Dorothy Appleby
Dorothy Appleby | |
---|---|
Appleby in The Three Stooges film Cookoo Cavaliers (1940) | |
Born |
Portland, Maine, United States | January 6, 1906
Died |
August 9, 1990 84) Hicksville, New York, United States | (aged
Years active | 1931-1943 |
Spouse(s) | Paul Drake (1943-1990) |
Dorothy Appleby (January 6, 1906 – August 9, 1990) was an American film actress. She appeared in over 50 films between 1931 and 1943.
Career
Appleby gained early acting experience as an understudy and a chorus member in plays in New York City.[1] A newspaper article reported that Appleby "came to New York fresh from winning a Maine beauty contest."[2]
Appleby was seen in many supporting roles, almost always in short subjects or low-budget feature films. She never progressed to leading roles in important pictures because of her height, which made her difficult to cast. The trim brunette stood just over five feet tall, and her early leading men (like comedian Charley Chase) towered over her.
She soon found steady if not prestigious work in Columbia Pictures' two-reel comedies. She appeared frequently with The Three Stooges, who were only a few inches taller than she was, and in 1940 she became Buster Keaton's leading lady, for the same reason: her height complemented his. She worked with Columbia comics Andy Clyde, El Brendel, and Hugh Herbert, and she had an uncredited part in John Ford's Stagecoach.
Some of her Stooge comedies were Loco Boy Makes Good, So Long Mr. Chumps, and In the Sweet Pie and Pie.[3] One memorable appearance was as Mexican brunette Rosita in 1940's Cookoo Cavaliers. In the film, Appleby gets clobbered by the Stooges when a facial "mud pack" made of cement dries on her face. Her petite figure belied her age, and she continued to play "younger" roles into the 1940s. One of her last screen roles was a one-line bit (playing a college co-ed at age 35) in the 1941 Jane Withers feature Small Town Deb.
Personal and death
In October 1925, newspapers reported that Appleby had married Teddy Hayes, an athletic trainer.[4] Days later, however, Appleby contradicted that report. "Honest Injun, I'm single," she said. "Didn't mean it when I said I was married to Teddy Hayes."[5] She left Hollywood in 1943 and married musician Paul Drake soon thereafter. They remained married until her death in Hicksville, New York, on August 9, 1990.[6]
Partial filmography
- Paradise for Two (1927)
- Square Crooks (1928)
- Under Eighteen (1931)
- King of the Wild Horses (1933)
- Jail Birds of Paradise (1934)
- As the Earth Turns (1934)
- I Give My Love (1934)
- School for Girls (1934)
- Let 'Em Have It (1935)
- Charlie Chan in Paris (1935)
- Riffraff (1936)
- North of Nome (1936)
- Paradise Express (1937)
- Nothing But Pleasure (1940)
- Rockin' Thru the Rockies (1940)
- From Nurse to Worse (1940) (uncredited)
- The Spook Speaks (1940)
- Convicted Woman (1940)
- Cookoo Cavaliers (1940) (uncredited)
- The Devil's Pipeline (1940)
- High Sierra (1941) (uncredited)
- So Long Mr. Chumps (1941) (uncredited)
- Manpower (1941)
- In the Sweet Pie and Pie (1941)
- Loco Boy Makes Good (1942)
- What's the Matador? (1942)
References
- ↑ "Theatre Notes". Daily News. New York, New York City. April 9, 1924. p. 26. Retrieved July 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Out of Town the Tryout Season's on Full Blast". Daily News. New York, New York City. June 14, 1925. p. 47. Retrieved July 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ threestooges.net
- ↑ "Teddy Hayes, Dempsey's Ex-Trainer, Is Married". The Herald-Press. Michigan, Saint Joseph. October 27, 1925. p. 5. Retrieved July 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Just a Fib". The Monroe News-Star. Louisiana, Monroe. October 31, 1925. p. 1. Retrieved July 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ threestooges.net
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dorothy Appleby. |
- Dorothy Appleby on IMDb
- Dorothy Appleby at AllMovie
- Dorothy Appleby at threestooges.net