Ann Dvorak
Ann Dvorak
Biography
Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim; August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My fake name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent." Dvorak was the daughter and only child of silent film actress Anna Lehr and director Edwin McKim. While in New York, she attended St. Catherine's Convent. After moving to California, she attended Page School for Girls in Hollywood. She made her film debut when she was five years old in the silent film version of Ramona (1916), credited as "Baby Anna Lehr". She continued in children's roles in The Man Hater (1917) and Five Dollar Plate (1920), but then stopped acting in films. Her parents separated in 1916 and divorced in 1920; she did not see her father again until 13 years later, when she made a public plea to the press to help her find him. In the late 1920s, Dvorak worked as a dance instructor and gradually began to appear on film as a chorus girl. Her friend, actress Karen Morley, introduced her to billionaire movie producer Howard Hughes, who groomed her as a dramatic actress. She was a success in such pre-Code films as Scarface (1932) as Paul Muni's sister; in Three on a Match (1932) with Bette Davis and Joan Blondell as the doomed, unstable Vivian; in The Crowd Roars (1932) with James Cagney; and in Sky Devils (1932) opposite Spencer Tracy. Known for her style and elegance, she was a popular leading lady for Warner Bros. during the 1930s, and appeared in numerous contemporary romances and melodramas. At age 19, Dvorak eloped with Leslie Fenton, her English co-star from The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932), and they married on March 17, 1932. They left for a year-long honeymoon in spite of her contractual obligations to the studio, which led to a period of litigation and pay disputes during which she discovered she was making the same amount of money as the boy who played her son in Three on a Match. She completed her contract on permanent suspension, then worked as a freelancer. Although she worked regularly, the quality of her scripts declined sharply. She appeared as secretary Della Street to Donald Woods' Perry Mason in The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937). With her then-husband, Leslie Fenton, Dvorak traveled to England where she supported the war effort by working as an ambulance driver and acted in several British films. She appeared as a saloon singer in Abilene Town with Randolph Scott and Edgar Buchanan, released in 1946. The following year she adeptly handled comedy by giving an assured performance in Out of the Blue (1947). In 1948, Dvorak gave her only performance on Broadway in The Respectful Prostitute. Dvorak's marriage to Fenton ended in divorce in 1946. In 1947, she married Igor Dega, a Russian dancer who danced with her briefly in The Bachelor's Daughters. The marriage ended two years later. Dvorak retired from the screen in 1951, when she married her third and last husband, Nicholas Wade, to whom she remained married until his death in 1975. She had no children.
Known For
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
87
Gender
Female
Birthday
1911-08-02 (113 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Acting

2008

Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood as Vivian Revere Kirkwood (archive footage)

1997

Bogart: The Untold Story as Self (archive footage)

1951

The Secret of Convict Lake as Rachel Schaeffer

1951

I Was an American Spy as Mrs. Claire 'High Pockets' Phillips

1950

The Return of Jesse James as Sue Ellen Younger

1950

A Life of Her Own as Mary Ashlon

1950

Our Very Own as Gert Lynch

1950

Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone as Connie Kepplar

1948

The Walls of Jericho as Belle Connors

1947

Out of the Blue as Olive Jensen

1947

The Long Night as Charlene

1947

The Private Affairs of Bel Ami as Madeleine Forestier

1946

Abilene Town as Rita

1946

The Bachelor's Daughters as Terry Wilson

1945

Flame of Barbary Coast as Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry

1945

Masquerade in Mexico as Helen Grant

1943

Escape to Danger as Joan Grahame

1943

Squadron Leader X as Barbara Lucas

1942

This Was Paris as Ann Morgan

1940

Cafe Hostess as Jo

1940

Girls of the Road as Kay Warren

1939

Blind Alley as Mary

1939

Stronger Than Desire as Eva McLain

1938

Gangs of New York as Connie Benson

1938

Merrily We Live as Minerva Harlan

1937

We Who Are About to Die as Connie Stewart

1937

Manhattan Merry-Go-Round as Ann Rogers

1937

Racing Lady as Ruth Martin

1937

Midnight Court as Carol O'Neill

1937

She's No Lady as Jerry

1936

Breakdowns of 1936 as Self

1935

'G' Men as Jean Morgan

1935

Dr. Socrates as Josephine

1935

Bright Lights as Fay Wilson

1935

A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio as Herself (uncredited)

1935

Thanks a Million as Sally Mason

1935

Sweet Music as Bonnie Haydon

1934

Housewife as Nan Reynolds

1934

Murder in the Clouds as Judy Wagner

1934

Gentlemen Are Born as Susan Merrill

1934

Friends of Mr. Sweeney as Miss Beulah Boyd

1934

Massacre as Lydia

1934

Heat Lightning as Myra

1934

I Sell Anything as Barbara

1934

Midnight Alibi as Joan

1934

Roast-Beef and Movies as Chorine (archive footage) (uncredited)

1934

Side Streets as Marguerite Gilbert

1933

College Coach as Claire Gore

1933

The Way to Love as Madeleine

1933

Hello Pop as Dancer

1932

Scarface as Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte

1932

The Strange Love of Molly Louvain as Madeleine Maude 'Molly' Louvain

1932

Three on a Match as Vivian Revere

1932

Love Is a Racket as Sally Condon

1932

The Crowd Roars as Lee Merrick

1932

Sky Devils as Mary Way

1932

Crooner as Judith 'Judy' Mason

1931

This Modern Age as Party Guest (Uncredited)

1931

Dance, Fools, Dance as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

1931

Son of India as Dancer (uncredited)

1931

Stranger in Town as Marian Crickle

1931

The Guardsman as Fan Saying "There He Is" (uncredited)

1931

Politics as Rally Audience Extra (uncredited)

1931

A Tailor-Made Man as Bit (uncredited)

1930

Madam Satan as Zeppelin Reveler (uncredited)

1930

Free and Easy as Chorine (uncredited)

1930

Children of Pleasure as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

1930

Our Blushing Brides as One of the 'Quartet' of Models with Tony (uncredited)

1930

Way Out West as Carnival Show Girl (uncredited)

1930

Good News as Student

1930

The Woman Racket as Chorus Girl

1930

Chasing Rainbows as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

1930

The Devil's Cabaret as Chorine in Black (uncredited)

1930

Lord Byron of Broadway as Chorus Girl

1930

Estrellados as Chorine (uncredited)

1930

The March of Time as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

1929

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 as Chorus Girl from Omaha (uncredited)

1929

Devil-May-Care as Chorine (uncredited)

1929

So This Is College as Student (uncredited)

1929

It's a Great Life as Chorus Girl

1929

Manhattan Serenade as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

1929

The Doll Shop as Doll

1929

The Song Writers' Revue as Member of the Chorus (uncredited)

1917

The Man Hater as Phemie's Sister

1916

Ramona as Ramona Phail (age 4)
Crew

1931

Dance, Fools, Dance Choreographer