Dorothy Smoller

Born: Oct 3, 1898
nationality: American

Biography

About Dorothy Smoller

Edited by the community

Dorothy Smoller was a professional actress and figure skater. She was born Dorothy Schmoeller on October 3, 1898, in Memphis, Tennessee. As the youngest of four daughters, she grew up in a family that faced hardship. Her father was institutionalized for a mental illness, prompting her mother to relocate the family to St. Louis, Missouri, and later to Long Beach, California. When she was a teenager, Dorothy began dancing professionally in San Francisco. At the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, she caused a sensation with her performance of the Bacchanale. She then spent two years touring South America with Anna Pavlova. Her Broadway debut came in the 1918 musical Head Over Heels. In 1919, she appeared in the film Out of the Fog and graced the cover of Vogue magazine in December of that year. She performed in numerous Broadway shows, including The Checkerboard, What's In A Name, and Up In The Clouds. In 1923, however, she was diagnosed with a severe case of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Putting her career on hold, Dorothy spent two years recuperating at Cragmoor Sanitarium in Colorado Springs. During that time, she developed a close relationship with financier Benjamin Strong. In 1926, she traveled to New York City to make a screen test for Famous Players, but they did not offer her a contract. Soon after, she landed a small role in the Broadway musical Howdy King. During rehearsals, she suffered a hemorrhage and was forced to quit the show. Following that, she fell into a deep depression. Tragically, on December 9, 1926, she committed suicide by drinking three ounces of shoe polish. She was only twenty-eight. In her hotel room, she left notes for her mother and for Benjamin Strong, writing that her illness was "a chain of torture that pains all the time." Dorothy was cremated, and her ashes were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Profile details

Personal

Died: Thursday 9th of December 1926 (age 28)
Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexuality: Straight

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Frequently asked

Why did Dorothy's career pause in the 1920s?

She was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis in 1923 and spent two years recuperating at Cragmoor Sanitarium in Colorado Springs.

What circumstances surrounded Dorothy's death?

After a screen test with Famous Players was unsuccessful, she took a small role in Howdy King, suffered a hemorrhage, and quit. She then fell into depression and died by suicide in December 1926.