Dorothy Devore (born Alma Inez Williams; June 22, 1899 – September 10, 1976) was an American

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

Early life

Born Alma Inez Williams in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, on June 22, 1899, her family soon moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

when she was still a young girl and completed her education there.

Career

Before she began working in films, Devore sang at a cafe in Los Angeles. Devore joined a musical comedy company, with which she appeared for one year. She then went to Lyons and Moran comedies at

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. At Universal she was "discovered" by director and producer

Al Christie Charles Herbert Christie (April 13, 1882 – October 1, 1955) and Alfred Ernest Christie (November 23, 1886 – April 14, 1951) were Canadian motion picture entrepreneurs. Early life Charles Herbert Christie was born between April 13, ...

She began playing in small parts in films for Christie, but soon received leads and moved from one-reelers to two-reelers, which would make her a star. Devore specialized in comedic roles, such as in '' Know Thy Wife'' (1918), directed by Christie. Devore was chosen as one of the

WAMPAS Baby Stars The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. ...

in 1923. During a good deal of her career, she achieved stardom in the comedic two-reel Christie Comedies, released through Educational. A little time after her career kicked off, Christie loaned her out to play the female lead opposite Charles Ray in ''45 Minutes from Broadway'' (1920). She made her last film, ''Take the Heir'', in 1930 before retiring. Devore produced films via her company, Dorothy Devore Comedies.

Personal life

Devore married businessman Albert Wylie Mather on December 18, 1925, and filed for divorce in 1933. She died on September 10, 1976, in Woodland Hills, California, aged 77.

Selected filmography

* ''The House Cleaning Horrors'' (1918) (*short) * ''The Extra Bridegroom'' (1918) (*short) * ''The Law of the North'' (1918) (*short) * ''Please Hit Me'' (1918) (*short) * ''Frenzied Film'' (1918) (*short) * ''The Price of a Rotten Time'' (1918) (*short) * ''Maid Wanted'' (1918) (*short) * ''Camping Out'' (1918) (*short) * ''Swat the Flirt'' (1918) (*short) * ''

String Beans Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis' ...

'' (1918) (*uncredited) * '' Know Thy Wife'' (1918) (*short) * ''How's Your Husband?'' (1919) (*short) * ''Sing, Rosa, Sing!'' (1919) (*short) * ''Good Gracious, Bobby'' (1919) (*short) * ''You Couldn't Blame Her'' (1919) (*short) * ''

45 Minutes from Broadway ''45 Minutes from Broadway'' is a 1920 American silent comedy film directed by Joseph De Grasse and starring Charles Ray, Dorothy Devore and Eugenie Besserer. It was based on the 1906 play by George M. Cohan. Plot After learning that his old ...

'' (1920) * '' The Magnificent Brute'' (1921) * ''Hazel from Hollywood'' (1923) * ''When Odds are Even'' (1923) * ''Getting Gertie's Goat'' (1924) * '' Hold Your Breath'' (1924) * ''

The Tomboy ''The Tomboy'' is a 1924 American silent comedy-drama film directed by David Kirkland and starring Herbert Rawlinson and Dorothy Devore. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, Tommy Smith (Devore), the village tomboy, runs a boardin ...

'' (1924) * ''

The Narrow Street ''The Narrow Street'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Matt Moore. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, Simon Haldane (Moore), the underdog in the office of the Faulkner Iron Works i ...

'' (1925) * ''

Who Cares Who Cares or Who Cares? may refer to: * Who Cares? (Gershwin song), "Who Cares?" (George and Ira Gershwin song) (1931) * Who Cares? (Gnarls Barkley song), "Who Cares?" (Gnarls Barkley song) (2006) * Who Cares (Paul McCartney song), "Who Cares" (Paul ...

'' (1925) -- (Survives Library of Congress) * '' The Prairie Wife'' (1925) * '' Three Weeks in Paris'' (1925) * '' A Broadway Butterfly'' (1925) * ''

How Baxter Butted In ''How Baxter Butted In'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine. Plot As described in a film magazine review, Henry Baxter is bashful and fails to get ahead in the world because people do not understand him. That is ...

'' (1925) * '' The Midnight Flyer'' (1925) * '' The Man Upstairs'' (1926) * ''

Señor Daredevil ''Senor Daredevil'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Ken Maynard, Dorothy Devore, and George Nichols (actor), George Nichols. Cast * Ken Maynard as Don Luis O'Flaher ...

'' (1926) * '' The Social Highwayman'' (1926) * '' Money to Burn'' (1926) * '' The Gilded Highway'' (1926) * ''

The First Night "The First Night" is a song by American singer Monica for her second studio album, '' The Boy Is Mine'' (1998). It was written by Tamara Savage and Jermaine Dupri, featuring production and additional vocals from the latter. Built around a sampl ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Wrong Mr. Wright ''The Wrong Mr. Wright'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Scott Sidney and written by Harold Shumate and James Madison. It is based on the 1897 play ''The Wrong Mr. Wright'' by George Broadhurst. The film stars Jean Hersholt, E ...

'' (1927) * '' Mountains of Manhattan'' (1927) *'' No Babies Wanted'' (1928) * ''

Take the Heir ''Take the Heir'' is a 1930 American synchronized comedy sound film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Edward Everett Horton, Dorothy Devore and Edythe Chapman.Pitts p.62 While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchroni ...

'' (1930)

References

External links

*
Literature on Dorothy Devore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devore, Dorothy 1899 births 1976 deaths Actresses from California American film actresses American silent film actresses Actresses from Fort Worth, Texas 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American comedians