| Dorothy Dare | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dorothy Herskind August 6, 1911 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 4, 1981 (aged 70) Orange County, California |
| Occupation | Actress/Singer |
| Years active | 1931-1944 |
| Spouse | John L. Van Dam (1942-1981) (her death) |
Dorothy Dare (August 6, 1911 – October 4, 1981) was an American film actress and singer.
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She was born Dorothy Herskind on August 6, 1911 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . As a child she often sang in church and developed good vocability. She first appeared on stage at the age of seven.
She first began her singing and acting career in several of Ziegfeld's shows and then appeared in Vitaphone shorts that ran twenty minutes in length. In time, interest was growing with young Dorothy and by 1934 she was signed under contract to Warner Bros. Studios and made her debut in Very Close Vangs (1934). In time she found herself co-starring with the likes of Dick Powell, Bette Davis, George Brent, Ross Alexander, Gloria Stuart, and Irene Dunne in full length featured films by 1935.
During the 1930s, she starred in a string of successful films such as Gold Diggers of 1935, Front Page Woman (1935), High Hat (1937), and Clothes and the Woman (1937). She sang such songs as Red Headed and Blue and Yoo Hoo Hoo.
By the late 1930s and early 1940s, Dare began to lose parts. In 1942, she made her final film appearance as Peggy in The Yanks Are Coming and in 1944 she sang her last musical number in Musical Movieland. Dare left movies and moved to Orange County, California. She seldom granted interviews or wrote about her Hollywood years.
In 1981, she died of natural causes at her home. She was buried in Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar, Orange County, California.[1]
When her death certificate was issued it confirmed that she had been a former actress for Warner Bros. Studios; in later years, an actress residing in New York City claimed that she was Dorothy Dare but further investigations proved that these claims were untrue.