Dorothy Knapp
Dorothy Knapp | |
|---|---|
 Dorothy Knapp, from a 1924 publication. | |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, actress, model |
| Spouse | Jack Edmond (m.1933–div.1934) |
Dorothy Knapp (born about 1900) was an American dancer, actress, model and Ziegfeld girl.
Early life
Dorothy Knapp was born in Chicago,[1] or Dallas (sources vary). She lived in New York City after 1915, and was dancing professionally by 1916, in the company of Norma Gould.[2][3][4]
Career
Knapp began modeling and entering beauty contests as a teenager, and was publicized as "American Venus" in 1922.[1][5] She won a precursor contest to what became the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City.[6] In a 1922 newsreel she was described as "the perfect woman".[7] Her measurements were published in detail,[8] and she was often photographed in a swimsuit doing exercises.[9] "Keeping fit is a pleasure by radio," one such photograph of Knapp was captioned.[10]
From beauty pageants and glamorous photographs, she was cast in variety shows, including Earl Carroll's Vanities in 1923, 1926, and 1928, and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1924 and 1925. In 1929 she starred on Broadway in Fioretta; the show's failure was blamed on Knapp's lack of musical talent,[11] and she was hospitalized after she was fired from the production,[12][13] and lawsuits followed.[14][15] She appeared twice more on Broadway, in Free For All (1931) and Broadway Interlude (1936), but both shows closed quickly.
On screen, she was seen in the films None But the Brave (1928), The Border Patrol (1930), Whoopee! (1930), and Under the Cock-Eyed Moon (1930). She also appeared on some early television programming for NBC in 1931.[16]
Personal life
Knapp was involved with Earl Carroll,[17] and was briefly engaged to actor Chick Chandler, nephew of illustrator Howard Chandler Christy.[18] In 1933 she married a Canadian radio announcer, Jack Edmond;[19] they divorced in 1934. She made public comments about withdrawing to a convent,[20] possibly in Mexico,[21] but had not done so before 1936, when she was reported living in Tudor City and making sculptures.[22] In 1957, Walter Winchell mentioned that Knapp was working at the jewelry counter of a department store, and living with Anna May Wong.[23]
References
- ^ a b Teed, Dexter (1932-04-27). "America's Venus Laments, It's Hard Luck to be Beautiful". Public Opinion. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Girl Will Give Indian Dances; Child Flower Show Feature". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1916-04-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-04-18 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "40 Pretty Dancers Will Aid Pageant". Los Angeles Herald. 1 June 1916. p. 13. Retrieved April 18, 2020 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Druidess Dance as Modern Ballet". Los Angeles Herald. 10 June 1919. p. 14. Retrieved April 18, 2020 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Handzo, Stephen (2020-01-17). Hollywood and the Female Body: A History of Idolization and Objectification. McFarland. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4766-3777-8.
- ^ Gautier, Paul S. (March 1923). "Experience of a Famous Beauty: Dorothy Knapp". The Wireless Age. 10: 26.
- ^ "Topical Budget 591-2: Is Miss Dorothy Knapp the Perfect Woman? (1922)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Pickard, Margery (1924-08-12). "Ziegfeld Says She has Finest Figure in U. S." The San Bernardino County Sun. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-04-18 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "How the Newest Venus Keeps Venus-Like". The St. Louis Star and Times. 1923-01-14. p. 49. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Heard on Air and Seen in Photographs" The Wireless Age 10(March 1923): 19.
- ^ Bapst, Jacob L.; Tribe, Ivan M. (2019-07-26). Beryl Halley: The Life and Follies of a Ziegfeld Beauty, 1897-1988. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-7643-2.
- ^ "DOROTHY KNAPP IN HOSPITAL; Actress Appeared in Various Editions of Earl Carroll's Revues". The New York Times. 1929-08-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Dorothy Knapp is Fired by Earl Carroll's Angel". Reading Times. 1929-04-22. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Musical Comedy with a Leading Lady Who Couldn't Sing". The San Francisco Examiner. 1930-05-11. p. 99. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Miss Dorothy Knapp Sues for $500,000 Over Loss of Role". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1932-02-02. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ranson, Jo (1931-06-01). "Radio Dial-Log". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Murray, Ken (1976-01-01). The Body Merchant: The Story of Earl Carroll. W. Ritchie Press. pp. 126, 152. ISBN 978-0-378-05685-4.
- ^ "Disadvantages of Being So Very Beautiful". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1925-03-29. p. 99. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Dorothy Knapp, Ex-'Venus', is Radio Announcer's Bride". Daily News. 1933-01-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "3 Stage Beauties Who Really Took the Veil and 5000 Who Just Talked". The Times Dispatch. 1932-07-03. p. 35. Retrieved 2020-04-17 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Film Beauty Plans to Enter Convent". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1931-04-04. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-04-18 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ McIntyre, O. O. (1936-04-23). "New York Day by Day". The Times-Tribune. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-04-18 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Winchell, Walter (1957-12-05). "Broadway and Elsewhere". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-04-18 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
- Dorothy Knapp at IMDb
- Dorothy Knapp at the Internet Broadway Database
- A photograph of Dorothy Knapp, by Alfred Cheney Johnston, in the Library of Congress.
- "Residents: Dorothy Knapp, the Most Beautiful Girl in the World" Tudor City Confidential (27 February 2017). A blog post about Knapp, with several images.
