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Ann Dvorak
Born: 2nd Aug 1911 New York City, New York, USA - Died 10th Dec 1979
Dept: Acting
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.
[ToDo] Show list of extra photos here.
Film and Tv Credits
Total number of credits listed: 87
Film: 87 (100%)
Remaining genres not in graph: History
Filmography
2008
A look at the forces that shaped Pre-Code Hollywood and brought about the strict enforcement of the Hays Code in 1934. ... view
Character:
Vivian Revere Kirkwood (archive footage)
1997
Stephen H. Bogart narrates the rise to fame of his father, Humphrey Bogart through the use of film clips, written material and interviews of friends a ... view
Character:
Self (archive footage)
1951
After a group of convicts escapes from prison, they take refuge in the wilderness. While most of the crew are ruthless sociopaths, Jim Canfield is an ... view
Character:
Rachel Schaeffer
1951
An American nightclub singer in 1940's Singapore becomes a spy for America in an effort to get back at the invading Japanese army. Based on a true sto ... view
Character:
Mrs. Claire 'High Pockets' Phillips
1950
Harriet O'Malley tries to solve a murder aboard a train en route to New York. ... view
Character:
Connie Kepplar
1950
A young woman from Kansas moves to New York City, becomes highly successful at a prestigious modeling agency, and falls in love with a married man. ... view
Character:
Mary Ashlon
1950
Frank James resents and tries to stop a ruthless drifter who has adopted the name of his dead brother in order to duplicate his crimes. ... view
Character:
Sue Ellen Younger
1950
During a heated argument with her sister Joan, Gail discovers the shocking news that she is adopted. With the reluctant support of her adoptive parent ... view
Character:
Gert Lynch
1948
In a small town in Kansas, a county attorney in an unhappy marriage falls in love with another woman. ... view
Character:
Belle Connors
1947
City police surround a building, attempting to capture a suspected murderer. The suspect knows there is no escape but refuses to give in. ... view
Character:
Charlene
1947
A self-serving journalist uses influential women in late-1800s Paris and denies the one who truly loves him. ... view
Character:
Madeleine Forestier
1947
Set in an apartment building whose occupants include Arthur Earthleigh, a meek and mild type married to the beautiful-but-domineering Mae; a Bohemian ... view
Character:
Olive Jensen
1946
A department store floor walker is persuaded by four husband-seeking salesgirls to pose as their father in a Long Island mansion which they have rente ... view
Character:
Terry Wilson
1946
Marshall Dan Mitchell, who is the law in Abilene, has the job of keeping peace between two groups. For a long time, the town had been divided, with th ... view
Character:
Rita
1945
An American singer stranded in Mexico is hired by a banker to distract a Mexican matador who is making a play for the banker's wife. They hatch a sche ... view
Character:
Helen Grant
1945
Duke Fergus falls for Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry in the Barbary Coast in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. He loses money to crooked gambler Boss Tito Morell ... view
Character:
Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry
1943
During the Second World War a British schoolteacher working in Denmark is caught up when the Germans invade. ... view
Character:
Joan Grahame
1943
Equipped with an RAF uniform, an English accent, a photograph of his "wife" and a packet of Players (cigarettes), a German agent is parachuted into oc ... view
Character:
Barbara Lucas
1942
British agents operate in Paris during the Second World War. ... view
Character:
Ann Morgan
1940
The story of an eclectic group of women - tramps, job-seekers and fugitives - either running from or toward something as they hitch-hike their way acr ... view
Character:
Kay Warren
1940
A dancehall girl meets a sailor and they fall in love, but the club’s owner doesn’t want the girl to leave. ... view
Character:
Jo
1939
An attorney handling a murder case is unaware his own wife played a crucial role in the killing. ... view
Character:
Eva McLain
Character:
Mary
1938
An undercover cop infiltrates a powerful New York based crime syndicate. ... view
Character:
Connie Benson
1938
Society matron Emily Kilbourne has a habit of hiring ex-cons and hobos as servants. Her latest find is a handsome tramp who shows up at her doorstep a ... view
Character:
Minerva Harlan
1937
In this musical comedy, a crooked record producer uses his mob connections to force performers to do their stuff. The trouble really begins when the g ... view
Character:
Ann Rogers
1937
Alden "Bill" Carter III sees a beautiful woman, Jerry, dining alone at the Park Savoy in New York, and after a brief flirtation, introduces himself. A ... view
Character:
Jerry
1937
A Bishop from Australia comes to Perry to ask him to take a case of a woman wrongly accused of manslaughter 22 years before. The case would involve th ... view
Character:
Della Street
1937
After losing his bid for district attorney, an aspiring young lawyer agrees to defend a ring of car thieves. ... view
Character:
Carol O'Neill
1937
A shrewd millionaire who owns races horses for publicity for his automobile business, claims ownership of a female horse trainer's thoroughbred in ord ... view
Character:
Ruth Martin
1937
John Thompson is kidnapped by mobsters after quitting his job. Then he is arrested, tried, and sentenced to death for murders they committed. A suspic ... view
Character:
Connie Stewart
1936
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1936. ... view
Character:
Self
1935
A show troupe is engaged by Judge Culliman, who is running for Governor, to enhance his political campaign. When the inebriated Judge has to be replac ... view
Character:
Sally Mason
1935
Dr. Socrates gave up his brilliant career as surgeon in a prominent hospital because his betrothed died under his knife. He is now a struggling doctor ... view
Character:
Josephine
1935
Husband-and-wife vaudeville stars separate when success goes to his head. ... view
Character:
Fay Wilson
1935
James “Brick” Davis, a struggling attorney, owes his education to a mobster, but always has refused to get involved with the underworld. When a fr ... view
Character:
Jean Morgan
1935
A midwest band leader and his lead singer share a love-hate relationship as they try for success in New York. ... view
Character:
Bonnie Haydon
1935
This short shows the entrances of the various Hollywood studios, then specifically visits Warner Bros. / First National Studios. We start at the casti ... view
Character:
Herself (uncredited)
1934
Bob Halsey is a first-rate pilot who's in love with stewardess Judy Wagner. He's ordered to deliver a secret formula to Washington, D.C., but a spy he ... view
Character:
Judy Wagner
1934
A well-cloistered and protected-against-reality group of college students get their diplomas in the heart of the Great Depression, and quickly learn t ... view
Character:
Susan Merrill
1934
Auctioneer Spot Cash Cutler is planning the scam of a lifetime, but will he get burned? ... view
Character:
Barbara
Character:
Marguerite Gilbert
1934
Nan Reynolds encourages her copywriter husband Bill to open his own agency. Nearly out of business, he finally gets a client. Former girlfriend Patric ... view
Character:
Nan Reynolds
1934
Asaph (Charles Ruggles) is a meek, mild-mannered homebody who occasionally shows some backbone to his prudish, overbearing boss, only to be beaten dow ... view
Character:
Miss Beulah Boyd
1934
An elderly woman provides an alibi to a man she scarcely knows who is on trial for murder of his girlfriend's racketeer father. ... view
Character:
Joan
1934
Olga runs an isolated gas station and restaurant in the stifling hot American desert with her discontented younger sister Myra. When two escaped crimi ... view
Character:
Myra
1934
A trio of amateur film makers try to persuade a group of studio executives to exhibit their new movie. ... view
Character:
Chorine (archive footage) (uncredited)
1934
Upon the death of his father, who was the tribal chieftain, Joe Thunder Horse returns to the reservation of his youth, only to discover that his peopl ... view
Character:
Lydia
1933
Ruthless Coach Gore creates turmoil at a college by hiring players and alienating students. Along the way, the coach loses his wife Claire Gore to a g ... view
Character:
Claire Gore
1933
Francois, a cheerful Parisian bohemian, wants more than anything to be a tour guide in his beloved city. While working the streets, Francois meets Mad ... view
Character:
Madeleine
1933
A stage director is trying to put on a musical/comedy revue, but has to contend with temperamental musicians, an inept stage crew and his three idiot ... view
Character:
Dancer
1932
Although Vivian Revere is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery ... view
Character:
Vivian Revere
1932
Fame goes to a priggish singer's head and almost costs him his girlfriend. ... view
Character:
Judith 'Judy' Mason
1932
A gossip columnist helps a Broadway ingenue who's beholden to a penthouse gangster. ... view
Character:
Sally Condon
1932
A fast-talking reporter befriends a young woman and her male companion who are wanted for a policeman's shooting. ... view
Character:
Madeleine Maude 'Molly' Louvain
1932
Famous auto racing champion Joe Greer returns to his hometown to compete in a local race, discovering that his younger brother has aspirations to beco ... view
Character:
Lee Merrick
1932
In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, aka Scarface, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to pr ... view
Character:
Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte
1932
Wilkie and Mitchell, trying to desert their draft into the army, stow away on a ship which takes them into the war zone. While AWOL, the rivals for Ma ... view
Character:
Mary Way
1931
An acclaimed actor and his equally acclaimed actress wife, who have been married for less than a year, are already showing signs of strain in their ma ... view
Character:
Fan Saying "There He Is" (uncredited)
1931
A Harvard football star disobeys his upper class parents and runs off with his true love. ... view
Character:
Party Guest (Uncredited)
1931
Crickle is a tenacious small-town grocer who stubbornly resists the efforts of a monopolistic chain-store firm to purchase his establishment. The chai ... view
Character:
Marian Crickle
1931
An Indian jewel merchant goes from penniless to wealthy in this story about gratitude. ... view
Character:
Dancer (uncredited)
1931
John Paul Bart is just a pants-presser in a tailor's shop, but he has big ambitions. One night, he borrows the clothes of a wealthy client and bluffs ... view
Character:
Bit (uncredited)
1931
A widow's decision to run for mayor kicks off a battle of the sexes in a small town. ... view
Character:
Rally Audience Extra (uncredited)
1931
When misfortune hits hard on the Jordan family of Chicago's upper class, Bonnie Jordan, a dazzling and witty girl, finds a job as an aspiring reporter ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1930
At Satan & Co., Inc., the devil is upset because too many people are going up to Heaven rather than down to Hades. He gives his assistant, Mr. Burns, ... view
Character:
Chorine in Black (uncredited)
1930
A socialite masquerades as a notorious femme fatale to win back her straying husband during a costume party aboard a doomed dirigible. ... view
Character:
Zeppelin Reveler (uncredited)
1930
Unfinished pre-Code era film consisting of three sections with past performers from the stage and the vaudeville circuit, then-present-day performers ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Character:
Student
1930
Wise-guy carnival barker Windy bilks a group of cowboys out of their money, gets caught and is forced into working off the debt on their ranch. He fal ... view
Character:
Carnival Show Girl (uncredited)
1930
Gerry, Connie, and Franky are small-town girls seeking wealthy husbands in New York City. But, while Connie and Franky are reckless with their affecti ... view
Character:
One of the 'Quartet' of Models with Tony (uncredited)
1930
A matinée idol and a bumbling manager fight for the love of a would-be starlet. Estrellados is the Spanish version of Free and Easy (1930) with Hispa ... view
Character:
Chorine (uncredited)
1930
A successful songwriter, dazzled by high society, falls for a society girl who is just playing around. ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1930
Gopher City Kansas hosts a beauty contest. The winner, Elvira Plunkett, and her mother go to Hollywood. The Chamber of Commerce also provides Elvira w ... view
Character:
Chorine (uncredited)
1930
Middle-aged Napa Valley grape-grower Tony posts a marriage proposal to San Francisco waitress Lena enclosing a photo of his handsome younger brother B ... view
Character:
1930
A talented songwriter gets his inspiration for songs from others and not from within himself. He is oblivious that he may harm other people when he us ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl
1930
During a raid, a cop lets a pretty speakeasy employee escape and later begins dating her. Although she loves him, his salary and dull life leave her w ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl
1930
The road-show troupe of a top Broadway show go cross-country while taking the audience along on the on-stage scenes as well as what happens and is hap ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1929
A follower of Napoleon escapes the firing squad, flees to a woman's bedroom and winds up butler. ... view
Character:
Chorine (uncredited)
Character:
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1929
Casey and Babe are sisters who work in a department store and each year the store puts on a show. As expected, things are going wrong with every act u ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl
1929
This short showcases composers and lyricists of songs that are now considered standards of American popular music. For several of these song writers, ... view
Character:
Member of the Chorus (uncredited)
1929
An all-star revue featuring MGM contract players. ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl from Omaha (uncredited)
1929
Scheming coed Babs comes between college buddies Eddie and Biff. ... view
Character:
Student (uncredited)
1917
Phemie, an avowed man-hater, marries Joe, the village blacksmith. ... view
Character:
Phemie's Sister
1916
Silent version of the 1884 Helen Hunt Jackson novel originally ran 3 hours but all but 50 minutes of that are now lost. ... view
Character:
Ramona Phail (age 4)