Dorothy Ford | |
---|---|
Born |
Perris, California, U.S. |
April 4, 1922
Died | October 15, 2010 Canoga Park, California, U.S. |
(aged 88)
Occupation | Actress and Model |
Years active | 1943–1966 |
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Spouse(s) | James Sterling (1949-1949, annullment) Thomas B. Chambers (1952-1954) (divorced) Mike Ragan (1965-1995) (his death) |
Dorothy Ford (April 4, 1922 – October 15, 2010) was an American actress and model active during the 1940s through 1960s.
She began her career as a model, largely due to her height of 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) and a 38-26-38-and-a-half figure. She went on to be the first woman signed by showman Billy Rose for the swimming chorus in his aquacade at the World's Fair in San Francisco. She studied at the Actors' Laboratory Theatre.
In 1944, she made her screen debut in Lady in the Dark. She continued her acting career, including roles in the Andy Hardy movie Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946) and in Abbott and Costello's Jack and the Beanstalk (1952), until 1966, when she put in her final (and uncredited) performance in British film The Wrong Box. She made 39 movies from 1943 to 1962.
Ford and James Sterling wed in Las Vegas in April 1949. The marriage was annulled two months later. On April 23, 1952, she married Tommy Chambers, a tennis player. She had a miscarriage the next year. Her third and final husband was Hollis Bane, an actor who was also billed as Mike Ragan. They remained married until his death.