Dorothy Lee (actress)
Dorothy Lee | |
|---|---|
 Lee in 1935 | |
| Born | Marjorie Elizabeth Millsap May 23, 1911 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | June 24, 1999 (aged 88) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1927–1941 |
| Spouse | >Charles Calderini (1960–1985) |
| Parent(s) | Homer and Bess Millsap |
Dorothy Lee (born Marjorie Elizabeth Millsap, May 23, 1911 – June 24, 1999) was an American actress and comedian during the 1930s. She appeared in 28 films,[1] usually appearing alongside the Wheeler & Woolsey comedy team.
Biography
Born in Los Angeles, Lee was the daughter of Homer and Bess Millsap.[2] She was of English descent.[citation needed]
Lee's first film was Syncopation (1929).[1] At 18, she signed with RKO Radio Pictures and began working with Wheeler & Woolsey; she became so identified with the comedians that she seldom appeared apart from them.[citation needed] Of W & W's 21 feature films, Lee is the leading lady in 14 of them.
She withdrew from the series after producer David O. Selznick tampered with her performance in Girl Crazy; she returned when Selznick's successor Mark Sandrich cast her in two well-received features in 1934. RKO replaced her with Mary Carlisle and then Betty Grable, but she returned in 1935 for two appearances.
In the early 1940s, after Robert Woolsey had died, Bert Wheeler was struggling to re-establish himself as a solo performer, and asked Dorothy Lee to tour with him in vaudeville. She immediately interrupted her private life to help her friend.[citation needed]
Personal life
Lee's last husband was Charles J. Calderini.[3]
Death
Lee died on June 24, 1999 at the age of 88 in San Diego from respiratory failure.[citation needed]
Partial filmography
Note that a completely different actress named "Dorothy Lee" appeared in several silent film in 1924 and '25, and is sometimes confused with this Dorothy Lee, who made her film debut in 1929. Films marked † also feature Wheeler & Woolsey; she also made one film (marked ‡) with Wheeler but not Woolsey.
- Syncopation (1929)
- Rio Rita (1929) †
- The Cuckoos (1930) †
- Dixiana (1930) †
- Half Shot at Sunrise (1930) †
- Hook, Line and Sinker (1930) †
- Cracked Nuts (1931) †
- Local Boy Makes Good (1931)
- Too Many Cooks (1932) ‡
- Peach-O-Reno (1931) †
- Caught Plastered (1931) †
- Laugh and Get Rich (1931)
- The Stolen Jools (1931, cameo appearance in short subject) †
- Girl Crazy (1932) †
- Plane Crazy (1933)
- Maizie (1933)
- A Preferred List (1933, lead in short subject)
- Hips, Hips, Hooray! (1934) †
- School for Girls (1934)
- Cockeyed Cavaliers (1934) †
- The Curtain Falls (1934)
- The Rainmakers (1935) †
- Without Children (1935)
- Silly Billies (1936) †
- Too Many Blondes (1941)
References
- ^ a b "Dorothy Lee; Co-Starred in Comedy Films". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. July 3, 1999. p. 24.
- ^ Brotherton, Jamie; Okuda, Ted (2013). Dorothy Lee: The Life and Films of the Wheeler and Woolsey Girl. McFarland. p. 5. ISBN 9780786433636. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ^ Page, Eleanor (April 19, 1976). "Dorothy Lee: A collector's item for film fans". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. p. Section 3 - 3. Retrieved August 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
