Name: Dorothy Lamour
Date of Birth: 10 December 1914 Femme fatale in the Bing Crosby - Bob Hope "Road" series of Paramount Pictures offerings from 1941 to 1953. In the final entry, The Road to Hong Kong (1962), she appeared with Crosby and Hope but the femme fatale this time was Joan Collins. Miss New Orleans 1931. Interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California, USA, in the Enduring Faith section, lot 387, space 2. Derived her acting name name "Dorothy Lamour" from her step-father, whose surname was "Lambour". Host of NBC Radio's "Sealtest Variety Theater" (aka The Dorothy Lamour Show) (1948-1949). ... "The Moon of Manakoora" from 1937's The Hurricane (1937), was her signature song. During World War II, she toured the country, selling in excess of $300 million worth of war bonds. In 1946 (with the full assistance of Paramount's publicity department) she staged a memorable stunt by publicly burning a sarong, the garment with which she had been associated since her first starring role. Went to secretarial school where she became an excellent typist. Even as a star, she typed her own letters. Her step-son gave her a dog, CoCo, when her husband died. She didn't want it at first, but he insisted. She soon learned to love the dog and referred to him as her boyfriend. Her step-son William Ross "Bill, Jr." Howard IV was born in 1933. Her son John Ridgely "Ridge" Howard was born January 8, 1946. Her son Richard Thomson "Tommy" Howard was born on October 20, 1949. She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her motion picture star is located at 6332 Hollywood Blvd. and her radio star is located at 6240 Hollywood Blvd. Biography in: "American National Biography." Supplement 1, pp. 338-339. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Although not of Hispanic descent, she was wrongly described as such in the documentary, Hispanic Hollywood. Interestingly, this documentary failed to mention her French Louisiana roots and her birth name. Both sides of her family were American for several generations before she was born. She did not speak Spanish nor did she have an ancestors of Hispanic descent. In Italy, almost all her films were dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta. Read more Dorothy Lamour movies (actor)User Comments |
