Dorothy Sebastian

• Name — Dorothy Sebastian • Birth Name — Stella Dorothy Sabiston • Born — 26 April 1903 • Birthplace — Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. • Died — 8 April 1957 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Holy Cross Cemetery • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1925–1948

Sebastian was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of Lycurgus (Lawrence) Robert and Stella Armstrong Sabiston. In her early years she aspired to be a missionary, since her grandparents were missionaries, but when she was taken to a theater during this time, she changed her mind and aspired to be an actress. She attended the University of Alabama but only for a short while and then married her high-school sweetheart, Allan Stafford, some time in 1920. She lived with him in Birmingham and helped operate the Staffords' laundry store. After her marriage ended in 1924, she left for New York sometime after. After leaving Alabama and starting a career on the stage, she changed the spelling of her name to Sebastian. Upon her arrival in New York City, she had a southern drawl thick enough, in the words of one news report, to "cut with a knife". She spent her days visiting theatrical agents—and being consistently rejected—before returning at night to a $12-a-month room.

Her first break came when she secured a role in George White's Scandals as a chorus girl. She then met Max Aitken, otherwise known as Lord Beaverbrook. Through this connection, she scored a screen test with Henry King, which led to her first starring role, in the film Sackloth and Scarlet. This part landed her a five-year contract with MGM, where she co-starred with Joan Crawford and Anita Page in a popular series of MGM romantic dramas, including Our Dancing Daughters (1928) and Our Blushing Brides (1930). Sebastian appeared in 1929's Spite Marriage, cast opposite the then-married Buster Keaton, with whom she began an affair. MGM released Sebastian in 1930; her last film for the studio was a short subject starring the young Jack Benny. Harry Cohn of then-low-budget Columbia Pictures seized on Sebastian's availability by signing her to a Columbia contract; Cohn welcomed any former MGM players for their name value. After Columbia released Sebastian a year later, she began freelancing, mostly at low-budget independent studios. Her most familiar appearance in sound films is probably in Allez Oop (1934), a short comedy produced by Educational Pictures that reunited her with Buster Keaton. In 1930 Sebastian married outdoor-adventure star William Boyd (the future Hopalong Cassidy). After their 1936 divorce, she returned to acting, appearing in mostly bit parts. Her last onscreen appearance was in the 1948 film The Miracle of the Bells.

Sebastian co-wrote the ballad "The Leaves Mustn't Fall" with Jack Kenney.

• Illustration — Sebastian and William Boyd in His First Command (1929) While still in Birmingham, Sebastian married her high-school sweetheart, Allen Stafford, on November 9, 1920. The marriage ended four years later just before she moved to New York. Sebastian married actor William Boyd in December 1930 in Las Vegas, Nevada. They began a relationship after meeting on the set of His First Command in 1929. They divorced in 1936.

On November 7, 1938, Sebastian was found guilty of drunk driving in a Beverly Hills, California Justice Court. The night she was arrested, she had been dining at Buster Keaton's home with her nephew. She was given a 30-day suspended jail sentence and paid a fine of $75. In 1940, Sebastian was denied an award of $10,000 from a San Diego court. She had appeared at a Red Cross benefit in San Francisco in 1937 and failed to pay her hotel bill. She contended the promoter for the event should have paid the bill. An employee of the Plaza Hotel took out the suit, charging "defrauding an innkeeper." The State Supreme Court of California reversed the lower court's decision, which had awarded her the money on grounds of malicious prosecution.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1925 — Bluebeard's Seven Wives — Gilda La Bray — Lost film • 1925 — Sackcloth and Scarlet — Polly Freeman — Lost film • 1925 — Why Women Love — Pearl — Lost film • 1925 — Winds of Chance — Laura • 1926 — Torrent — Woman in Audience — Uncredited • 1926 — You'd Be Surprised — Ruth Whitman • 1927 — The Show — Salvation Army Worker — Uncredited • 1927 — The Demi-Bride — Lola — Lost film • 1927 — On Ze Boulevard — Gaby de Sylva • 1927 — The Isle of Forgotten Women — Marua — Incomplete film • 1927 — Slide, Kelly, Slide — Train Passenger — Uncredited • 1927 — California — Carlotta del Rey — Lost film • 1927 — Twelve Miles Out — Chiquita • 1927 — Tea for Three — Annette — Lost film • 1927 — The Arizona Wildcat — Regina Schyler — Lost film • 1927 — Love — Spectator Extra at Races — Uncredited • 1927 — The Haunted Ship — Goldie Kane — Lost film • 1928 — Our Dancing Daughters — Beatrice • 1928 — Show People — Dorothy Sebastian — Uncredited • 1928 — A Woman of Affairs — Constance • 1928 — Their Hour — Cora — Lost film • 1928 — The House of Scandal — Ann Rourke — Lost film • 1928 — Wyoming — Samantha Jerusha Farrell — Lost film • 1928 — The Adventurer — Dolores de Silva — Lost film • 1929 — Spite Marriage — Trilby Drew • 1929 — His First Command — Judy Gaylord • 1929 — Morgan's Last Raid — Judith Rogers — Lost film • 1929 — The Devil's Apple Tree — Dorothy Ryan — Lost film • 1929 — The Rainbow — Lola • 1929 — The Spirit of Youth — Betty Grant • 1929 — The Single Standard — Mercedes • 1929 — The Unholy Night — Lady Efra Cavender — Alternative title: The Green Ghost • 1930 — Brothers — Norma Moore • 1930 — Montana Moon — Elizabeth "Lizzie" Prescott • 1930 — Officer O'Brien — Ruth Dale • 1930 — Free and Easy — Dorothy Sebastian - Actress in Cave Scene • 1930 — Hell's Island — Marie • 1930 — Our Blushing Brides — Francine Daniels • 1930 — The Rounder — Ethel Dalton — MGM short, costarring Jack Benny. • 1930 — Ladies Must Play — Norma Blake • 1930 — The Utah Kid — Jennie Lee • 1931 — The Big Gamble — Beverly • 1931 — The Deceiver — Ina Fontanne • 1931 — The Lightning Flyer — Rose Rogers • 1931 — Ships of Hate — Grace Walsh • 1932 — They Never Come Back — Adele Landon • 1933 — Ship of Wanted Men — Irene Reynolds • 1934 — The Life of Vergie Winters — Lulu • 1937 — The Mysterious Pilot — Jean McNain • 1939 — The Arizona Kid — Bess Warren • 1939 — Days of Jesse James — Zerilda James • 1939 — Rough Riders' Round-up — Rose • 1939 — The Women — Saleswoman Pat • 1941 — Among the Living — Woman in Cafe • 1941 — Kansas Cyclone — Helen King • 1942 — True to the Army — Gloria — Uncredited • 1942 — Reap the Wild Wind — Guest at Ball — Uncredited • 1945 — George White's Scandals — Gloria — Uncredited • 1948 — The Miracle of the Bells — Miss Katie Orwin — Uncredited