Dorothy Patrick (born Dorothea Davis; June 3, 1921 – May 31, 1987) was a Canadian-American film actress and a John Robert Powers model.

Dorothy Patrick
Patrick in the 1940s
Born
Dorothea Wilma Davis

(1921-06-03)June 3, 1921
DiedMay 31, 1987(1987-05-31) (aged 65)
Resting placeWestwood Memorial Park
OccupationActress
Years active1938–1967
Spouses
(m. 1939; div. 1941)
Dr. Sterling Bowen
(m. 1943; div. 1948)
J. Hugh Davis
(m. 1955; div. 1963)
Harold Hammerman
(m. 1976)
[1]
Children2

Early life

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Patrick was born on June 3, 1921, in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Davis.[2] As a teen, Patrick was a professional photographic model for young ladies' fashions in Creed's, Hudson's Bay and Sears department store catalogues, popular in Canada.

After growing up in Winnipeg, in 1938 at age 17, she and her "backstage" mother, Eva, emigrated to the United States. Settling in New York City at tony Tudor City in Manhattan, Patrick became a fashion model with the John Robert Powers Agency. She was seen on the runways of the City's haute couture salons and in fashion and entertainment magazines of the day.

Career

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During her early career she was billed under her birth name, Dorothea Davis.

In 1939, Patrick won Samuel Goldwyn's Gateway to Hollywood talent-search contest.[2] With a movie contract in hand, she moved to Hollywood with her mother and young son to live in Culver City, California and work at nearby MGM studios. Patrick trained at the studio's repertory workshop and first appeared as a Goldwyn Girl in Up in Arms starring Danny Kaye (1944). Her most noted MGM appearance was opposite Robert Walker in the Jerome Kern musical showcase Till the Clouds Roll By (1946).[3]

As a "Queen of the Bs," she continued to appear in films produced in the 1940s and 1950s, including High Wall (1947) with Robert Taylor; New Orleans (1947) with Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday; The Mighty McGurk (1947) with Wallace Beery; Follow Me Quietly (1949) with William Lundigan, and the Fritz Lang-directed noir classic, House by the River (1950). Apart from her film career, during the 1940s, she played several roles on Lux Radio Theatre.

 
Dorothy Patrick in Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)

In the early days of television, she made guest appearances on the locally produced TV game show, Mike Stokey's Pantomime Quiz. The Korean War-era saw her at celebrity appearances for USO and she was Miss Naval Air Force Recruiting 1951. At Columbia Pictures, Patrick co-starred with Preston Foster and Wayne Morris in an oil wild-catting yarn, The Big Gusher (1951), and in a modern-day western, Outlaw Stallion (1954), opposite Billy Gray with Phil Carey.

Patrick co-starred or was supporting actress in a series of Republic programmers. The studio was best known releasing Saturday matinee serials, westerns, mysteries and crime dramas. Republic films she made include 711 Ocean Drive (1950) with Edmond O'Brien, Joanne Dru and Otto Kruger; the "true life" crime drama Lonely Heart Bandits (1950) with John Eldredge, a "Gringos go south-of-the-border" comedy, Belle of Old Mexico (1950); and the genre western Thunder Pass (1954) with Dane Clark, John Carradine and Andy Devine.

 
Dorothy Patrick and Robert Walker in Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)

For several summer seasons Patrick was also seen on stage at the La Jolla Playhouse. One summer she co-starred opposite Howard Duff in Anniversary Waltz; another season playing "Mrs. Miniver." Her last movies were in 1955 as Dorothy Davis Patrick at 20th Century Fox: Violent Saturday (1955) as the wife of Victor Mature and The View from Pompey's Head (1955) with Richard Egan and Dana Wynter.That same year, Patrick took a hiatus from Hollywood to raise her two adolescent sons back East in Short Hills, a New Jersey suburb of New York City.

Returning to Hollywood in 1961 and up for a few parts on television, she found her creative niche appearing with the Leontovich Theatre in West Hollywood for several seasons while a real estate agent in Beverly Hills. A working, lifelong Screen Actors Guild actress, Patrick appeared in more than 35 motion picture films and television productions.

Personal life

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In 1939, Patrick married professional hockey player Lynn Patrick in Manhattan.[4] That marriage produced one son, Lester Lee Patrick (1940–1996). The couple divorced.

A few years into her film career she married noted Beverly Hills dentist-to-the-stars, Sterling Trevling "Doc" Bowen. Her son from this marriage was Sterling Terrence "Terry" Bowen (b. 1944).

Death

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On May 31, 1987, the 65 year-old Patrick died of heart attack.[3] She was interred at the "columbarium-to-the-stars", Pierce Brothers Westwood in West Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1944 Up in Arms Goldwyn Girl Uncredited
1946 Boys' Ranch Susan Walker
1946 Till the Clouds Roll By Eva Kern
1947 The Mighty McGurk Caroline Glenson
1947 New Orleans Miralee Smith
1947 High Wall Helen Kenet
1948 Alias a Gentleman Elaine Carter
1949 Follow Me Quietly Ann Gorman
1949 Come to the Stable Kitty Blaine
1950 The Blonde Bandit Gloria Dell
1950 Tarnished Lou Jellison
1950 Belle of Old Mexico Deborah Chatfield
1950 Federal Agent at Large Solitare
1950 House by the River Emily Gaunt
1950 Destination Big House Janet Brooks
1950 711 Ocean Drive Trudy Maxwell
1950 Lonely Heart Bandits Louise Curtis
1950 Under Mexicali Stars Madeline Wellington
1951 The Big Gusher Betsy Abbott
1951 I'll See You in My Dreams Chorine Uncredited
1952 Retreat, Hell! Eve O'Grady
1952 Singin' in the Rain Usherette Uncredited
1952 Road Agent Sally Clayton
1952 Scaramouche Dorie Uncredited
1952 The Sellout Morrison's Secretary Uncredited
1952 Desert Passage Roxie Van Zell
1952 Battle Zone Danny's Girl Uncredited
1952 The Bad and the Beautiful Arlene Uncredited
1953 Tangier Incident Nadine
1953 Savage Frontier Elizabeth Webb
1953 Half a Hero Edna Radwell
1953 Torch Song Martha
1953 Man of Conflict Betty Coughlin
1954 Men of the Fighting Lady Mrs. Dodson Uncredited
1954 The Outlaw Stallion Mary Saunders
1954 Thunder Pass Murdock
1955 Violent Saturday Helen Martin
1955 Las Vegas Shakedown Dorothy Reid
1955 The View from Pompey's Head Meg Page
1956 The Peacemaker Edith Sawyer
1966 The Singing Nun Mrs. Messereaux Uncredited, (final film role)

References

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  1. ^ Profile, glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com; accessed 7 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Film Stardom Chance Comes To Local Girl". The Winnipeg Tribune. Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba. March 13, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved April 28, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ a b "Actress Dorothy Patrick; Featured in '40s, '50s Films". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. June 6, 1987. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  4. ^ "Milestones, Apr. 17, 1939". Time. April 17, 1939. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
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