Dorothy Hart

Dorothy Hart (April 4, 1922 – July 11, 2004) was an American screen actress, mostly in supporting roles. She portrayed Howard Duff's fiancée in the 1948 film The Naked City.[1][2]

Dorothy Hart
Dorothy Hart in 1951
Born(1922-04-04)April 4, 1922
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJuly 11, 2004(2004-07-11) (aged 82)
Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.
Resting placeLewis Memorial Park, Asheville, North Carolina
Alma materCase Western Reserve University
OccupationFilm actress
Years active1947-1955
Spouse(s)Frederick Pittera (1954-1965) (divorced)
Parent(s)Walter Hart

Early life

Born in Cleveland, Ohio,[3] Hart was the daughter of insurance executive Walter Hart.[4]

Hart attended Denison University for one year[5] before graduating from Case Western Reserve University with a B.A. degree. She was also a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. After gaining some experience at the Cleveland Play House[6] she decided on a singing career.

In 1944, a newspaper friend submitted her photo[note 1][7] in the Columbia Pictures "National Cinderella Cover Girl Contest of 1944." Hart had saved enough money to go to New York when she learned that she was high on the list of Cover Girl finalists. After winning the contest,[8] the studio paid for her trip in August 1944, and she was given a screen test for the Rita Hayworth film "Tonight and Every Night", as her contest award.[9]

Winning the "National Cinderella Cover Girl Contest" brought with it a contract for Hart to be a model with the Harry Conover agency, which in turn led to pictures of her "appearing in fashionable magazines all over the world."[10]

Film career

On August 25, 1946, Hart signed a contract with Columbia Pictures.[11] Her first big movie break came, starring alongside Randolph Scott and Barbara Britton in the 1947 Western, Gunfighters, a Cinecolor film for Columbia.

While filming in October, 1946 Hart was sent home from location with an illness which was diagnosed as influenza.[12] In February, 1947 she was injured during horseback sequences in Arizona. Minor corrective surgery was performed at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California.[13] The Painted Desert.[14] was one of the main sites utilized for this movie. Barbara Britton played the female lead in the adventure drama with Hart heading up the supporting cast.

Columnist Hedda Hopper reported in a June 1947 column that Mary Pickford was suing Dorothy Hart for a sum of $79,000 because the young actress refused to accept a role in the film There Goes Lona Henry.[15] Pickford stated in an interview that she hoped to take an unknown girl and make her into a great star. Hart refused the role because she did not want to sign away seven years of her career for a single movie opportunity.[16]

In 1948, Hart made Larceny with Shelley Winters and The Countess of Monte Cristo with Sonja Henie, both for Universal Pictures. The Naked City, starring Barry Fitzgerald, premiered on March 10, 1948. She played the bad girl who double crosses her fiancé in William Castle’s Undertow.

Hart became the tenth actress to portray Jane when she appeared opposite Lex Barker as Tarzan in Tarzan's Savage Fury.[17] She also co-starred in Outside the Wall (1950) and I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951).[6]

United Nations

In 1952, Hart left acting to work with the American Association for the United Nations in New York. The organization's first female entertainer, she spoke at the United Nations and was an observer at the 1957-1958 meeting of the World Federation of United Nations in Geneva.[10]

Personal life

Hart was twice married and divorced. She died of Alzheimer's disease on July 11, 2004, in Asheville, North Carolina, at age 82. She was survived by a son, a sister, and three grandchildren.[18]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1947GunfightersJane Banner
1947Down to EarthThe New Terpsichore
1947The ExileLady in WaitingUncredited
1948The Naked CityRuth Morrison
1948LarcenyMadeline
1948The Countess of Monte CristoPeg Manning
1949Take One False StepHelen Gentling
1949Calamity Jane and Sam BassKatherine 'Kathy' Egan
1949The Story of Molly XAnne
1949UndertowSally Lee
1950Outside the WallAnn Taylor
1951Raton PassLena Casamajor
1951I Was a Communist for the FBIEve Merrick
1951Inside the Walls of Folsom PrisonJane PardueUncredited
1952Tarzan's Savage FuryJane
1952Loan SharkAnn Nelson

Notes
  1. The caption for a photograph of Hart that was distributed by the Newspaper Enterprise Association in July 1944 says, "Wounded war veterans at Crile General hospital in Parma, O." selected Hart "as Greater Cleveland's entrant in the National Cinderella Cover Girl Contest".
gollark: You should suggest to them that they have unrealistic expectations.
gollark: Ooh, we could spread the Dino Game virally.
gollark: Anyway, I did this because it is *designed* for single user use.
gollark: The other strain is based on a different thing and even conveniently tells you which pages it just spread to.
gollark: Well, not really, that one is lost, but it's based on that.

References
  1. Los Angeles Times, 'Naked City Opens Today', March 10, 1948, Page 18.
  2. Los Angeles Times, 'Camera Catches Pulse of Naked City', March 11, 1948, Page 23.
  3. Lentz, Harris M. III (2005). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2004: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 159. ISBN 9780786452095. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  4. "'Cinderella' Takes Film Offer After 2-Year Holdout". Detroit Free Press. Michigan, Detroit. Associated Press. August 26, 1946. p. 10. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Hartt, Julian (September 11, 1946). "Dorothy Hart Gets Wise". The Times. Indiana, Munster. International News Service. p. 9. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Dorothy Hart in Unusual Role in Premiere Film". The Pittsburgh Press. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. April 1, 1951. p. 66. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "'Cover Girl Of 1944'". The Akron Beacon Journal. Ohio, Akron. Newspaper Enterprise Association. July 20, 1944. p. 17. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "(untitled brief)". The Sandusky Register. Ohio, Sandusky. Associated Press. July 19, 1944. p. 4. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Showmen's Trade Review, 'Winner Comes To Town', August 5, 1944, Page 26.
  10. Hilton, Tina (April 15, 1988). "A gallant lady may make a comeback". Asheville Citizen-Times. North Carolina, Asheville. p. 38. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Cinderella Girl Signs Film Contract". Oakland Tribune. California, Oakland. United Press. August 26, 1946. p. 5. Retrieved April 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Los Angeles Times, 'Influenza Attack Fells Dorothy Hart', October 23, 1946, Page A12.
  13. Los Angeles Times, 'Injured Film Actress Will Go Under Knife', February 22, 1947, Page 8.
  14. Los Angeles Times, 'Desert Saga Scheduled', June 20, 1947, Page A3.
  15. Los Angeles Times, 'Hedda Hopper Looking At Hollywood', June 2, 1947, Page A3.
  16. Los Angeles Times, 'Beautiful Starlet Would Save The World', November 7, 1948, Page D1.
  17. Los Angeles Times, 'Movieland Briefs', April 16, 1948, Page 22.
  18. McClellan, Dennis (July 16, 2004). "Dorothy Hart, 62; 1940s Cover Girl Acted in 'The Naked City,' 'Tarzan'". The Los Angeles Times. p. 34. Retrieved May 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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