Perennial starlet Dorothy Abbott was a sexy, vivacious, wide-smiling
model, showgirl and actress who could brighten up a room.
Unfortunately, her cinematic offerings wound up being pretty minimal
and her last years were marred by depression and, ultimately, a tragic
end.
She was born Dorothy E. Abbott on December 16, 1920, in Kansas City,
Missouri and started her career off as a chorine with
Earl Carroll and his Los
Angeles-based revues and in Las Vegas showrooms where she was dubbed
the rather mystifying title of "The Girl with the Golden Arm".
Paramount Studios perked up on the lovely blonde with the Betty
Page-like bangs and gave her a starting contract at $150 a week.
Groomed in dozens of decorative "good time girl" bits -- dancers,
chorus girls, waitresses, stewardesses, party girls, nurses and models
-- she was at the same time promoted as a cheesecake pinup, "winning"
such dubious titles as "Miss Wilshire Club," "Miss Los Angeles Transit"
and "Miss Oil Cans".
In movies, the dusky-voiced Dorothy was usually briefly seen and not heard; one of the few in which she spoke was 1948's "Night Has a Thousand Eyes." Her one
starring role came early in the exploitative, low-budget potboiler
A Virgin in Hollywood (1953)
as a star reporter out to get a seamy Hollywood story, but she was
unable to capitalize on it.
Working bit parts at the studio during the days, she would often
perform on stage in little theatre shows at night. On the sly, when
work was meager, she became a real estate agent in the 1950s in order
to help supplement her income. TV chores included guest roles in "Leave
It to Beaver" and "Ozzie and Harriet". She also had a recurring part
for one season as Jack Webb's
girlfriend on the Großrazzia (1954) series.
Dorothy married LAPD narcotics squad officer-turned homicide detective
Adolph Rudy Diaz in 1949. Diaz, who was of Native American (Apache)
descent, eventually retired as a cop in order to pursue acting. By this
time, the marriage was in trouble and the couple separated. Going by
the stage name of Rudy Diaz in 1967,
he began to get work and was seen out in public with other women. The
divorce was finalized in 1968, but Dorothy took it hard and never
seemed to get over it. On December 15, 1968, she committed suicide at
her Los Angeles home -- one day before her 48th birthday. She was
interred (as Dorothy E. Diaz) at Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier,
Los Angeles County, California, Plot: Valley Lawn, Lot 2939.
