Dorothy Coburn

Dorothy Montana Coburn was born on June 8, 1905, and died on May 15, 1978, at age 72. She was an American actress, active from 1927 to 1936. Her career spanned nine years, beginning when she was about 22. She appeared in several early Laurel and Hardy silent films. She played ingenue leads and comedic roles. Coburn performed in 16 silent short subjects for the Hal Roach studios. She also worked as a horseback stuntwoman opposite stars like Gary Cooper and Joel McCrea. She stood in for Ginger Rogers in several dancing films with Fred Astaire. She retired from the movie business in the early 1930s, but occasionally worked as a stunt performer in westerns. After leaving the business in 1936, she became a receptionist for an insurance company. She was married twice. Her first husband, Joseph Maier, died in 1959. In 1973, she married Harry W. Heap. She lived in Rancho Palos Verdes before her death. She died from emphysema and is interred in Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Coburn was a niece of author Walt Coburn and granddaughter of Robert Coburn Sr., founder of the Circle C Ranch in Montana.