Dorothy Jordan

Brunette beauty Dorothy Jordan as captured by photographer George Hurrell in a 1930 MGM sitting. She was born on August 9, 1906 in Clarksville, Tennessee. Trained as a ballerina, she first graced the stage as a chorus girl in top flight musicals, like "Funny Face" (1927), with Fred Astaire, and "Treasure Girl" (1928). This led to what turned out to be a fairly short movie career, beginning with the thriller “Black Magic” (1929). Dorothy was soon cast as assorted sultry dames in “Devil-May-Care” (1929) and “Call of the Flesh” (1930), opposite Latin star Ramon Novarro. Rather more demure was her Bianca, the overtly obedient (but deceptively cunning) younger sister of Kate (Mary Pickford) in “The Taming of the Shrew” (1929). She then appeared in “Hell Bound” (1931) and “Beloved Bachelor” (1931)). More downtrodden waif-like roles followed, notably as Marie Dressler's daughter in “Min and Bill” (1930), as an unwed mother in “Bondage” (1933) and as Southern girl Betty Wright in “The Cabin in the Cotton” (1932). After her marriage to producer Merian C. Cooper in 1933 -- and finding decent roles ever harder to come by -- Dorothy gave up acting to raise a family. She emerged from retirement in 1937, unsuccessfully screen testing for the role of Melanie in “Gone with the Wind” (1939). She made a second comeback upon her husband's successful entreaties to a long-term friend and collaborator, the director John Ford. Dorothy appeared in supporting roles in three of Ford's films, before leaving the screen for the final time. In her later years, she became somewhat reticent about discussing her career as a movie actress. Dorothy passed away at age 82 of congestive heart failure on December 7, 1988.

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