Dorothy Lamour was born on December 10, 1914 in New Orleans. Her birth name was Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton. Her first name was supposed to be Dorothy, but her father made a mistake on the birth certificate--she was always called Dorothy or Dottie. Lamour's parents eloped a year before she was born, which was not cherished by either family. The pressure from family was so strong, that Dorothy's mother had enough divorced her husband. Dorothy was then hidden away from her father's family by marrying and divorcing Clearance Lombour after they kidnaped her, as they believed her mother wouldn't be able to give her everything she deserved. Dorothy kept the name even after the divorce, which was eventually changed to Lamour.

In the early 30's, Dorothy and her mother moved to Chicago, where Dorothy worked a lot of odd jobs until she became an elevator operator at Marshall Fields. She was convinced to try out for Herbie Kay's Orchestra and made the cut. She would marry Herbie Kay in 1935.

In 1934, Dorothy had her own radio show in New York. She moved to New York in order to find more work and eventually got a job at The Stork Club which opened a lot of doors for her and she met a lot of people she would later work with in her career. The show, "Dreamer of Songs," moved to Hollywood and Dorothy went along with it thinking she'd only be there for a few days.

Louis B. Mayer had already tried to get Dorothy to do a screen test, but she was still in New York and didn't want to take the time to go to California. When Lamour was in California for her radio show, she went back to MGM for a screen test, but she said her agent was so arrogant and rude that the studio didn't want to work with him. Instead, she did a screen test for Paramount and went over the agent's head. She was given a contract and her first role as Ulah in The Jungle Princess. In her autobiography, Lamour describes being fitted for costumes with Edith Head:

She pulled out some beautiful cotton print material and began to drape it around me. Beginning to daydream of all the beautiful gowns, glamorous hairdos, and magnificent jewels that I would soon be wearing--and one of the handsome leading men who would be holding me in their muscular arms--I asked how many dresses I would wear in the film.

"Dresses?" she exclaimed. "Young lady, this is going to be a sarong!"

I had to admit to her that I didn't know what a sarong was. She laughed, and when she explained, all my hopes of a glamorous movie debut flew out the window.

Part of that innocence and humor is what made Dorothy Lamour a star. She achieved more success when she starred in the Road movies with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Of working with Hope and Crosby Lamour said, ""I felt like a wonderful sandwich, a slice of white bread between two slices of ham." Her film career spanned from 1936 to 1949 with various television and cameo roles in films after that.

In 1939, Dorothy divorced Herbie Kay and in 1943 she married William Howard Ross III--they had two children and remained together until his death in 1978. The loss of her Bill hit her tremendously, but her step-son decided that she ought to have a dog to take care of. Of her dog Coco Lamour wrote, "I've shocked friends when I told them I have a new boyfriend and then bring out a photo of that little dog,"--the scotish terrier enriched her life.

Dorothy had a reputation as being one of the sweetest, most genuine actresses in Hollywood--she's missed by her friends and fans alike. Her charms, modesty, and that haunting air about her should never be forgotten.

Sources

Lamour, Dorothy and McInnes, Dick, Dorothy Lamour: My Side of the Road. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

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