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Doris Dowling

 
Actor: Doris Dowling
  • Born: May 15, 1923 in New York City, New York
  • Died: Jun 18, 2004 in Los Angeles, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '40s-'80s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
  • Career Highlights: Riso Amaro, Birds Do It, The Lost Weekend
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Lost Weekend (1945)

Biography

The older sister of Hollywood leading lady Constance Dowling, American actress Doris Dowling began making films in the mid '40s. Not a classic beauty in the movie sense, Dowling had a cosmopolitan attractiveness that made her useful in "this girl is trouble!" roles. Her best part was as Ray Milland's saloon pickup and erstwhile drinking companion in The Lost Weekend (1945). In The Blue Dahlia (1946), she dispensed truculence to screen husband Alan Ladd and everyone else around her for a full reel before being bumped off by a mystery killer. Not interested in continuing in such unsympathetic parts, Doris left for Italy in 1948 to appear in such neorealistic films as Bitter Rice (1948) and in such Rennaissance-drenched pieces as Orson Welles' Othello (1951), in which she played Bianca. Doris Dowling remained in European picture-making until her retirement in the late '50s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Doris Dowling
Born May 15, 1923(1923-05-15)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died June 18, 2004 (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Doris Dowling (15 May 1923, Detroit, Michigan – 18 June 2004, Los Angeles) was an American film actress.

After her time as a chorus-girl on Broadway, Detroit-born Doris Dowling followed her elder sister Constance to Hollywood. Her first credited film role was that of Gloria, barfly and drinking companion to fellow alcoholic Ray Milland in the 1945 film The Lost Weekend. She followed up the Best Picture-winning film with the Oscar winning The Blue Dahlia, which starred Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. However post-war work became more scarce and she emigrated to Italy to revive her career, as her sister had done.[citation needed]

In Italy, Dowling starred in several acclaimed films including Bitter Rice. She also appeared in Orson Welles's European production of Othello in 1952, playing Bianca. Upon returning to the US, much of her work was in theatre and on television. She appeared in such television shows as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, Perry Mason, The Andy Griffith Show, and, late in her career, The Incredible Hulk, Kojak and finally, The Dukes of Hazzard in 1984.

In 1973, Dowling shared an Outer Critics Circle award for her performance in a revival of The Women on Broadway.

Personal life

Dowling was married three times. She was band leader Artie Shaw's 7th wife, by whom she had a son, Jonathan, a tattoo artist who reportedly owned Manhattan's oldest tattoo parlour until 2004.[citation needed] Her other husbands were Robert F. Blumofe (1956 - 1959) and Leonard B. Kaufman (1960 until her death in 2004).

External links


 
 
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Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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