Dorothy Ruth Morris (February 23, 1922 – November 20, 2011) was an American film and television actress known for her "

girl next door The girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in Romance novel, romantic stories. She is named so because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a friendship that late ...

" persona.

Early life

Dorothy Ruth Morris was born and raised in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. She attended

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. His ...

and acted in productions at the

Pasadena Playhouse Pasadena Playhouse is a Tony Award-winning historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

. She was a student in Maria Ouspenskaya's School of Drama. She was the younger sister of Caren Marsh Doll, who later became a dancer and

stand-in A stand-in, sometimes a lighting double, for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and tele ...

for

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

. She did a screen test for the female lead in '' The Courtship of Andy Hardy'' (1942), but lost to Donna Reed.

Career

Appearing in bit parts in several of the studio's more successful films, Morris was signed to a

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

contract in 1941. For one of her early film roles, '' Cry 'Havoc''' (1943), she affected a British accent. Her next picture was the well-received drama '' The Human Comedy'', which featured a star cast, headed by

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

, James Craig and Marsha Hunt. Morris' role was Mary Arena; the girlfriend of Van Johnson's character. The highlight of her career, however, came in 1945 when she starred as the doomed Ingeborg Jensen in ''

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes ''Our Vines Have Tender Grapes'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by Roy Rowland and starring Edward G. Robinson and Margaret O'Brien. Plot Martinius Jacobson is a Norwegian immigrant farmer in Wisconsin with his wife Bruna and their se ...

''. Other screen roles included '' Someone to Remember'' (1943), '' Pilot No. 5'' (1943), ''

Rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution (marketing), distribution of scarcity, scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resourc ...

'' (1944) and '' None Shall Escape'' (1944). Morris is often remembered for her featured appearances in MGM short subjects. She appeared in several of the studio's short films including the '' Pete Smith Specialties'', ''

The Passing Parade ''The Passing Parade'', also known as ''John Nesbitt's Passing Parade'', was an American radio series created, written and narrated by John Nesbitt. It was adapted into an Oscar-winning series of MGM short subjects. In both formats, the series ...

'', and ''Crime Does Not Pay'' series. The ''Crime'' short turned out so well that MGM expanded it into a full-length feature, '' Main Street After Dark'' in 1945, for which the actress was billed as Dorothy Ruth Morris. (Morris reminisces about her short-subjects experience in the

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

documentary ''Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story'', first broadcast in 2002.)

Later career

After she married in 1943, she took a hiatus from movie making. In the late 1950s, she made guest appearances on television series such as '' The Untouchables'', ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...

'', ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'', ''

Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1864 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train in Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Cen ...

'', and ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

''. She made two film appearances during the 1950s in ''

Macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

'' and ''The Power of the Resurrection'' (both 1958). Her last film role was in ''

Seconds The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

'' (1966) starring

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular film stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades, and was a prominent figure in the G ...

. Her last television appearance was in a 1971 episode of '' Marcus Welby, M.D.''.

Personal life and death

Morris was married to Marvin Moofie, a math teacher at

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...

. They had two sons, Richard (born 1947) and Robert (born 1951). Morris adhered to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. Morris resided in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

until her death on November 20, 2011, at the age of 89. Upon her passing, her body was donated to

medical science Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pra ...

at the University of California Riverside.

Filmography

* '' Her First Beau'' – Shirley (uncredited) (1941) * '' Whistling in the Dark'' – Telephone Operator (uncredited) (1941) * '' Down in San Diego'' – Mildred Burnette (1941) * '' Babes on Broadway'' – Chorus Girl (uncredited) (1941) * '' Rio Rita'' – Gas Station Attendant (uncredited) (1942) * '' This Time for Keeps'' – Edith Bryant (1942) * '' Keeper of the Flame'' – Forward American Girl (uncredited) (1942) * '' Seven Sweethearts'' – Peter van Maaster (1942) * '' The Youngest Profession'' – Secretary (1943) * '' The Human Comedy'' – Mary Arena (1943) * '' Someone to Remember'' (1943) * '' Cry 'Havoc''' – Sue (1943) * '' None Shall Escape'' (1944) * '' Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' – Jane (credited as Dorothy Ruth Morris) (1944) * ''

'' – Ingeborg Jensen (1945) * '' Main Street After Dark'' – Rosalie Dibson (1945) * '' Club Havana'' – Lucy (1945) * '' Little Miss Big'' – Kathy Bryan (1946) * ''

The Power of the Resurrection ''The Power of the Resurrection'' is a 1958 American feature film directed by Harold D. Schuster and starring Richard Kiley, Jon Shepodd, Morris Ankrum. The film is also known as ''The Passion and the Power of the Christ''. Plot A young man soon f ...

'' – Mary, sister of Lazarus (1958) * ''

'' – Alice Barrett (1958) * ''

'' -- Mrs. Filter (1966)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Dorothy 1922 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Palm Springs, California Western (genre) film actresses Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Hollywood High School alumni Methodists from California