Dora Hand (c. 1844 – October 4, 1878), aged c. 34, was an American dance hall singer and actress in

Dodge City Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier ...

, Kansas, who was mistakenly shot to death from ambush by a young suitor who was acquitted of criminal charges in the case. Hand was also linked romantically with James H. "Dog" Kelley, the mayor of Dodge City from 1867 to 1871.

Television and film depiction

Claire Trevor played Hand in the 1943 film '' The Woman of the Town,'' which depicts a fictional romance with

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

. Phyllis Coates played Hand in the 1964 episode "The Left Hand Is Damned" of the

syndicated television Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

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'', hosted by Ronald Reagan. In the story line, Hand nurses the ungrateful gunslinger Slim Kennedy (

Peter Haskell Peter Abraham Haskell (October 15, 1934 – April 12, 2010) was an American actor who worked primarily in television. Early years Haskell was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Rose (née Golden) and geophysicist Norman Haskell. He at ...

) back to health after he is shot in self-defense by Dora's boss, Mayor James H. Kelley (Stephen Roberts) of

, Kansas. Having lost the use of his right hand, Kennedy vows to kill Kelley and tries to develop skills with his left hand. However, Kennedy mistakenly kills Dora instead. Following this, Kennedy commits "

suicide by cop Suicide by cop or suicide by police is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately behaves in a threatening manner, with intent to provoke a lethal response from a public safety or law enforcement officer. Overview There are ...

". English singer-songwriter

Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981), is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primar ...

released a song displaying her story in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand, Dora 1844 births 1878 deaths People from Dodge City, Kansas Businesspeople from Kansas Deaths by firearm in Kansas 19th-century American women singers 19th-century American singers 19th-century American businesspeople