Dorothy Arlene Dodd was born on December 29, 1911, in Baxter, Iowa, to Little Rock, Arkansas-based parents who were on a trip to Des Moines at the time of her birth. Her father, a doctor, abandoned her and her mother before she was ten years old, leaving her mother to struggle with tuberculosis. This early tragedy forced Dorothy to take on a maternal role, supporting her mother from a young age.
At the age of fifteen, Dorothy traveled to New York, lied about her age, and joined the Ziegfeld Follies. It was during this time that she was discovered by Darryl F. Zanuck, the head of Fox, who brought her to Hollywood and guided her throughout most of her career.
Dorothy's unique cerebral nature and demeanor made her an unlikely candidate to be cast as a "dumb blonde," and she instead played the role of the conniving "other woman" in many of her films. She worked alongside some of the biggest stars of the time, including Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, and James Cagney.
One of her most notable roles was that of Della Street in a series of 1930s Perry Mason mystery films, starring Warren William. In one of these films, The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936),she even married Mason, making her the only Della Street to do so.
Dorothy's career in film spanned almost sixty movies between 1930 and 1942. She was known for her aloofness and refusal to conform to the Hollywood system, earning her the nickname "Ice Bucket" from a reporter. Despite this reputation, she worked with some of the biggest studios, including Warner Brothers, Paramount, and Universal.
After quitting films, Dorothy married her second husband, H. Brand Cooper, and raised four children with him. She completed this phase of her life after the age of forty, giving birth to her last child at the age of forty-seven. Dorothy was a remarkable woman who defied convention and achieved great success in her own unique way.
Tragically, Dorothy passed away on November 23, 1973, at the age of 61, in the family home, succumbing to cancer. Her remarkable life serves as a testament to her strength and resilience in the face of adversity.
