Dorothy Jordan (August 9, 1906 – December 7, 1988) was an American movie actress who had a short, successful career beginning in 1929.
Career Born in Clarksville, Tennessee, Jordan studied at what is now Rhodes College and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She performed in Broadway musicals, including Garrick Gaieties.
Jordan made her screen debut in the 1929 film The Taming of the Shrew. She made 22 more films in the next four years, including Min and Bill (1930) with Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler and The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) with Bette Davis. During this time, she appeared in films with Ramon Novarro, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Walter Huston and Jimmy Durante.
Film retirement and return
In 1933, Jordan left films and married filmmaker and screenwriter Merian C. Cooper, who co-wrote, produced and directed the 1933 film King Kong. The couple had three children, a son and two daughters.
In 1937, Jordan came out of retirement to try for the role of Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind. Cooper was a good friend of and frequent collaborator with Western director John Ford, forming Argosy Productions in 1947. It was for Argosy's The Sun Shines Bright, directed by Ford in 1953, that Jordan again came out of retirement for a small role. She had another small role as the sister-in-law of Ethan Edwards in the epic 1956 Argosy film The Searchers. Jordan appeared in a small role in the John Ford film The Wings of Eagles in 1957, then retired permanently.
Later years Jordan and Cooper lived in Coronado, California and remained married until his death of cancer on April 21, 1973. Jordan died of congestive heart failure on December 7, 1988, aged 82, in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Her body was cremated at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles, California, and her ashes scattered at sea.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1929Black MagicAnn Bradbroke Words and MusicSong and dance principalThe Taming of the ShrewBiancaDevil-May-CareLeonie de Beaufort1930In Gay MadridCarmiña RivasCall of the FleshMaria Consuelo VargasLove in the RoughMarilyn CrawfordMin and BillNancy Smith1931A Tailor Made ManTanyaShipmatesKit CorbinYoung SinnersConstance SinclairThe Beloved BachelorMitzi StressmanHell DiversAnn Mitchell1932The Lost Squadron'Pest' CurwoodThe Wet ParadeMaggie May 'Persimmon' ChilcoteThe Roadhouse MurderMary AgnewDown to EarthJulia Pearson70,000 WitnessesDorothy ClarkThe Cabin in the CottonBetty WrightThat's My BoyDorothy Whitney1933Strictly PersonalMary O'ConnerBondageJudy PetersOne Man's JourneyLetty McGinnis1953The Sun Shines BrightLucy Lee's mother1956The SearchersMartha Edwards1957The Wings of EaglesRose Brentmann
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Photographs and literature