- Dorothy Tree
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Dorothy Tree 
Dorothy Tree, 1939Born Dorothy Estelle Triebitz
May 21, 1906
Brooklyn, New York, USADied February 13, 1992 (aged 85)
Englewood, New Jersey, USAOther names Dorothy Uris Occupation Actress
Voice teacherYears active 1927 to 1951 Spouse Michael Uris Dorothy Tree (May 21, 1906 – February 13, 1992) was an American actress, voice teacher and writer. She appeared in a wide range of character roles in at least 49 motion pictures between 1927 and 1951.
Her best-known roles were probably as Martha, mother of Knute Rockne, in Knute Rockne, All American and as May Emmerich, invalid wife of Louis Calhern, in The Asphalt Jungle.
After being blacklisted as a communist because of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, she began a second career as a voice teacher in New York. Emphasizing good diction and clarity, and the subtleties of intonation, she published four books on the subject.
Contents
Early life and stage career
She was born in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest of three daughters of Herman Triebitz (1877–1943) and Bertha Hert (1885–1967). Her sisters were Sylvia Triebitz (1911–1949) and Mildred "Mimi" Triebitz (1918–?) Her parents were born in Austria, and immigrated to the United States.[1][2] Their native language was Yiddish. He was the proprietor of a shoe store in Brooklyn, and later sold shoes wholesale.[3]
Dorothy attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Taking the stage name Dorothy Tree, she began her acting career on the stage in 1926.[4] She appeared in six plays on Broadway, including her role as Jessica (Shylock's daughter) in The Merchant of Venice (1930).
Movie career
Tree made her motion picture debut playing a department store employee in the Famous Players-Lasky/Paramount Pictures silent era romantic comedy It (1927) starring Clara Bow and Antonio Moreno. Tree next played a wife of Bela Lugosi's Dracula (1931); she also played a bride of Dracula in the Spanish language version of the same title, which was shot at night with a different cast using the same sets at Universal.
She married screenwriter and story editor Michael Uris (March 25, 1902–July 17, 1967).[5] They had one son, Joseph M. Uris (born October 25, 1943).[6]
Tree attracted attention as a feminine menace on the screen as the hairdresser-spy, Hilda Kleinhauer, in the Warner Bros. drama Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) starring Edward G. Robinson, which won the National Board of Review Award for Best Film – English Language. Her performance immediately won her the role as Reni Vonich, head of a spy ring attempting to steal the latest in technology, in Paramount's sci-fi drama Television Spy (1939). She was signed by RKO to portray the important role as Elizabeth Edwards, Mary Todd's sister, in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) starring Raymond Massey.[7]
She portrayed Martha Rockne in the Warners biopic Knute Rockne, All American, the mother of the famous football coach played by Pat O'Brien. The movie also stars Ronald Reagan and Gale Page. In MGM's film noir crime/drama The Asphalt Jungle Tree played May Emmerich, a bedridden woman who is the very ingenuous and frustrated wife of Alonzo Emmerich (played by Louis Calhern), a crooked lawyer and double-crosser who, although he truly loves May, is having an adulterous affair with the character played by Marilyn Monroe.
Tree also appeared as Aunt Martha Dale in a teleplay of the live television anthology series The Silver Theatre (1950), which was titled Minor Incident. Her last role on the theater screen was as Marie Elsner in Columbia's crime/drama The Family Secret (1951) starring John Derek and Lee J. Cobb.
Blacklist and new career
In 1952, Tree and her husband, Michael Uris, were branded as communists and blacklisted due to the HUAC testimony of playwright/screenwriter Bernard C. Schoenfeld.[8]
She then began a second career teaching voice and diction in New York. She specialized in singing in English at the Metropolitan Opera and the Mannes College of Music,[9] and also taught at the Manhattan School of Music, using her married name, Dorothy Uris. She was quoted as saying, "I left Dorothy Tree in Hollywood."
On November 4, 1956, an article written by Uris about English singing with good diction and its aiding a singer to clarify words for the listener was published in the New York Times.[10] She published four books, Everybody's Book of Better Speaking (1960); To Sing in English, a Guide to Improved Diction (1971); A Woman's Voice: A Handbook to Successful Private and Public Speaking (1975); and Say it Again: Dorothy Uris' Personal Collection of Quotes, Comment & Anecdotes (1979).
Dorothy Tree Uris died at age 85 of heart failure at the Actors Fund of America Nursing Home in Englewood, New Jersey.[11][12]
Selected filmography
Year Title Genre Role Other notes 1927 It romantic comedy Waltham employee 1931 Dracula fantasy/horror Dracula's wife English language version, uncredited role Dracula fantasy/horror Bride of Dracula (in catacombs) Spanish language version, uncredited role 1932 Life Begins drama Rita 1934 Here Comes the Navy romantic comedy Gladys The Case of the Howling Dog crime/mystery Lucy Benton 1935 The Woman in Red drama Mrs. Olga Goodyear Four Hours to Kill! drama Mae Danish 1936 Three Godfathers western Blackie Winter Navy Born drama/romance Daphne Roth 1937 Marked Woman crime/drama woman in raid The Great Garrick romantic comedy Mme. Moreau 1938 Having Wonderful Time romantic comedy Frances Trade Winds comedy Clara 1939 Zaza drama Madame Dufresne The Mystery of Mr. Wong mystery Valerie Edwards Confessions of a Nazi Spy drama Hilda Kleinhauer Television Spy sci-fi/drama Reni Vonich Charlie Chan in City in Darkness mystery Charlotte Ronnell 1940 Abe Lincoln in Illinois biopic/drama Elizabeth Edwards Knute Rockne, All American biopic/sports Martha Rockne 1942 Nazi Agent drama Miss Harper Hitler - Dead or Alive drama Else von Brandt 1943 Edge of Darkness war/drama Solveig Brategaard Crime Doctor crime/drama Pearl Adams 1944 Casanova Brown comedy Nurse Clark 1950 The Asphalt Jungle crime/drama May Emmerich The Men drama Harriet (Ellen's mother) A Life of Her Own drama Caraway's secretary 1951 The Family Secret crime/drama Marie Elsner References
- ^ 1910 Kings Co., NY, U.S. Federal Census, Borough of Brooklyn, New York City, Ward 26, 173 Pitkin Ave., April 19, Enumeration Dist. 736, Sheet 9 B, Page 16 B, Line 68.
- ^ 1920 Kings Co., NY, U.S. Federal Census, Borough of Brooklyn, 1734 Pitkin Ave., January 2, Enumeration Dist. 1499, Sheet 1 A, Page 189 A, Line 8.
- ^ 1930 Kings Co., NY, U.S. Federal Census, Brooklyn Borough, Assembly Dist. 18, Block A, 1316 President St., April 3, Enumeration Dist. 743, Sheet 1 A, Page 163 A, Line 42.
- ^ "Cherry Pie' Contains Some Amusing Skits --- Agnes Lumbard Carries Off Chief Honors in Simi-Professional Revue, With Attractive Tunes." New York Times. Apr. 15, 1926. p. 24.
- ^ "Michael Uris Dies at 65; Ex-Screenwriter and Editor." New York Times. Jul. 18, 1967. p. 38.
- ^ California Birth Index, Name: Joseph Michael Uris, Birth Date: Oct. 25, 1943, Sex: Male, Mother's Maiden Name: Triebitz [sic], Birth County: Los Angeles.
- ^ "Dorothy Tree Runs Wide Range of Characters." Los Angeles Times, Jan. 14, 1940. p. C 4.
- ^ "Shocked Into Reds, Film Writer Says --- He Testifies He Joined in Grief at Roosevelt Death, Quit When Party Line Changed." New York Times. Aug. 20, 1952. p. 10.
- ^ "Lisper Learns How at Mom's Knee." Los Angeles Times. Jun. 18, 1961 New York (UPI). p. N 1.
- ^ Uris, Dorothy. "English Can Be Sung --- Good Diction in Speech Would Aid Singer to Clarify Words for Listener." New York Times. Nov. 4, 1956. p. 149.
- ^ " Dorothy Uris, 85, Dies; Actress and Instructor", New York Times, Feb. 14, 1992, p. B 11. Accessed 2008-4-29.
- ^ "Obituary --- Deaths --- Dorothy Uris, aka Dorothy Tree." New York Times. Feb. 16, 1992. p. 48.
External links
- Dorothy Tree at the Internet Broadway Database
- Dorothy Tree at the Internet Movie Database
- Dorothy Tree at AllRovi
Categories:- 1906 births
- 1992 deaths
- American film actors
- American stage actors
- Actors from New York
- Hollywood blacklist
- American Jews
- People from Brooklyn
- People from Los Angeles, California
- People from Englewood, New Jersey
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