Ann Dvorak

Birthday: 1911-08-02
Deathday: 1979-12-10
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim; August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My fake name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent."

Dvorak was the daughter and only child of silent film actress Anna Lehr and director Edwin McKim. While in New York, she attended St. Catherine's Convent. After moving to California, she attended Page School for Girls in Hollywood.

She made her film debut when she was five years old in the silent film version of Ramona (1916), credited as "Baby Anna Lehr". She continued in children's roles in The Man Hater (1917) and Five Dollar Plate (1920), but then stopped acting in films. Her parents separated in 1916 and divorced in 1920; she did not see her father again until 13 years later, when she made a public plea to the press to help her find him.

In the late 1920s, Dvorak worked as a dance instructor and gradually began to appear on film as a chorus girl. Her friend, actress Karen Morley, introduced her to billionaire movie producer Howard Hughes, who groomed her as a dramatic actress. She was a success in such pre-Code films as Scarface (1932) as Paul Muni's sister; in Three on a Match (1932) with Bette Davis and Joan Blondell as the doomed, unstable Vivian; in The Crowd Roars (1932) with James Cagney; and in Sky Devils (1932) opposite Spencer Tracy. Known for her style and elegance, she was a popular leading lady for Warner Bros. during the 1930s, and appeared in numerous contemporary romances and melodramas. At age 19, Dvorak eloped with Leslie Fenton, her English co-star from The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932), and they married on March 17, 1932. They left for a year-long honeymoon in spite of her contractual obligations to the studio, which led to a period of litigation and pay disputes during which she discovered she was making the same amount of money as the boy who played her son in Three on a Match. She completed her contract on permanent suspension, then worked as a freelancer. Although she worked regularly, the quality of her scripts declined sharply. She appeared as secretary Della Street to Donald Woods' Perry Mason in The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937). With her then-husband, Leslie Fenton, Dvorak traveled to England where she supported the war effort by working as an ambulance driver and acted in several British films. She appeared as a saloon singer in Abilene Town with Randolph Scott and Edgar Buchanan, released in 1946. The following year she adeptly handled comedy by giving an assured performance in Out of the Blue (1947). In 1948, Dvorak gave her only performance on Broadway in The Respectful Prostitute.

Dvorak's marriage to Fenton ended in divorce in 1946. In 1947, she married Igor Dega, a Russian dancer who danced with her briefly in The Bachelor's Daughters. The marriage ended two years later.

Dvorak retired from the screen in 1951, when she married her third and last husband, Nicholas Wade, to whom she remained married until his death in 1975. She had no children.

Credits

Year Title Character
1951-07-29 The Secret of Convict Lake Rachel Schaeffer
1951-04-14 I Was an American Spy Mrs. Claire 'High Pockets' Phillips
1950-12-08 Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone Connie Kepplar
1950-09-01 A Life of Her Own Mary Ashlon
1950-08-01 The Return of Jesse James Sue Ellen Younger
1950-07-27 Our Very Own Gert Lynch
1948-11-22 The Walls of Jericho Belle Connors
1947-05-28 The Long Night Charlene
1947-04-25 The Private Affairs of Bel Ami Madeleine Forestier
1947-04-21 Out of the Blue Olive Jensen
1946-08-06 The Bachelor's Daughters Terry Wilson
1946-01-11 Abilene Town Rita
1945-12-03 Masquerade in Mexico Helen Grant
1945-05-28 Flame of Barbary Coast Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry
1943-10-18 Escape to Danger Joan Grahame
1943-03-01 Squadron Leader X Barbara Lucas
1942-03-21 This Was Paris Ann Morgan
1940-07-24 Girls of the Road Kay Warren
1940-01-11 Cafe Hostess Jo
1939-06-30 Stronger Than Desire Eva McLain
1939-05-11 Blind Alley Mary
1938-05-23 Gangs of New York Connie Benson
1938-03-04 Merrily We Live Minerva Harlan
1937-11-26 Manhattan Merry-Go-Round Ann Rogers
1937-08-20 She's No Lady Jerry
1937-06-08 The Case of the Stuttering Bishop Della Street
1937-03-06 Midnight Court Carol O'Neill
1937-01-12 Racing Lady Ruth Martin
1937-01-08 We Who Are About to Die Connie Stewart
1935-11-13 Thanks a Million Sally Mason
1935-10-19 Dr. Socrates Josephine
1935-07-27 Bright Lights Fay Wilson
1935-05-04 'G' Men Jean Morgan
1935-02-23 Sweet Music Bonnie Haydon
1934-12-15 Murder in the Clouds Judy Wagner
1934-11-17 Gentlemen Are Born Susan Merrill
1934-10-20 I Sell Anything Barbara
1934-08-14 Side Streets Marguerite Gilbert
1934-08-11 Housewife Nan Reynolds
1934-07-28 Friends of Mr. Sweeney Miss Beulah Boyd
1934-07-12 Midnight Alibi Joan
1934-03-01 Heat Lightning Myra
1934-01-20 Massacre Lydia
1933-11-04 College Coach Claire Gore
1933-10-20 The Way to Love Madeleine
1933-09-16 Hello Pop Dancer
1932-10-29 Three on a Match Vivian Revere
1932-08-20 Crooner Judith 'Judy' Mason
1932-06-18 Love Is a Racket Sally Condon
1932-05-28 The Strange Love of Molly Louvain Madeleine Maude 'Molly' Louvain
1932-04-16 The Crowd Roars Lee Merrick
1932-04-09 Scarface Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte
1932-03-12 Sky Devils Mary Way
1931-10-20 The Guardsman Fan Saying "There He Is" (uncredited)
1931-08-29 This Modern Age Party Guest (Uncredited)
1931-08-06 Stranger in Town Marian Crickle
1931-08-01 Son of India Dancer (uncredited)
1931-03-28 A Tailor-Made Man Bit (uncredited)
1931-02-26 Politics Rally Audience Extra (uncredited)
1931-02-07 Dance, Fools, Dance Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1930-12-13 The Devil's Cabaret Chorine in Black (uncredited)
1930-09-20 Madam Satan Zeppelin Reveler (uncredited)
1930-09-01 The March of Time Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1930-08-22 Good News Student
1930-08-02 Way Out West Carnival Show Girl (uncredited)
1930-07-19 Our Blushing Brides One of the 'Quartet' of Models with Tony (uncredited)
1930-07-07 Estrellados Chorine (uncredited)
1930-04-26 Children of Pleasure Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1930-03-22 Free and Easy Chorine (uncredited)
1930-02-28 Lord Byron of Broadway Chorus Girl
1930-01-24 The Woman Racket Chorus Girl
1930-01-10 Chasing Rainbows Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1929-12-27 Devil-May-Care Chorine (uncredited)
1929-12-21 Manhattan Serenade Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1929-12-06 It's a Great Life Chorus Girl
1929-11-27 The Song Writers' Revue Member of the Chorus (uncredited)
1929-11-23 The Hollywood Revue of 1929 Chorus Girl from Omaha (uncredited)
1929-11-08 So This Is College Student (uncredited)
1929-09-28 The Doll Shop Doll
1917-09-02 The Man Hater Phemie's Sister
1916-04-05 Ramona Ramona Phail (age 4)