Dorothy Granger was a pioneering actress who was one of the first members of the Screen Actors Guild when it was founded in 1933. Her career, which spanned over two decades, was marked by her versatility and ability to adapt to various genres and roles.
Born in Texas, Dorothy won a beauty contest at the age of thirteen, which marked the beginning of her journey in the entertainment industry. She started her career in the early 1930s, starring in a long-running two-reel series alongside Leon Errol for RKO Pictures. Her breakthrough role came in the 1950s, when she landed a recurring role in the popular television series "Death Valley Days" alongside Ronald Reagan.
Dorothy's early career was marked by her work in comedy films, where she played the role of a damsel-in-distress for The Three Stooges and a prop for Lucille Ball in the 1934 film "Perfectly Mismatched". She also worked with popular comedy teams of the time, including Laurel and Hardy, Bert Wheeler, and W.C. Fields.
Despite her success in comedy films, Dorothy had a desire to pursue dramatic roles. She appealed to her friend Andy Devine, who advised her to wear a petticoat, saying it would ensure her work forever. And indeed, it did. In the 1940s, Dorothy became a regular in western films, working alongside Lon Chaney Jr., Devine, Randolph Scott, Broderick Crawford, and Gene Autry.
As the years went by, Dorothy continued to work in various genres, including horror films with Bela Lugosi, musicals, and the Charlie Chan series with Sidney Toler. By the 1950s, she had established herself as a reliable character actress, working regularly on episodic TV shows such as "The Abbott and Costello Show", "Cameo Theatre", and "The Jack Benny Program".
However, by the 1960s, Dorothy's style had passed, and she began to appear in smaller roles in films such as "Dondi" with Walter Winchell and David Janssen, "New York Confidential" with Anne Bancroft, and "Raintree County" with Montgomery Clift. Eventually, she decided to retire, having accumulated over 250 film credits.
In her personal life, Dorothy was known for her affair with Clark Gable and her love for watching her grandnephew, Alex Wilde, grow as an actor.
