Dorothy Lee (actress)

For other people with the same name, see Dorothy Lee.
Dorothy Lee
Born Marjorie Elizabeth Millsap
(1911-05-23)May 23, 1911
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died June 24, 1999(1999-06-24) (aged 88)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Years active 1929–1941
Spouse(s) Robert Booth (1927–1929)
Jimmy Fidler (1931–1931)
Marshall Duffield (1933–1935)
A.G. Atwater (1937–1939)
John Bersbach (1941–1960)
Charles Calderini (1960–1985)

Dorothy Lee (May 23, 1911 – June 24, 1999) was an American actress and comedian during the 1930s, usually appearing alongside the popular Wheeler & Woolsey comedy team.

Biography

Born Marjorie Elizabeth Millsap in Los Angeles, she started seeking film roles in 1929, after graduating from high school, but ended up in New York City working on the stage. At 18, she signed with RKO Radio Pictures and began working with Wheeler & Woolsey; she became so identified with the comedians that she seldom appeared apart from them.

She withdrew from the series after producer David O. Selznick tampered with her performance in Girl Crazy; she returned when Selznick's successor Mark Sandrich cast her in two well-received features in 1934. RKO replaced her with Mary Carlisle and then Betty Grable, but she returned in 1935 for two final appearances.

In the early 1940s, after Robert Woolsey had died, Bert Wheeler was struggling to re-establish himself as a solo performer, and asked Dorothy Lee to tour with him in vaudeville. She immediately interrupted her private life to help her old friend.

Personal life

Lee was married six times, including briefly to Hollywood gossip columnist Jimmy Fidler. She had four children by her fifth husband, Frank 'John' Bersbach Jr.

She died in June 24, 1999, at the age of 88., in San Diego from respiratory failure

Partial filmography

External links

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