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

silent film A silent film is a film with no 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 or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audienc ...

Early life

Born as Alma Inez Williams in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

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

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

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 Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. 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, 1 ...

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'' (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 boardi ...

'' (1924) * '' The Narrow Street'' (1925) * '' Who Cares'' (1925) -- (Survives Library of Congress) * ''

The Prairie Wife ''The Prairie Wife'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent Western (genre), Western film directed by Hugo Ballin and featuring Boris Karloff, and based on a story by Arthur Stringer (writer), Arthur Stringer. The film is considered to be lost f ...

'' (1925) * ''

Three Weeks in Paris ''Three Weeks in Paris'' is a 1925 silent movie from Warner Bros. starring Matt Moore and Dorothy Devore. No copies are known to survive. Cast * Matt Moore as Oswald Bates *Dorothy Devore as Mary Brown * Willard Louis as Gus Billikins *Helen ...

'' (1925) * ''

A Broadway Butterfly ''A Broadway Butterfly'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine. Plot As described in a film magazine review, Irene Astaire is befriended by Cookie Dale and gets a job in the chorus, although Cookie is dismissed to ...

'' (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 i ...

'' (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.Munden, p. 631 Cast * Ken Maynard as Don ...

'' (1926) * ''

The Social Highwayman ''The Social Highwayman'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine. Cast * John Patrick as Jay Walker * Dorothy Devore as Elsie Van Tyler * Montagu Love as Ducket Nelson * Russell Simpson as The Mayor's Partner * G ...

'' (1926) * '' Money to Burn'' (1926) * ''

The Gilded Highway ''The Gilded Highway'' is a lost 1926 American silent drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and starring Dorothy Devore, John Harron and Macklyn Arbuckle.Leider, Emily W. ''Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood''. University of Calif ...

'' (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 sample ...

'' (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, ...

'' (1927) * ''

Mountains of Manhattan ''Mountains of Manhattan'' is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Dorothy Devore, Charles Delaney, and Kate Price.Munden p. 528 Cast * Dorothy Devore as Marion Wright * Charles Delaney as Jerry Nolan * ...

'' (1927) *''

No Babies Wanted ''No Babies Wanted'' is a 1928 silent film domestic drama directed by Jack Harvey, released under the alternative title ''The Baby Mother''. It starred child actress Priscilla Moran (b. 1917) and seasoned silent veteran William V. Mong as her gr ...

'' (1928) * ''

Take the Heir ''Take the Heir'' is a 1930 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Edward Everett Horton, Dorothy Devore and Edythe Chapman.Pitts p.62 It was produced during the transition to sound film and a separate silent version was ...

'' (1930)

References

External links

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