Dorothy Abbott

Dorothy Abbott

Born: December 16, 1920
Died: December 15, 1968
in Kansas City, Missouri
Perennial starlet Dorothy Abbott was a sexy, vivacious, wide-smiling model, showgirl and actress who could brighten up a room. Unfortunately, her cinematic offerings wound up being pretty minimal and her last years were marred by depression and, ultimately, a tragic end.

She was born Dorothy E. Abbott on December 16, 1920, in Kansas City, Missouri and started her career off as a chorine with Earl Carroll and his Los Angeles-based revues and in Las Vegas showrooms where she was dubbed the rather mystifying title of "The Girl with the Golden Arm". Paramount Studios perked up on the lovely blonde with the Betty Page-like bangs and gave her a starting contract at $150 a week. Groomed in dozens of decorative "good time girl" bits -- dancers, chorus girls, waitresses, stewardesses, party girls, nurses and models -- she was at the same time promoted as a cheesecake pinup, "winning" such dubious titles as "Miss Wilshire Club," "Miss Los Angeles Transit" and "Miss Oil Cans". The dusky-voiced Dorothy was usually briefly seen and not heard in such dramatic and lightweight fare as The Razor's Edge (1946), Road to Rio (1947), Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948) (in which she has her first speaking role as a maid), Words and Music (1948), Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), Little Women (1949), Neptune's Daughter (1949), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), His Kind of Woman (1951), Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (1952), _The Las Vegas Story (1952)_, The Caddy (1953), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), Love Me or Leave Me (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), Jailhouse Rock (1957), South Pacific (1958), The Apartment (1960), That Touch of Mink (1962), A Gathering of Eagles (1963) and Dear Heart (1964). Her one starring role came early in the exploitative, lowbudget potboiler A Virgin in Hollywood (1953) as a star reporter out to get a seamy Hollywood story, but she was unable to capitalize on it. Working bit parts at the studio during the days, she would often perform on stage in little theatre shows at night. On the sly, when work was meager, she became a real estate agent in the 1950s in order to help supplement her income. TV chores included guest roles in "Leave It to Beaver" and "Ozzie and Harriet". She also had a recurring part for one season as Jack Webb 's girlfriend on the Dragnet (1954) series.

Dorothy married LAPD narcotics squad officer-turned homicide detective Adolph Rudy Diaz in 1949. Diaz, who was of Native American (Apache) descent, eventually retired as a cop in order to pursue acting. By this time, the marriage was in trouble and the couple separated. Going by the stage name of Rudy Diaz in 1967, he began to get work and was seen out in public with other women. The divorce was finalized in 1968, but Dorothy took it hard and never seemed to get over it. On December 15, 1968, she committed suicide at her Los Angeles home -- one day before her 48th birthday. She was interred (as Dorothy E. Diaz) at Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, Los Angeles County, California, Plot: Valley Lawn, Lot 2939.

Movies for Dorothy Abbott...

Warning Shot
Title: Warning Shot
Released: January 18, 1967
Type: Movie
Hounded by the press for shooting a doctor, an ousted Los Angeles policeman works his own case.
bee
A Gathering of Eagles
Title: A Gathering of Eagles
Released: June 21, 1963
Type: Movie
Rock Hudson plays an Air Force Colonel who has just been re-assigned as a cold war B-52 commander who must shape up his men to pass a grueling inspection that the previous commander had failed, and had been fired for. He is also recently married, and as a tough commanding officer doing whatever he has to do to shape his men up, his wife sees a side to him that she hadn't seen before.
bee
Lover Come Back
Title: Lover Come Back
Character: Brackett Receptionist (uncredited)
Released: December 20, 1961
Type: Movie
Jerry Webster and Carol Templeton are rival Madison Avenue advertising executives who each dislike each other’s methods. After he steals a client out from under her cute little nose, revenge prompts her to infiltrate his secret "VIP" campaign in order to persuade the mystery product’s scientist to switch to her firm.
bee
Bachelor in Paradise
Title: Bachelor in Paradise
Character: Woman (uncredited)
Released: November 1, 1961
Type: Movie
A bachelor author of sleazy books moves to a family-oriented subdivision where he becomes an unofficial relationship advisor to unhappy local housewives, to the dismay of their respective husbands who suspect him of sexual misconduct.
bee
The Apartment
Title: The Apartment
Character: Office Worker (uncredited)
Released: June 21, 1960
Type: Movie
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
bee
South Pacific
Title: South Pacific
Character: Nurse in Thanksgiving Show
Released: March 18, 1958
Type: Movie
Can a girl from Little Rock find happiness with a mature French planter she got to know one enchanted evening away from the military hospital where she is a nurse? Or should she just wash that man out of her hair? Bloody Mary is the philosopher of the island and it's hard to believe she could be the mother of Liat who has captured the heart of Lt. Joseph Cable USMC. While waiting for action in the war in the South Pacific, sailors and nurses put on a musical comedy show. The war gets closer and the saga of Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque becomes serious drama.
bee
Title: Leave It to Beaver
Released: October 4, 1957
Type: TV
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive and often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood. The show also starred Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont as Beaver's parents, June and Ward Cleaver, and Tony Dow as Beaver's brother Wally. The show has attained an iconic status in the US, with the Cleavers exemplifying the idealized suburban family of the mid-20th century.
bee
The Unholy Wife
Title: The Unholy Wife
Character: Waitress (uncredited)
Released: June 24, 1957
Type: Movie
A woman marries a man for his wealth, then concocts a plan to kill him, take his money, and run off with her lover. Things go wrong when they accidentally kill the wrong person.
bee
Pardners
Title: Pardners
Character: Dance Hall Girl (uncredited)
Released: August 1, 1956
Type: Movie
Rich momma's boy Wade Kingsley Jr. an Eastern dude, tries to follow in his murdered father's footsteps by returning to the West to partner up with Slim Moseley Jr.,the son of his father's former partner. Wade overcomes Slim's initial reluctance to accept him by using his fortune to buy a prize cow and new car to help Slim in his job as foreman on the Kingsley family ranch, currently under siege by a gang of outlaws called "masked raiders." Wade generously tries to pay off the ranch's mortgage with $15,000 of his own money, but unfortunately neither "pardner" realizes that respected banker Dan Hollis, the son of their fathers' murderer, is the leader of the gang.
bee
Rebel Without a Cause
Title: Rebel Without a Cause
Character: Nurse (uncredited)
Released: October 27, 1955
Type: Movie
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.
bee
There's No Business Like Show Business
Title: There's No Business Like Show Business
Character: Showgirl (uncredited)
Released: December 16, 1954
Type: Movie
Molly and Terry Donahue, plus their three children, are The Five Donahues. Youngest son Tim meets hat-check girl Vicky and the family act begins to fall apart.
bee
A Virgin In Hollywood
Title: A Virgin In Hollywood
Character: Darla Sloan
Released: October 6, 1953
Type: Movie
A revealing "behind the scenes" feature about glamour girls in Hollywood in startling scenes of EXCITEMENT
bee
Title: Dragnet
Released: December 16, 1951
Type: TV
Follows the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.
bee
His Kind of Woman
Title: His Kind of Woman
Character: Card Player
Released: August 15, 1951
Type: Movie
Career gambler Dan Milner agrees to a $50,000 deal to leave the USA for Mexico, only to find himself entangled with fellow guests at a luxurious resort and suspecting that the man who hired him may be the deported crime boss Nick Ferraro aiming to re-enter to the USA.
bee
Where Danger Lives
Title: Where Danger Lives
Character: Nurse Clerk (uncredited)
Released: November 16, 1950
Type: Movie
A young doctor falls in love with a disturbed young woman and apparently becomes involved in the death of her husband. They head for Mexico trying to outrun the law.
bee
A Life of Her Own
Title: A Life of Her Own
Character: Model (uncredited)
Released: September 1, 1950
Type: Movie
A young woman from Kansas moves to New York City, becomes highly successful at a prestigious modeling agency, and falls in love with a married man.
bee
The Petty Girl
Title: The Petty Girl
Character: December Petty Girl (uncredited)
Released: August 17, 1950
Type: Movie
An artist famous for his calendar portraits of beautiful women becomes fascinated by a prim and proper professor and tries to get her to pose for his arwork. She declines his offer, but he's determined not to take no for an answer.
bee
East Side, West Side
Title: East Side, West Side
Character: Model (uncredited)
Released: December 22, 1949
Type: Movie
A vain businessman puts strains on his happy marriage to a rich, beautiful socialite by allowing himself to be seduced by a former girlfriend.
bee
Red Hot and Blue
Title: Red Hot and Blue
Character: The Queen
Released: September 5, 1949
Type: Movie
A Broadway director rescues a starlet from mobsters who blame her for a shooting.
bee
Neptune's Daughter
Title: Neptune's Daughter
Character: Model (uncredited)
Released: June 10, 1949
Type: Movie
Scatterbrained Betty Barrett mistakes masseur Jack Spratt for Jose O'Rourke, the captain of the South American polo team. Spratt goes along with the charade, but the situation becomes more complicated when they fall in love. Meanwhile, Betty's sensible older sister Eve fears Betty's heart will be broken when Jose returns to South America. She arranges to meet with the real O'Rourke and love soon blossoms between them as well.
bee
Little Women
Title: Little Women
Character: Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Released: March 10, 1949
Type: Movie
Louisa May Alcott's autobiographical account of her life with her three sisters in Concord Mass in the 1860s. With their father fighting in the civil war, the sisters: Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth are at home with their mother - a very outspoken women for her time. The story is of how the sisters grow up, find love and find their place in the world.
bee
Words and Music
Title: Words and Music
Character: Showgirl (uncredited)
Released: December 31, 1948
Type: Movie
Encomium to Larry Hart (1895-1943), seen through the fictive eyes of his song-writing partner, Richard Rodgers (1902-1979): from their first meeting, through lean years and their breakthrough, to their successes on Broadway, London, and Hollywood. We see the fruits of Hart and Rodgers' collaboration - elaborately staged numbers from their plays, characters' visits to night clubs, and impromptu performances at parties. We also see Larry's scattered approach to life, his failed love with Peggy McNeil, his unhappiness, and Richard's successful wooing of Dorothy Feiner.
bee
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
Title: Night Has a Thousand Eyes
Character: Maid (uncredited)
Released: August 20, 1948
Type: Movie
When heiress Jean Courtland attempts suicide, her fiancée Elliott Carson probes her relationship with John Triton. In flashback, we see how stage mentalist Triton starts having terrifying flashes of true precognition. Now years later, he desperately tries to prevent tragedies in the Courtland family.
bee
Beyond Glory
Title: Beyond Glory
Character: Party Girl (uncredited)
Released: August 3, 1948
Type: Movie
Thinking he may have caused the death of his commanding officer Captain Daniels in Tunisia, Rocky visits Daniels' widow. She falls for him, he falls for her, she encourages him to go to West Point. While there he faces serious disciplinary review for having forced a plebe into resigning. He may even be court-martialled.
bee
If You Knew Susie
Title: If You Knew Susie
Character: Model (uncredited)
Released: February 7, 1948
Type: Movie
In the small town of Brookford, everybody can trace their ancestors back to the Revolutionary War, except Sam and Susie Parker. One day, however, they find a letter written by George Washington that mentions the bravery of a Revolutionary War hero named Parker.