Dorothy Dalton


Dorothy Dalton was an American silent film actress and stage personality who worked her way from a stock company to a movie career. Beginning in 1910, Dalton was a player in stock companies in Chicago; Terre Haute, Indiana; and Holyoke, Massachusetts. She joined the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation vaudeville circuits. By 1914 she was working in Hollywood.

Career

Born in Chicago, Dalton made her movie debut in 1914 in Pierre of the Plains, co-starring Edgar Selwyn, followed by the lead role in Across the Pacific that same year. In 1915, she appeared with William S. Hart in The Disciple. This production came before she left Triangle Film Corporation and was signed to Thomas Harper Ince Studios. While Ince meant to cast her in mature roles, she had preferred to play ingénues.
Her role in The Disciple, however, in which she attracts a man who is not her husband, led to her being cast as a vamp. Her vamp, however, was untraditional in that she vamped unconsciously; in the words of Kay Anthony, "Not because she wanted people to think she was a full-fledged shatterer of hearts before the camera did she make pulses beat hard and fast, but because she couldn't help it: 'I guess I just must have been born that way!'"
Ince's company was operative from 1919 until his death in 1924. With Ince, she played in The Price Mark and Love Letters, both co-starring William Conklin. Dalton also performed with Rudolph Valentino in Moran of the Lady Letty, and with H.B. Warner in The Flame of the Yukon and The Vagabond Prince. Dalton's stage career included performances as Chrysis in Aphrodite by Morris Gest in 1920.

Personal life and death

Dalton was first married to actor Lew Cody in 1913, divorcing him then remarrying him in 1914 and divorcing him again. In 1924 she married theatrical producer Arthur Hammerstein, uncle of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II and son of impresario Oscar Hammerstein I. They had a daughter, Carol Hammerstein. After this marriage, Dalton retired. Arthur Hammerstein died in 1955.
Dorothy Dalton died in 1972, age 78, at her home in Scarsdale, New York. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Dorothy Dalton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1914Pierre of the PlainsJen GalbraithLost film
1914Across the PacificElsie EscottLost film
1915The DiscipleMary HoustonLost film
1916The Three MusketeersQueen AnneAlternative title: D'Artagnan
1916The RaidersDorothy HaldemanLost film
1916Civilization's ChildEllen McManusLost film
1916The Captive GodTecolote
1916The Jungle ChildOllanteAlternative title: The Barbarian
Lost film
1916The Vagabond PrinceLola "Fluffy"
1916A Gamble in SoulsFreda MaxeyLost film
1916The Female of the SpeciesGloria MarleyAlternative title: The Vampire
Lost film
1917The Weaker SexRuth TildenLost film
1917Chicken CaseyChicken Casey/Mavis MarberryAlternative title: Waifs
1917Back of the ManEllen HortonLost film
1917The Dark RoadCleo MorrisonAlternative title: The Road to Honour
Lost film
1917Wild Winship's WidowCatherine WinshipLost film
1917The Flame of the YukonEthel Evans/The Flame
1917Ten of DiamondsNeva BlaineLost film
1917The Price MarkPaula Lee
1917Love LettersEileen Rodney
1918Flare-Up SalFlare-Up Sal
1918Love MeMaida Madison
1918UnfaithfulHelen KargeLost film
1918Tyrant FearAllaine Grandet
1918The Mating of MarcellaMarcella DuranzoLost film
1918The Kaiser's ShadowPaula HarrisAlternative title: The Triple Cross
Lost film
1918Green EyesShirley HunterLost film
1918Vive la France!Genevieve Bouchette
1918Dorothy Dalton in a Liberty Loan AppealRed Cross nurse
1918QuicksandMary BowenAlternative title: Quicksands
Lost film
1919The Market of SoulsHelen Armes
1919Hard BoiledCorinne Melrose
1919ExtravaganceHelen DouglasLost film
1919The HomebreakerMary MarburyLost film
1919The Lady of Red ButteFaro FanAlternative title: The Lady of Red Brute
Lost film
1919Other Men's WivesCynthia BrockLost film
1919L'apacheNatalie "La Bourget" Bourget/Helen ArmstrongLost film
1919His Wife's FriendLady Miriam GrimwoodLost film
1920Black Is WhiteMargaret Brood/Yvonne Strakosch
1920The Dark MirrorPriscilla Maine/Nora O'Moore
1920Guilty of LoveThelma MillerLost film
1920Half an HourLady Lillian GarsonLost film
1920A Romantic AdventuressAlice VanniLost film
1921The Idol of the NorthColette BrissacLost film
1921Behind MasksJeanne MesurierAlternative titles: In Men's Eyes
Incomplete film
1921Fool's ParadisePoll Patchouli
1922Moran of the Lady LettyMoran Letty Sternersen
1922The Crimson ChallengeTharon LastLost film
1922The Woman Who Walked AloneThe Honorable Iris Champneys
1922The Siren CallCharlotte Woods, a dancer
1922On the High SeasLeone DeverauxLost film
1923Dark SecretsRuth RutherfordLost film
1923Fog BoundGale BrenonLost film
1923Law of the LawlessSahandeLost film
1924The Moral SinnerLeah KleschnaLost film
1924The Lone WolfLucy ShannonLost film