Gloria Dickson

Infobox actor
name = Gloria Dickson


imagesize = 200px
caption = from the film "Lady of Burlesque" (1943)
birthname = Thais Alalia Dickerson
birthdate = birth date|1917|8|13|mf=y
birthplace = Pocatello, Idaho, U.S.
deathdate = death date and age|1945|4|10|1917|8|13|mf=y
deathplace = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
spouse = Perc Westmore (1938-1941)
Ralph Murphy (1941-1944)
William Fitzgerald (1944-1945)

Gloria Dickson (August 13, 1917 - April 10, 1945) was an American stage and screen actress of the 1930s and 1940s.

Life and career

Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Dickson began acting during high school in amateur theater productions. Encouraged by her acting coaches, she moonlighted doing dramatic readings at social clubs and on KFOX radio station in Long Beach, California. In April 1936, she was spotted by Warner Brothers talent scout Max Arnow who signed her to a Warner contract. Her auspicious film debut in 1937's "They Won't Forget" landed her on the top of Hollywood's short list of important up and comers, a distinction which allotted her enormous publicity. In the fall of 1937 she was in many magazine covers and was the subject of several major movie magazine articles with titles like, "The Luckiest Girl in the World" and "New Star of the Year". One magazine proclaimed her one of the greatest American actresses yet discovered.

Death

Dickson died of asphyxiation from inhalation of flames that seared her lungs. She suffered first and second-degree burns over her entire body. It is theorized the fire began by an unextinguished cigarette that ignited an overstuffed chair on the main floor, while Dickson napped upstairs. [cite web|url=http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/67/Gloria+Dickson/index.html|title=The Private Life and Times of Gloria Dickson|publisher=glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com|accessdate=2008-07-10]

She is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Filmography

* "They Won't Forget" (1937)
* "Talent Scout" (1937)
* "Gold Diggers in Paris" (1938)
* "Racket Busters" (1938)
* "Heart of the North" (1938)
* "Secrets of an Actress" (1938)
* "They Made Me a Criminal" (1939)
* "Waterfront" (1939)
* "Cowboy Quarterback" (1939)
* "No Place to Go" (1939)
* "On Your Toes" (1939)
* "Private Detective" (1939)
* "King of the Lumberjacks" (1940)
* "Tear Gas Squad" (1940)
* "I Want a Divorce" (1940)
* "This Thing Called Love" (1940)
* "The Big Boss" (1941)
* "Mercy Island" (1941)
* "The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine" (1942)
* "Power of the Press" (1943)
* "Lady of Burlesque" (1943)
* "Crime Doctor's Strangest Case" (1943)
* "Rationing" (1944)

tage credits

* "Wise Tomorrow" (1937)

References

External links

*
*
* [http://www.classicimages.com/2000/january00/gloriadickson.shtml Gloria Dickson, We Won't Forget: Essay by Dan Van Neste]
*

Persondata
NAME= Dickson, Gloria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Dickerson, Thais Alalia
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress
DATE OF BIRTH= August 13, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH= Pocatello, Idaho, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH= April 10, 1945
PLACE OF DEATH= Los Angeles, California, U.S.