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Gloria Dickson
Gloria Dickson
	Dickson in Lady of Burlesque (1943)
Born	Thais Alalia Dickerson; August 13, 1917; Pocatello, Idaho, U.S.
Died	April 10, 1945 (aged 27); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1937–1945
Spouses	; Perc Westmore (m. 1938; div. 1941) ; Ralph Murphy (m. 1941; div. 1944) ; William Fitzgerald (m. 1944)

Gloria Dickson (born Thais Alalia Dickerson; August 13, 1917^[1] – April 10, 1945) was an American stage and screen actress of the 1930s and 1940s.

Early years

Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Dickson was the daughter of a banker. After her father's death in 1929, the family moved to California.^[2] She graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School.^[3]

She began acting during high school in amateur theatre productions. Encouraged by her acting coaches, she moonlighted doing dramatic readings at social clubs and on KFOX radio station in Long Beach, California.^{[citation needed]}

Career

In April 1936, as she worked in a production of the Federal Theatre Project,^[4] she was spotted by Warner Bros. talent scout Max Arnow, who signed her to a contract. Her film debut was in 1937's They Won't Forget.^[3]

Personal life

Dickson was married to the famous makeup artist Perc Westmore on June 20, 1938, in Santa Barbara, California, then filed suit for divorce from him on May 17, 1940.^[5] Their uncontested divorce was granted on June 22, 1941, in Los Angeles, California.^[6]

Her second marriage, in late 1941, was to film director Ralph Murphy, whom she divorced in 1944.^[7]

Later in 1944, she married William Fitzgerald, a former boxer to whom she remained married until her death at age 27 on April 10, 1945.^[8]

Death

Dickson died during a fire on April 10, 1945, at the Los Angeles home she was renting from actor Sidney Toler,^[9] caused by an unextinguished cigarette that ignited an overstuffed chair on the main floor, while she slept upstairs. Her body, and that of her pet dog, were found in the bathroom, and she is assumed to have attempted to escape through the bathroom window. She died from asphyxiation; flames had seared her lungs, and her body had suffered first- and second-degree burns.^[10]

Partial filmography

They Won't Forget (1937) - Sybil Hale
Talent Scout (1937) - Blonde on Bus (uncredited)
Gold Diggers in Paris (1938) - Mona Verdivere
Racket Busters (1938) - Nora Jordan
Secrets of an Actress (1938) - Carla Orr
Heart of the North (1938) - Joyce MacMillan
They Made Me a Criminal (1939) - Peggy
Waterfront (1939) - Ann Stacey
The Cowboy Quarterback (1939) - Evelyn Corey
No Place to Go (1939) - Gertrude Plummer
On Your Toes (1939) - Peggy Porterfield
Private Detective (1939) - Mona Lannon
King of the Lumberjacks (1940) - Tina Martin Deribault
Tear Gas Squad (1940) - Jerry Sullivan
I Want a Divorce (1940) - Wanda Holland
This Thing Called Love (1940) - Florence Bertrand
The Big Boss (1941) - Sue Peters
Mercy Island (1941) - Leslie Ramsey
The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (1942) - Cleo Arden
Power of the Press (1943) - Edwina Stephens
Lady of Burlesque (1943) - Dolly Baxter
The Crime Doctor's Strangest Case (1943) - Mrs. Keppler / Evelyn Fenton Cartwright
Rationing (1944) - Miss McCue (final film role)

Stage credits

Wise Tomorrow (1937)

References

^ Howson, John Michael (2005). 'Cut! Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies. Willoughby, NSW: Global Book Publishing. p. 303. ISBN 1-74048-080-5.
^ "Sensible Is The World For Gloria". The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News. Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. Associated Press. April 7, 1937. p. 8. Retrieved July 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Majestic: Gloria Dickson Film". Shamokin News-Dispatch. Pennsylvania, Shamokin. April 12, 1943. p. 5. Retrieved July 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "WPA Player Signed". The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah, Salt Lake City. November 29, 1936. p. 15. Retrieved July 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "(untitled brief)". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. May 18, 1940. p. 12. Retrieved July 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "(untitled brief)". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. June 23, 1941. p. 4. Retrieved July 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Actress Dies In Home Fire". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press. April 11, 1945.
^ "Gloria Dickson Of Films Victim Of Suffocation". Fitchburg Sentinel. Massachusetts, Fitchburg. Associated Press. April 11, 1945. p. 3. Retrieved July 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Film Actress Dies In Fire In Home". Warren Times-Mirror. Pennsylvania, Warren. Associated Press. April 11, 1945. p. 1. Retrieved July 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "The Private Life and Times of Gloria Dickson". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved July 10, 2008.