Dorothy Wellman

Dorothy Wellman (born Dorothy Rae Coonan; November 25, 1913 – September 16, 2009) was an American actress and dancer. Wellman was the widow of film director William Wellman, to whom she was married from 1934 until his death in 1975.[2] Wellman cast her in several of his films.

Dorothy Wellman
Born
Dorothy Rae Coonan[1]

(1913-11-25)November 25, 1913
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedSeptember 16, 2009(2009-09-16) (aged 95)
Brentwood, California, U.S.
Other namesDorothy Coonan
Dorothy Coonan Wellman
Occupation(s)Actress, dancer
Years active1929–1945
Spouse(s)William Wellman
(m. 1934–1975; his death)
Children7

Early life

Wellman was born Dorothy Rae Coonan in Minnesota in 1913.[2] She was the fourth child of six children of Florence (née Taylor) and Daniel Raymond Coonan, who was a traveling salesman.[3] By 1920, she had moved to Oakland, California with her family and later that decade relocated with her mother and siblings to Los Angeles.[2][3]

Career

Her career as a dancer began at the age of 14 with Warner Brothers Studios.[2] Her early film credits as an on-screen dancer and actress included small, uncredited parts in early sound films such as The Broadway Melody (1929), Whoopee! (1930), Kiki (1931) Palmy Days (1931), and The Kid from Spain (1932). Her best-known films were 42nd Street (1933) and Gold Diggers of 1933.[2] Many of the films in which she appeared were choreographed by Busby Berkeley.[2]

Career highlight

Film director William Wellman cast Coonan as Sally, a "hobo" disguised as a male, in the 1933 Depression-era drama Wild Boys of the Road.[2] This was her only role in which she was credited on screen. She does make a later uncredited appearance in Wellman's The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), portraying a World War II army nurse nicknamed "Red" who marries a soldier on the battlefield, where he is soon killed.

Personal life and death

Coonan and Wellman were married in Nevada in March 1934.[1][2] The couple remained married for over four decades, until William's death on December 9, 1975.[2] Their seven children all worked in entertainment to some extent.[4] She died of natural causes at her home in Brentwood, California, at age 95 on September 16, 2009.[4]

References
  1. "Nevada County Marriages, 1862-1993," database with images, marriage certificate of William Augustus Wellman and Dorothy Rae Coonan, March 22, 1934, Clark County, Nevada; digital copy of original record, Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas. Retrieved via FamilySearch archives, June 14, 2022.
  2. "Dorothy Wellman dies at 95". Variety. September 17, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  3. "United States Census, 1920", digital image of original enumeration page, Dorothy Coonan in entry for family of D. R. and Florence Coonan, Oakland, Alameda County, California, ED (Enumeration District) 79, January 2, 1920; United States Bureau of the Census, NARA, Washington, D.C. Retrieved via FamilySearch archives, June 14, 2022.
  4. "Dorothy Wellman: Busby Berkeley dancer, actress". Los Angeles Times. September 19, 2009. p. 12. Retrieved October 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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