Dorothy Hart (April 4, 1922 – July 11, 2004) was an American actress, mostly in supporting roles. She portrayed

Howard Duff Howard Green Duff (November 24, 1913July 8, 1990) was an American actor. He started in radio during World War II before appearing in many Hollywood features and television programs from 1947 to 1990. He also directed for television. His career ...

's fiancée in the film '' The Naked City'' (1948).

Early life

Born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, Hart was the daughter of insurance executive Walter Hart and Mary Hart. Hart attended

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

for one year before graduating from

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

with a B.A. degree. She was also a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. After gaining some experience at the Cleveland Play House she decided on a singing career. In 1944, a newspaper friend submitted her photoThe caption for a photograph of Hart that was distributed by the Newspaper Enterprise Association in July 1944 says, "Wounded war veterans at Crile General hospital in Parma, O." selected Hart "as Greater Cleveland's entrant in the National Cinderella Cover Girl Contest". in the

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

"National Cinderella Cover Girl Contest of 1944." Hart had saved enough money to go to New York when she learned that she was high on the list of ''Cover Girl'' finalists. After winning the contest, the studio paid for her trip in August 1944, and she was given a screen test for the

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer, and Pin-up model, pin-up girl. She achieved fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of ...

film '' Tonight and Every Night'', as her contest award. Winning the "National Cinderella Cover Girl Contest" brought with it a contract for Hart to be a model with the Conover Modeling Agency, which in turn led to pictures of her "appearing in fashionable magazines all over the world." She should not be confused with Dorothy Hart from the children's soap opera “The Sunbrite Junior Nurse Corps." Although that Dorothy Hart was presented in Sunbrite's advertising as a real person, she was played by Lucy Gilman Scott.

Film career

On August 25, 1946, Hart signed a contract with

. Her first big movie break came, starring alongside

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, come ...

and Barbara Britton in the

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 ...

, '' Gunfighters'' (1947), a

Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two-color motion picture process that was based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and the 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel an ...

film for Columbia. While filming in October, 1946 Hart was sent home from location with an illness which was diagnosed as

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

. In February, 1947 she was injured during horseback sequences in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Minor corrective surgery was performed at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in

Los Angeles, California 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, ...

. The Painted Desert was one of the main sites utilized for this movie. Barbara Britton played the female lead in the adventure drama with Hart heading up the supporting cast. Columnist

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

reported in a June 1947 column that

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

was suing Dorothy Hart for a sum of $79,000 because the young actress refused to accept a role in the film ''There Goes Lona Henry''. Pickford stated in an interview that she hoped to take an unknown girl and make her into a great star. Hart refused the role because she did not want to sign away seven years of her career for a single movie opportunity. Hart made ''

Larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

'' (1948), with Shelley Winters and '' The Countess of Monte Cristo'' (also 1948) with

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

, both for

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 ...

. She co-starred in '' The Naked City'', starring Barry Fitzgerald, which premiered on March 10, 1948. She played the bad girl who double crosses her fiancé in William Castle's '' Undertow'' (1949). Hart became the tenth actress to portray Jane when she appeared opposite Lex Barker as

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

in '' Tarzan's Savage Fury'' (1952).Los Angeles Times, 'Movieland Briefs', April 16, 1948, Page 22. She also co-starred in '' Outside the Wall'' (1950) and '' I Was a Communist for the FBI'' (1951), playing a Communist schoolteacher who eventually repudiates the party.

United Nations

In 1952, Hart left acting to work with the American Association for the United Nations in New York. The organization's first female entertainer, she spoke at the United Nations and was an observer at the 1957-1958 meeting of the World Federation of United Nations in Geneva.

Personal life

Hart was twice married and divorced. With Frederick Pittera, she had a son, Douglas (born 1961). Dorothy Hart died of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

on July 11, 2004, in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

, at age 82. She was survived by her son, a sister, and three grandchildren.

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Dorothy 1922 births 2004 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States Neurological disease deaths in North Carolina Actresses from Cleveland Actors from Shaker Heights, Ohio American film actresses 20th-century American actresses Denison University alumni Case Western Reserve University alumni 21st-century American women