Dorothy Lamour
On December 10th, it would have been Dorothy Lamour's 101st birthday. An American actress and singer, she is best remembered for appearing in the 'Road to'... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.
She was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in 1914 in New Orleans, and was a beautiful child who was noticed early in life, winning a beauty contest as Miss New Orleans in 1931, at the age of just 17.
Her dream was to become a professional singer, and so after winning the contest, she headed to Chicago, where she was spotted by the band leader of the Herbie Kay band. He signed her as a vocalist, and changed her name to Dorothy Lamour, which was an adopted and modified version of her stepfather Clarence Lambour's surname, soon after whisking her down the aisle too, but their marriage only lasted four years.
After moving to Hollywood to a regular spot on NBC Radio, she was cast in The Jungle Princess, which turned out to be a surprising blockbuster. Paramount realised they were on to something with the jungle films, with Dorothy clothed in a sarong, her long black hair caressing her shoulders, and only a tiger and chimpanzee as friends. She became widely known as Hollywood's 'Sarong Queen' from the movies which followed, which were all colorful, amusing pieces of pure escapism, again starring Dorothy in her trademark sarong, and they were an instant hit with the public, who simply loved her.
During the Second World War, along with Betty Grable, Lana Turner and Rita Hayworth, she became one of the four most popular pin-up girls, often seen at the Hollywood Canteen, the nightclub for servicemen founded by Bette Davis and John Garfield, where she spent many hours talking to and dancing with G.I.'s.
She was also the first star to offer her services selling United States War Bonds, and became known as 'the bond bombshell' because of the volunteer work that she did, touring the country. She was so successful as a saleswoman, credited with selling over $300 million of war bonds singlehandedly, that the Government even put a private railroad car at her disposal for her tours!
But it is as the co-star of the phenomenally successful 'Road to' films with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope which she'll be remembered for the most fondly. In 1940, she made her first of the comedy films, Road to Singapore, and from 1941 to 1961, she starred as the femme fatale in all but one of the seven films. The trio made an amazing team, and she was once quoted as saying "I felt like a wonderful sandwich, a slice of white bread between two slices of ham."
Although she never made any claims to be a great actress, few stars of the screen's vintage years are regarded with greater affection. She starred in many, many radio shows, and was the host of NBC Radio's Sealtest Variety Theater, which was also known as The Dorothy Lamour Show.
We have 41 of the series in the RUSC archives, and I've begun by adding the first of these shows today.
Happy listening my friends,
