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relationship ultimately failed when Lee kept accepting job offers. One such instance was in 1938, just 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 friend, over her husband's objections.
282:. Despite frequent arguments about marriage and career, they were drawn to each other and Waring persisted in proposing marriage. She told Boothe about it, and husband and wife parted friends. She treasured Waring's engagement ring and wore it for the rest of her life, but she and Waring never married. She confessed that Waring was the love of her life.
306:. The increasingly private "A. G." was annoyed by his wife's continued interest in performing, and Lee was tired of her obligations as a society figure. In Lee's words, "It's a shame that A. G. turned into a recluse and no longer wanted to see anyone. He was so full of life. We stayed in touch for years I eventually got to know all of A. G.'s wives."
316:
Charles J. Calderini, senior partner in a
Chicago law firm (1960-1985; his death). This was Lee's longest and happiest marriage: "I'm finally at a point in my life where I think I've got this marriage thing figured out." They were wed on August 9, 1960 and remained together until his death on August
273:
Robert O. Boothe (1927-1929; dissolved) Lee married
Pasadena society scion Boothe when she was 16. "My parents didn't approve of meeting involved in a serious relationship at a young age. Definitely not. But eventually my mother told me, 'The two of you are always together, so you might as well get
265:
Lee married six times into wealthy families, but the first five unions failed for essentially the same reason: whenever she got married, the husband would insist that she must give up show business and become a member of high society. Lee would make an attempt to please her husband, but the
292:. Lee's biographers explained, "They lived different lifestyles and he wanted her to cut back on her film assignments." Lee herself remarked, "I stupidly married Fidler on the rebound from Fred. We simply didn't get along and it didn't help that I was so obviously in love with Fred."
171:. When she happened to be watching scenes shot backstage for a film, the director asked her to take a small part in the film because the woman who was supposed to have the part did not show up. She later went to New York for a role in the stage show
190:; of W & W's 21 feature films, Lee is the leading lady in 13 of them. She became so identified with the comedians that she seldom appeared apart from them. She withdrew from the series after producer
338:
Note that a completely different actress named "Dorothy Lee" appeared in several silent film in 1924 and 1925, and is sometimes confused with this
Dorothy Lee, who made her film debut in 1929.
132:, May 23, 1911 – June 24, 1999) was an American actress and comedian during the 1930s. She appeared in 28 films, usually appearing alongside the comedy team of
245:
The
Wheeler & Woolsey series ended when Robert Woolsey died in 1938. Dorothy Lee resumed her film career in 1939, playing incidental roles for RKO,
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313:. Her marriage to Bersbach lasted longer than the others -- almost two decades -- but it became strained when they no longer had the same interests.
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F. John
Bersbach, Jr., Chicago socialite and printing/engraving executive (1941-1960; divorced). They were married on December 10, 1941, in
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A. Gordon
Atwater, vice president of the Wrigley chewing-gum company (1936-1939; divorced). Lee met Atwater while on a publicity junket to
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Born in Los
Angeles, Marjorie Elizabeth Millsap was the daughter of Homer and Bess Millsap. Her father was an attorney in Los Angeles.
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and he proposed marriage that very night. She divorced
Duffield and married Atwater on March 7, 1936, in
295:
Marshall D. Duffield, college football star (1933-1935; divorced). Lee married
Duffield in Agua Caliente.
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married.' And that's what we did." The marriage failed when she joined the cast of a collegiate musical,
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Wheeler & Woolsey: the Vaudeville Comic Duo and Their Films, 1919-1937
175:. Her work in that production caught the attention of a movie director at
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Dorothy Lee: The Life and Films of the Wheeler and Woolsey Girl
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216:. During her temporary retirement RKO replaced her with
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601:. California, Los Angeles. July 3, 1999. p. 24.
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186:At 18, she signed with RKO and began working with
167:Lee began her career as a dancer in a stage show,
816:. Associated Press. December 11, 1941. p. 39
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204:cast her in two well-received features in 1934,
742:. Associated Press. November 8, 1930. p. 2
224:, but Lee returned in 1935 for two appearances.
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595:"Dorothy Lee; Co-Starred in Comedy Films"
491:(1931, cameo appearance in short subject)
200:; she returned when Selznick's successor
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513:(1933, lead in short subject)
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641:. March 8, 1936. p. N 7
341:With Wheeler & Woolsey:
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21:Dorothy Lee (disambiguation)
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693:, McFarland, 1994, p. 246.
667:. June 15, 1929. p. 12
661:"Movieland Mutterings . . "
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233:Wheeler & Woolsey
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155:. Her first film was
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740:The Kansas City Star
464:Local Boy Makes Good
371:Half Shot at Sunrise
304:Crown Point, Indiana
450:Solo performances:
419:Hips, Hips, Hooray!
334:Partial filmography
207:Hips, Hips, Hooray!
814:The New York Times
777:The New York Times
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639:The New York Times
634:"Dorothy Lee weds"
533:If This Isn't Love
480:Laugh and Get Rich
427:Cockeyed Cavaliers
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864:Dorothy Lee
495:Plane Crazy
456:Syncopation
355:The Cuckoos
280:Fred Waring
181:Syncopation
158:Syncopation
153:Dorothy Lee
126:Dorothy Lee
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32:Dorothy Lee
900:Categories
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613:Ted Okuda
317:16, 1985.
255:Universal
231:Lee with
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347:Rio Rita
251:Monogram
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