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Ann Dvorak
Dvorak in 1940s
Born	Anna McKim (1911-08-02)August 2, 1911[1] New York City, U.S.
Died	December 10, 1979(1979-12-10) (aged 68) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Education	St. Catherine's Convent Page School for Girls
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1916–1952
Spouses	Leslie Fenton ​ ​ (m. 1932; div. 1945)​ Igor Dega ​ ​ (m. 1947; div. 1951)​ Nicholas Wade ​ ​ (m. 1951; died 1975)​
Parents	Edwin McKim Anna Lehr

Ann Dvorak (bornAnna McKim; August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress.^[2][3]

Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she toldThe Literary Digest in 1936: "My fake name is properly pronouncedvor'shack. TheD remains silent. I have had quite a time with the name, having been called practically everything from Balzac to Bickelsrock."^[4]

Dvorak was the daughter and only child of silent film actressAnna Lehr and directorEdwin McKim. While in New York, she attended St. Catherine's Convent. After moving to California, she attended Page School for Girls in Hollywood.^[5]

She made her film debut when she was five years old in the silent film version ofRamona (1916), credited as "Baby Anna Lehr." She continued in children's roles inThe Man Hater (1917) andFive Dollar Plate (1920), but then stopped acting in films. Her parents separated in 1916 and divorced in 1920; she did not see her father again until 13 years later, when she made a public plea to the press to help her find him.^{[citation needed]}

In the late 1920s, Dvorak worked as an assistant choreographer toSammy Lee at MGM and gradually began to appear on film uncredited usually as a chorus girl or in bit parts. Her friend, actressKaren Morley, introduced her to millionaire movie producerHoward Hughes, who groomed her as a dramatic actress. She was a success in suchpre-Code films asScarface (1932) asPaul Muni's sister; inThree on a Match (1932) withBette Davis andJoan Blondell as the doomed, unstable Vivian; inThe Crowd Roars (1932) withJames Cagney; and inSky Devils (1932) oppositeSpencer Tracy. Known for her style and elegance, she was a popular leading lady forWarner Bros. during the 1930s, and appeared in numerous contemporary romances and melodramas.

At age 19, Dvorak eloped withLeslie Fenton, her English co-star fromThe Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932), and they married on March 17, 1932.^[6] They left for a year-long honeymoon in spite of her contractual obligations to the studio, which led to a period of litigation and pay disputes during which she discovered she was making the same amount of money as the boy who played her son inThree on a Match. She completed her contract on permanent suspension, then worked as afreelancer. Although she worked regularly, the quality of her scripts declined sharply.

She appeared as secretaryDella Street toDonald Woods'Perry Mason inThe Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937). With her then-husband, Leslie Fenton, Dvorak traveled to England where she supported the war effort by working as anambulance driver and acted in several British films. She appeared as a saloon singer inAbilene Town withRandolph Scott andEdgar Buchanan, released in 1946. The following year she adeptly handled comedy by giving an assured performance inOut of the Blue (1947). In 1948, Dvorak gave her only performance onBroadway inThe Respectful Prostitute.^[7]

Dvorak's marriage to Fenton ended in divorce in 1946. In 1947, she married Igor Dega, a Russian dancer who danced with her briefly inThe Bachelor's Daughters. The marriage ended two years later.

Dvorak retired from the screen in 1952, when she married her final husband, Nicholas Wade, to whom she remained married until his death in 1975. She had no children. In 1959, she and her husband moved to Hawaii, which she had always loved.

Several weeks before her death, she suffered severe stomach pains. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died on December 10, 1979, aged 68, inHonolulu.^[8][7] She was cremated and her ashes scattered offWaikiki Beach.

Dvorak has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6321Hollywood Boulevard for her contribution to motion pictures. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.^[9]

• The Five Dollar Plate (1920)
• The Doll Shop (1929) as One of the Dolls (uncredited)
• Manhattan Serenade (1929) as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
• The Song Writers' Revue (1930) as Member of the Chorus (uncredited)
• The Flower Garden (1930) as Member of Chorus
• Pirates (1930) as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
• The Snappy Caballero (1931)
• A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio (1935) as Herself (uncredited)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAnn Dvorak.

• Ann Dvorak atIMDb
• Ann Dvorak – The Underground Goddess Tribute Site
• Photographs and literature
• Ann Dvorak Profile
• "Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel" –biography.

• 1911 births
• 1979 deaths
• 20th-century American actresses
• Actresses from New York City
• American film actresses
• American silent film actresses
• American stage actresses
• American child actresses
• Deaths from cancer in Hawaii
• Warner Bros. contract players
• Western (genre) film actresses
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
• American people of Austrian descent

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