Actress. A typecast in "exotic beauty", she had a brief career in the late 1920s and was one of the last performers to have had a starring turn in silent films. Born Dorothy Penelope Jones she was discovered by Hollywood talent scouts while still in high school and signed by MGM to a five year contract. She made her 1928 screen debut in "Kit Carson" and after two more westerns, "The Overland Express" and "Fleetwing", had her best remembered role as Ramon Novarro's leading lady in 1929's smash hit "The Pagan" in which she played a Pacific Islander whose romance with Novarro is threatened by villainous Westerner Donald Crisp. Unusually for the time the film was shot on location with the cast and crew spending six months in Tahiti; in 1930 Dorothy was sued for "alienation of affections" by the wife of a technician though the case was dismissed. "The Pagan" was made just as sound technology was being developed and was released with a music-only soundtrack. Dorothy's only "talkie" was United Artists' 1930 "Lummox" in which she took the part of "Chita". She did make one more movie with sound, "White Captive" which was filmed in Southeast Asia late in 1930 but was never released, probably due to the print being damaged. While on a trip to Chicago Dorothy met bandleader Wayne King and married him in 1932, the union lasting until King's 1985 death. After marriage she concentrated on raising her family, lived for many years in Arizona, and was active in her community. At her death a couple of controversies remained; stories from her acting days that she was really a Cherokee Indian may or may not have been true. Further, while most sources credit her 1910 birth year some say that she was actually born in 1912, the earlier date allegedly invented to hide her underage status.
Actress. A typecast in "exotic beauty", she had a brief career in the late 1920s and was one of the last performers to have had a starring turn in silent films. Born Dorothy Penelope Jones she was discovered by Hollywood talent scouts while still in high school and signed by MGM to a five year contract. She made her 1928 screen debut in "Kit Carson" and after two more westerns, "The Overland Express" and "Fleetwing", had her best remembered role as Ramon Novarro's leading lady in 1929's smash hit "The Pagan" in which she played a Pacific Islander whose romance with Novarro is threatened by villainous Westerner Donald Crisp. Unusually for the time the film was shot on location with the cast and crew spending six months in Tahiti; in 1930 Dorothy was sued for "alienation of affections" by the wife of a technician though the case was dismissed. "The Pagan" was made just as sound technology was being developed and was released with a music-only soundtrack. Dorothy's only "talkie" was United Artists' 1930 "Lummox" in which she took the part of "Chita". She did make one more movie with sound, "White Captive" which was filmed in Southeast Asia late in 1930 but was never released, probably due to the print being damaged. While on a trip to Chicago Dorothy met bandleader Wayne King and married him in 1932, the union lasting until King's 1985 death. After marriage she concentrated on raising her family, lived for many years in Arizona, and was active in her community. At her death a couple of controversies remained; stories from her acting days that she was really a Cherokee Indian may or may not have been true. Further, while most sources credit her 1910 birth year some say that she was actually born in 1912, the earlier date allegedly invented to hide her underage status.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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