Actress. A typecast Hollywood 'other woman' of the 1940s, she is perhaps best remembered for her sometimes stormy marriage to bandleader Tommy Dorsey. Born Thelma Pearl Pippins, she was raised in Jacksonville and was working for a New York clothing designer when she was spotted and signed to an MGM contract. Originally calling herself "Thelma Byrnes" after her step father, she switched to "Patricia Dane" then again changed the designation to "Pat" following a dust up with an MGM executive and in 1941 had cameos in "Ziegfeld Girl" and "I'll Wait for You". Later in 1941 she made her 'official' silver screen bow with "Life Begins for Andy Hardy" and was soon to pose for "Yank" magazine's then popular pin-up photos. Pat received good reviews for "Grand Central Murder" and "Johnny Eager" (both 1942) but her 1943 marriage to Dorsey temporarily halted her career. Apparently the great musician enjoyed showing off his pretty wife and according to reports of the time Pat liked the attention that was paid to her, but the union was at times turbulent and ended in 1947. After her divorce Pat returned to the screen with Monogram Pictures, a studio less prestigious than MGM; she appeared in 1948's "Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad", was seen on the small screen in episodes of "Fireside Theater" and "The Lone Wolf", and earned her final movie credits with the 1952 "Road to Bali" and 1956's "The Harder They Fall". Pat lived out her days in her hometown on Florida's western panhandle and died of lung cancer. Some of her films have been preserved.
Actress. A typecast Hollywood 'other woman' of the 1940s, she is perhaps best remembered for her sometimes stormy marriage to bandleader Tommy Dorsey. Born Thelma Pearl Pippins, she was raised in Jacksonville and was working for a New York clothing designer when she was spotted and signed to an MGM contract. Originally calling herself "Thelma Byrnes" after her step father, she switched to "Patricia Dane" then again changed the designation to "Pat" following a dust up with an MGM executive and in 1941 had cameos in "Ziegfeld Girl" and "I'll Wait for You". Later in 1941 she made her 'official' silver screen bow with "Life Begins for Andy Hardy" and was soon to pose for "Yank" magazine's then popular pin-up photos. Pat received good reviews for "Grand Central Murder" and "Johnny Eager" (both 1942) but her 1943 marriage to Dorsey temporarily halted her career. Apparently the great musician enjoyed showing off his pretty wife and according to reports of the time Pat liked the attention that was paid to her, but the union was at times turbulent and ended in 1947. After her divorce Pat returned to the screen with Monogram Pictures, a studio less prestigious than MGM; she appeared in 1948's "Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad", was seen on the small screen in episodes of "Fireside Theater" and "The Lone Wolf", and earned her final movie credits with the 1952 "Road to Bali" and 1956's "The Harder They Fall". Pat lived out her days in her hometown on Florida's western panhandle and died of lung cancer. Some of her films have been preserved.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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Thelma Pippen Byrne
(Mrs. Tommy Dorsey)
Stage Name Patricia Dane
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