Dorothy Dell (1930s Starlet)

�The girl who has a career ahead of her can�t afford to waste her time in parties and automobile rides and late dances - she has to work.� ~ Dorothy

Dorothy Dell was born Dorothy Dell Goff in Hattiesburg Mississippi, on January 20, 1915. Her family later moved to New Orleans where she became friends with Dorothy Lamour . The two girls dreamed of becoming actresses together. Dorothy began entering beauty pageants when she was a teenager and in 1930 she was crowned Miss Universe. She moved to New York City where she appeared in The Ziegfeld Follies. Dorothy fell in love with singer Russ Columbo but their romance was short-lived. At the age of eighteen she went to Hollywood and was quickly signed by Paramount Studios. She was given a prominent role in the 1934 film Wharf Angel. Her performance earned rave reviews and critics predicted Dorothy would become a big star.

She worked with Shirley Temple in Little Miss Marker and with Lew Cody in Shoot The Works. In the Spring of 1934 it was announced she would play the lead in the drama Now and Forever. Dorothy's career was taking off and she had finally found true love. She became engaged to a caricaturist named Nat Carr and was busy planning their wedding. On June 8, 1934 she attended a party with her friend Dr. Carl Wagner. While driving home at 1:00 AM the car hit a boulder and flipped over several times. Dorothy was killed instantly. She was just nineteen years old. Dr. Wagner, who was driving the car, died several hours later. Dorothy is buried at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana.