Gloria Dickson

Blonde beauty Gloria Dickson in publicity for the 1938 film SECRETS OF AN ACTRESS. She was born Thais Alalia Dickerson on August 13, 1917, in Pocotello, Idaho. After her father died, her mother took Gloria and her sister to California. During high school she started acting in local theater productions. When she was 19 a Warner Brothers talent scout saw one of her performances and offered her a contract. For her first film she was given the leading role in the 1937 drama “They Won't Forget”, a film which also introduced a young Lana Turner to audiences. Her performance got rave reviews and she was called the "luckiest girl in Hollywood". Gloria continued to get good roles in “Gold Diggers In Paris” (1938), “They Made Me A Criminal” (1939), and “I Want A Divorce” (1940). After leaving MGM, her career stalled somewhat and she could only get small roles in films such as “The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (1942) and “Lady Of Burlesque” (1943). Gloria married director Ralph Murphy in 1941, but (due to his wandering eye) their marriage sadly only lasted two years. By 1944, Gloria was unemployed and gaining a lot of weight and was also struggling with a serious alcohol problem. In 1944 she married former boxer William Fitzgerald and rented a house in West Hollywood. On April 10, 1945, Gloria was taking a nap when the house caught on fire, caused by an unextinguished cigarette that ignited an overstuffed chair on the main floor. She tried to escape but ended up trapped in a bathroom. Tragically she suffered second-degree burns and died from asphyxiation. She was only 27 years old. Gloria is buried at Hollywood Forever cemetery with a tombstone reading "Thais A. Dickerson, My Baby".

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