Ann Dvorak

I have had quite a time with the name, having been called practically everything from Balzac to Bickelsrock."

• Name — Ann Dvorak • Birth Name — Anna McKim • Born — 2 August 1911 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 10 December 1979 • Place of death — Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. • Education — St. Catherine's Convent Page School for Girls • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1916–1952 • Parents — * Edwin McKim • Anna Lehr

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.

• Illustration — Paul Muni and Dvorak in Scarface (1932) In the late 1920s, Dvorak worked as an assistant choreographer to Sammy Lee at MGM and gradually began to appear on film uncredited usually as a chorus girl or in bit parts. Her friend, actress Karen Morley, introduced her to millionaire 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. Dvorak filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. concerning their suspension of her contract. Fenton and Dvorak struggled to afford life without Ann's weekly income of $1,500 therefore by December 1935 the pair had engaged with legal attorneys who had met with Warner Bros. legal department. By December 17, 1935, the official complaint for declaration relief was sent. It charged that the studios had "repeatedly refused to permit said actress to further perform any services whatsover" and has "wholly failed, neglected and refused to pay said artists any sums whatsoever." Warner Bros. officially lifted her suspension on January 27, 1936; however, the first court hearing was on 14 February 1936 and what followed was a series of questions surrounding her health and fitness to work. The court released her defeat on the conclusion that no breach of contract was committed. 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 1952, when she married her final husband, Nicholas Wade, to whom she remained married until his death in 1975. She had no children. In 1959, she and her husband moved to Hawaii, which she had always loved. Several weeks before her death, she suffered severe stomach pains. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died on December 10, 1979, aged 68, in Honolulu. She was cremated and her ashes scattered off Waikiki Beach.

• Year — Title — Role — Note • 1916 — Ramona — Ramona (age 4) • 1917 — The Man Hater — Phemie's Little Sister • 1929 — The Hollywood Revue of 1929 — Herself – Chorus Girl — Uncredited • So This Is College — Student — Uncredited • It's a Great Life — Chorus Girl — Uncredited • Devil-May-Care — Chorine — Uncredited • 1930 — Chasing Rainbows • The Woman Racket — Chorus Girl — Uncredited • Lord Byron of Broadway — Chorus Girl — Uncredited • Free and Easy — Chorine — Uncredited • Children of Pleasure — Chorus Girl — Uncredited • Estrellados — Chorine — Uncredited • Our Blushing Brides — One of the 'Quartet' of Models with Tony — Uncredited • Way Out West — Carnival Show Girl — Uncredited • Good News — Student — Uncredited • Doughboys — Chorine — Scenes deleted • The March of Time — Chorus Girl — Uncredited • Love in the Rough — Chorus Girl — Uncredited • Madam Satan — Zeppelin Reveler — Uncredited • War Nurse — Nurse in VA Hospital — Uncredited • 1931 — Dance, Fools, Dance — Chorus Girl — Uncredited • A Tailor Made Man — Bit — Uncredited • Just a Gigolo — Cafe Patron — Uncredited • Politics — Rally Audience Extra — Uncredited • Son of India — Village Dancer — Uncredited • Stranger in Town — Marian Crickle • This Modern Age — Party Guest — Uncredited • The Guardsman — Fan Saying 'There He Is' — Uncredited • 1932 — Sky Devils — Mary Way • Scarface — Francesca "Cesca" Camonte • The Crowd Roars — Lee Merrick • The Strange Love of Molly Louvain — Molly Louvain • Love Is a Racket — Sally Condon • Crooner — Judith 'Judy' Mason • Three on a Match — Vivian Revere • 1933 — The Way to Love — Madeleine • College Coach — Claire Gore • 1934 — Massacre — Lydia • Heat Lightning — Myra • Side Streets — Marguerite Gilbert • Midnight Alibi — Joan Morley • Friends of Mr. Sweeney — Miss Beulah Boyd • Housewife — Nan • I Sell Anything — Barbara • Gentlemen Are Born — Susan Merrill • Murder in the Clouds — Judy • 1935 — Sweet Music — Bonnie Haydon • G Men — Jean Morgan • Bright Lights — Fay Wilson • Dr. Socrates — Josephine Gray • Thanks a Million — Sally Mason • 1937 — We Who Are About to Die — Miss Connie Stewart • Racing Lady — Ruth Martin • Midnight Court — Carol O'Neill • The Case of the Stuttering Bishop — Della Street • She's No Lady — Jerry • Manhattan Merry-Go-Round — Ann Rogers • 1938 — Merrily We Live — Minerva Harlan • Gangs of New York — Connie Benson • 1939 — Blind Alley — Mary • Stronger Than Desire — Eva McLain • 1940 — Cafe Hostess — Jo • Girls of the Road — Kay Warren • 1942 — This Was Paris — Ann Morgan • 1943 — Squadron Leader X — Barbara Lucas • Escape to Danger — Joan Grahame • 1945 — Flame of Barbary Coast — 'Flaxen' Tarry • Masquerade in Mexico — Helen Grant • 1946 — Abilene Town — Rita • The Bachelor's Daughters — Terry Wilson • 1947 — Out of the Blue — Olive Jensen • The Private Affairs of Bel Ami — Claire Madeleine Forestier • The Long Night — Charlene • 1948 — The Walls of Jericho — Belle Connors • 1950 — Our Very Own — Mrs. Gert Lynch • A Life of Her Own — Mary Ashlon • The Return of Jesse James — Susan (Sue) Ellen Younger • Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone — Connie Kepplar • 1951 — I Was an American Spy — Mrs. Claire 'High Pockets' Phillips • The Secret of Convict Lake — Rachel Schaeffer

• The Five Dollar Plate (1920) • The Doll Shop (1929) as One of the Dolls (uncredited) • Manhattan Serenade (1929) as Chorus Girl (uncredited) • The Song Writers' Revue (1930) as Member of the Chorus (uncredited) • The Flower Garden (1930) as Member of Chorus • Pirates (1930) as Chorus Girl (uncredited) • The Snappy Caballero (1931) • A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio (1935) as Herself (uncredited)