Ann Dvorak
Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim; August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My fake name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent." Dvorak was the daughter and only child of silent film actress Anna Lehr and director Edwin McKim. While in New York, she attended St. Catherine's Convent. After moving to California, she attended Page School for Girls in Hollywood. She made her film debut when she was five years old in the silent film version of Ramona (1916), credited as "Baby Anna Lehr". She continued in children's roles in The Man Hater (1917) and Five Dollar Plate (1920), but then stopped acting in films. Her parents separated in 1916 and divorced in 1920; she did not see her father again until 13 years later, when she made a public plea to the press to help her find him. In the late 1920s, Dvorak worked as a dance instructor and gradually began to appear on film as a chorus girl. Her friend, actress Karen Morley, introduced her to billionaire movie producer Howard Hughes, who groomed her as a dramatic actress. She was a success in such pre-Code films as Scarface (1932) as Paul Muni's sister; in Three on a Match (1932) with Bette Davis and Joan Blondell as the doomed, unstable Vivian; in The Crowd Roars (1932) with James Cagney; and in Sky Devils (1932) opposite Spencer Tracy. Known for her style and elegance, she was a popular leading lady for Warner Bros. during the 1930s, and appeared in numerous contemporary romances and melodramas. At age 19, Dvorak eloped with Leslie Fenton, her English co-star from The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932), and they married on March 17, 1932. They left for a year-long honeymoon in spite of her contractual obligations to the studio, which led to a period of litigation and pay disputes during which she discovered she was making the same amount of money as the boy who played her son in Three on a Match. She completed her contract on permanent suspension, then worked as a freelancer. Although she worked regularly, the quality of her scripts declined sharply. She appeared as secretary Della Street to Donald Woods' Perry Mason in The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937). With her then-husband, Leslie Fenton, Dvorak traveled to England where she supported the war effort by working as an ambulance driver and acted in several British films. She appeared as a saloon singer in Abilene Town with Randolph Scott and Edgar Buchanan, released in 1946. The following year she adeptly handled comedy by giving an assured performance in Out of the Blue (1947). In 1948, Dvorak gave her only performance on Broadway in The Respectful Prostitute. Dvorak's marriage to Fenton ended in divorce in 1946. In 1947, she married Igor Dega, a Russian dancer who danced with her briefly in The Bachelor's Daughters. The marriage ended two years later. Dvorak retired from the screen in 1951, when she married her third and last husband, Nicholas Wade, to whom she remained married until his death in 1975. She had no children.
Known For
Credits
- 2008 · Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood as Vivian Revere Kirkwood (archive footage)
- 1997 · Bogart: The Untold Story as Self (archive footage)
- 1951 · The Secret of Convict Lake as Rachel Schaeffer
- 1951 · I Was an American Spy as Mrs. Claire 'High Pockets' Phillips
- 1950 · Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone as Connie Kepplar
- 1950 · A Life of Her Own as Mary Ashlon
- 1950 · The Return of Jesse James as Sue Ellen Younger
- 1950 · Our Very Own as Gert Lynch
- 1948 · The Walls of Jericho as Belle Connors
- 1947 · The Long Night as Charlene
- 1947 · The Private Affairs of Bel Ami as Madeleine Forestier
- 1947 · Out of the Blue as Olive Jensen
- 1946 · The Bachelor's Daughters as Terry Wilson
- 1946 · Abilene Town as Rita
- 1945 · Masquerade in Mexico as Helen Grant
- 1945 · Flame of Barbary Coast as Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry
- 1943 · Escape to Danger as Joan Grahame
- 1943 · Squadron Leader X as Barbara Lucas
- 1942 · This Was Paris as Ann Morgan
- 1940 · Girls of the Road as Kay Warren
- 1940 · Cafe Hostess as Jo
- 1939 · Stronger Than Desire as Eva McLain
- 1939 · Blind Alley as Mary
- 1938 · Gangs of New York as Connie Benson
- 1938 · Merrily We Live as Minerva Harlan
- 1937 · Manhattan Merry-Go-Round as Ann Rogers
- 1937 · She's No Lady as Jerry
- 1937 · The Case of the Stuttering Bishop as Della Street
- 1937 · Midnight Court as Carol O'Neill
- 1937 · Racing Lady as Ruth Martin
- 1937 · We Who Are About to Die as Connie Stewart
- 1936 · Breakdowns of 1936 as Self
- 1935 · Thanks a Million as Sally Mason
- 1935 · Dr. Socrates as Josephine
- 1935 · Bright Lights as Fay Wilson
- 1935 · 'G' Men as Jean Morgan
- 1935 · Sweet Music as Bonnie Haydon
- 1935 · A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio as Herself (uncredited)
- 1934 · Murder in the Clouds as Judy Wagner
- 1934 · Gentlemen Are Born as Susan Merrill
- 1934 · I Sell Anything as Barbara
- 1934 · Side Streets as Marguerite Gilbert
- 1934 · Housewife as Nan Reynolds
- 1934 · Friends of Mr. Sweeney as Miss Beulah Boyd
- 1934 · Midnight Alibi as Joan
- 1934 · Heat Lightning as Myra
- 1934 · Roast-Beef and Movies as Chorine (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1934 · Massacre as Lydia
- 1933 · College Coach as Claire Gore
- 1933 · The Way to Love as Madeleine
- 1933 · Hello Pop as Dancer
- 1932 · Three on a Match as Vivian Revere
- 1932 · Crooner as Judith 'Judy' Mason
- 1932 · Love Is a Racket as Sally Condon
- 1932 · The Strange Love of Molly Louvain as Madeleine Maude 'Molly' Louvain
- 1932 · The Crowd Roars as Lee Merrick
- 1932 · Scarface as Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte
- 1932 · Sky Devils as Mary Way
- 1931 · The Guardsman as Fan Saying "There He Is" (uncredited)
- 1931 · This Modern Age as Party Guest (Uncredited)
- 1931 · Stranger in Town as Marian Crickle
- 1931 · Son of India as Dancer (uncredited)
- 1931 · A Tailor-Made Man as Bit (uncredited)
- 1931 · Politics as Rally Audience Extra (uncredited)
- 1931 · Dance, Fools, Dance as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- 1930 · The Devil's Cabaret as Chorine in Black (uncredited)
- 1930 · Madam Satan as Zeppelin Reveler (uncredited)
- 1930 · The March of Time as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- 1930 · Good News as Student
- 1930 · Way Out West as Carnival Show Girl (uncredited)
- 1930 · Our Blushing Brides as One of the 'Quartet' of Models with Tony (uncredited)
- 1930 · Estrellados as Chorine (uncredited)
- 1930 · Children of Pleasure as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- 1930 · Free and Easy as Chorine (uncredited)
- 1930 · Lord Byron of Broadway as Chorus Girl
- 1930 · The Woman Racket as Chorus Girl
- 1930 · Chasing Rainbows as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- 1929 · Devil-May-Care as Chorine (uncredited)
- 1929 · Manhattan Serenade as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- 1929 · It's a Great Life as Chorus Girl
- 1929 · The Song Writers' Revue as Member of the Chorus (uncredited)
- 1929 · The Hollywood Revue of 1929 as Chorus Girl from Omaha (uncredited)
- 1929 · So This Is College as Student (uncredited)
- 1929 · The Doll Shop as Doll
- 1917 · The Man Hater as Phemie's Sister
- 1916 · Ramona as Ramona Phail (age 4)