Apolitical Blues.

Name-checked in Michael Penn's song "Seen the Doctor" (rhymed with "Singapore").

Referenced in the TV sitcom "The Golden Girls" when Sophia Petrillo refers to her son as a " six foot two, married man with kids who likes to dress up like Dorothy Lamour."

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Severo, Richard, "Dorothy Lamour, 81, Sultry Sidekick in Road Films, Dies", September 23, 1996.
  2. ↑ (1980) My Side of the Road. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 978-0132185943. “It does get a little confusing; for example, my full name would be Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton Lambour Lamour Kay Kaumeyer Howard if you keep count. But at this point, I was just terribly happy to be Mrs. Herbie Kay.” 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 (2003) Hollywood Songsters: Garland to O'Connor. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0415943338. 
  4. ↑ Starring Dorothy Lamour.
  5. ↑ Room, Adrian. (2014). "Dorothy Lamour". (5th). McFarland.
  6. ↑  The Rosenberg Library Collection – Pageant of Pulchritude and Oleanders (1931). Rosenberg Library and Texas Archive of the Moving Image.
  7. ↑ "Drama", Nebraska State Journal, January 30, 1944, p. 36.
  8. ↑ 1940 United States Federal Census
  9. ↑ (2003) Hollywood Songsters: Singers Who Act and Actors Who Sing: A Biographical Dictionary. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0415937757. 
  10. ↑ Jorgensen, Jay (2010). Edith Head: The Fifty-Year Career of Hollywood's Greatest Costume Designer. Philadelphia: Running Press, 50–51. ISBN 978-0-762-44173-0. 
  11. ↑ Gregory, Mollie (2015). Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-813-16624-7. 
  12. ↑ Vallance, Ton, "Obituary: Dorothy Lamour", September 24, 1996.
  13. ↑ "Film Money-makers Selected by Variety: 'Sergeant York' Top Picture Gary Cooper Leading Star", December 31, 1941, p. 21.
  14. ↑ {{#invoke:Citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=magazine }}
  15. ↑ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199770786. “Front and Center | Sealtest Variety Hour Dorothy Lamour.” 
  16. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Sealtest Boris Karloff Halloween Party 1948.
  17. ↑ Scott, John L., "No Time for Sarongs for Dorothy Lamour in 'Dolly'", February 1, 1968.
  18. ↑ Johnson, Erskine, "In Hollywood", April 4, 1951, p. 4.
  19. ↑ "Dorothy Lamour Stars on Stage", Los Angeles Times, February 5, 1971.
  20. ↑ Wisehart, Bob, "The Road yes, films no, for Lamour at 63", October 2, 1977.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Mitchell, Smyth, "Whatever happened to...Dorothy Lamour? 'Sarong Girl' won't stop working", August 31, 1986.
  22. ↑ Wilson, J. S.. "Cabaret: Dorothy Lamour", February 12, 1982.
  23. ↑ Lee, William F. (2005). American Big Bands. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0634080548. 
  24. ↑ {{#invoke:Citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=magazine }}
  25. ↑ Ackerman, Kenneth D. (November 9, 2001). Five myths about J. Edgar Hoover.
  26. ↑ Lamour 1980.
  27. ↑ "Indoors Setting For Wedding Of Dorothy Lamour", April 6, 1943, p. 19.
  28. ↑ "John Howard Obituary".
  29. ↑ "Son Is Born To Dorothy Lamour", January 8, 1946, p. 1.
  30. ↑ "Dorothy Lamour Gives Birth to Her Second Son", October 21, 1949, p. 22.
  31. ↑ Dorothy Lamour. Baltimore Magazine.
  32. ↑ "Dorothy Lamour at Home in Maryland", September 8, 1963, pp. 16–17.
  33. ↑ Scheeler, Mary Katherine, "One of the hits of the tour was the former home of Dorothy Lamour", December 7, 2006.
  34. ↑ (2012) The Best Guide Ever to Palm Springs Celebrity Homes. Horatio Limburger Oglethorpe. ISBN 978-1479328598. 
  35. ↑ "Mixing politics with show business makes for star wars in Hollywood".
  36. ↑ Kasten, Patricia, "Where actors go to pray", September 19, 2015.
  37. ↑ "From the Archives: Dorothy Lamour, Sultry Movie Star, Dies", September 23, 1996.
  38. ↑ Keister, Douglas (2010). Forever L.A.: A Field Guide to Los Angeles Area Cemeteries & Their Residents. Gibbs Smith. ISBN 978-1-423-60522-5. 
  39. ↑ Hollywood Star Walk: Dorothy Lamour.
  40. ↑ Whitman Authorized Editions for Girls.
  41. ↑ Dorothy Lamour.

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