Doris Hill (March 21, 1905 – March 3, 1976), born Roberta M. Hill, was an American

film 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. ...

of the 1920s and 1930s.

Early years

Born and raised in

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fi ...

, Hill was the daughter of rancher William A. Hill. She was educated 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 ...

. When she was a child, Hill began dancing in public. A

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

casting director saw her dancing at the Metropolitan Theater in Los Angeles, which led to her making a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...

Career

Hill moved to

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 ...

in the mid-1920s to pursue an acting career. First working as a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

dancer, she received her first film acting role in 1926 when she starred alongside George O'Hara in ''

The Better 'Ole ''The Better 'Ole'', also called ''The Romance of Old Bill'', is an Edwardian musical comedy with a book by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliot, music by Herman Darewski, and lyrics by Percival Knight and James Heard, based on the cartoon char ...

''. She starred in 17 films from 1926 to 1929, and unlike many

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 ...

stars, she made a successful transition to talking films. In 1929, Hill was selected as one of 13 actresses to be

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. ...

. On contract with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, she starred in four films in 1930, including ''Sons of the Saddle'' with

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

actor

Ken Maynard Kenneth Olin Maynard (July 21, 1895 – March 23, 1973) was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest Western (genre), Western stars in Hollywood. Maynard was also an occa ...

. Western film roles became her most common parts, with her often starring opposite

Tom Tyler Tom Tyler (August 9, 1903 – May 1, 1954) was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films, and for his portrayal of superheroes in movie serials ''The Adventures of Captain Marvel'' and ''The Phantom''. Tyler als ...

. In 1932, she starred in another six films, four of which were Westerns. In 1933, she starred in four films, all Westerns, and by 1934, her career had slowed to almost no roles. Her last acting role was in the 1934 Western ''Ridin' Gents'' opposite

Jack Perrin Jack Perrin (born Lyman Wakefield Perrin; July 25, 1896 – December 17, 1967) was an American actor specializing in Westerns. Early life Perrin was born in Three Rivers, Michigan. His father worked in real estate and relocated the family ...

and

Ben Corbett Ben Corbett (February 6, 1892 – May 19, 1961) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1915 and 1956. He was born in Hudson, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California. Corbett was a trophy-winning rodeo part ...

Personal life

Hill retired and married actor George L. Derrick in June 1932, but they divorced shortly after. She then married Hollywood

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, producer and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Monte Brice, and eventually moved to

Kingman, Arizona Kingman is a city in and the county seat of Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The population was 32,693 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hi ...

Death

Hill died in Kingman, Arizona, on March 3, 1976, aged 70.

Partial filmography

* '' Tom and His Pals'' (1926) * ''

'' (1926) * ''

Rough House Rosie ''Rough House Rosie'' is a 1927 American silent romantic comedy film produced and released by Paramount Pictures and directed by Frank Strayer. The film is a starring vehicle for Clara Bow who was then Paramount's most popular actress. Reed Ho ...

'' (1927) * '' Tell It to Sweeney'' (1927) * '' The Beauty Shoppers'' (1927) * ''

Figures Don't Lie ''Figures Don't Lie'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and written by Ethel Doherty and Louise Long from an adaptation by Grover Jones of a story by B. F. Zeidman, with intertitles by Herman J. Mankiew ...

'' (1927) * '' Tillie's Punctured Romance'' (1928) * ''

Court Martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

'' (1928) * '' Take Me Home'' (1928) * '' A Thief in the Dark'' (1928) * ''

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

'' (1928) * '' The Studio Murder Mystery'' (1929) * '' His Glorious Night'' (1929) * '' Darkened Rooms'' (1929) * '' Men Are Like That'' (1930) * '' Code of Honor'' (1930) * '' Song of the Caballero'' (1930) * '' Sons of the Saddle'' (1930) * '' The One Way Trail'' (1931) * '' The Montana Kid'' (1931) * ''

Spirit of the West Spirit of the West were a Canadian folk rock band from North Vancouver, active from 1983 to 2016. They were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which m ...

'' (1932) * '' South of the Rio Grande'' (1932) * '' Tangled Destinies'' (1932) * '' Battling Buckaroo'' (1932) * '' The Texas Tornado'' (1932) * ''

Galloping Romeo ''Galloping Romeo'' is a 1933 American pre-Code Western film released by Monogram Pictures, written and directed by Robert N. Bradbury, and starring Bob Steele. Plot Cast * Bob Steele as Bob Rivers * Doris Hill as Mary Kent *George "Gabby" ...

'' (1933) * ''

Via Pony Express ''Via Pony Express'' is a 1933 pre-Code American Western film directed by Lewis D. Collins and starring Jack Hoxie, Lane Chandler and Marceline Day. Plot Cast * Jack Hoxie as Buck Carson * Lane Chandler as Lieutenant Bob Grey * Marcel ...

'' (1933) * '' Trailing North'' (1933)

References

External links

*
Doris Hill
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Doris People from Roswell, New Mexico American silent film actresses Actresses from New Mexico American film actresses 1905 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American actresses People from Kingman, Arizona American vaudeville performers Western (genre) film actresses