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Dorothy Fay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Dorothy Alice Fay Southworth (1915-04-04)April 4, 1915 Prescott, Arizona, U.S. |
| Died | November 5, 2003(2003-11-05) (aged 88) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Dorothy Faye Dorothy Fay Ritter |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1938–1941 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingJohn Ritter |
| Relatives | Jason Ritter (grandson) Tyler Ritter (grandson) |
Dorothy Fay (bornDorothy Alice Fay Southworth,[1] April 4, 1915 – November 5, 2003) was an American actress mainly known for her appearances inWestern movies.
She was born Dorothy Fay Southworth inPrescott, Arizona,[2] the daughter of Harry T. Southworth and Harriet Fay Fox.[3] Her father was a medical doctor. Fay attended the Caroline Leonetti School, theUniversity of London, and theUniversity of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.[4] She also studied acting at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.[2]
Fay began her motion picture career in the late 1930s, performing in severalB gradewesterns. In 1938, she appeared oppositeGeorge Houston inFrontier Scout atGrand National Pictures. She also appeared with Western starsBuck Jones andWilliam Elliott.
Fay made four movies with her husband,country singer and actorTex Ritter, atMonogram Pictures:Song of the Buckaroo (1938),Sundown on the Prairie (1939),Rollin' Westward (1939) andRainbow Over the Range (1940). She played a heroine inThe Green Archer (1940) andWhite Eagle (1941), both atColumbia Pictures. Fay also made a few small appearances in other genres, such as the crime dramaMissing Daughters (1939). In 1940, she asked Monogram to give her a different part and was loaned toMGM for a small role inThe Philadelphia Story, which starredCary Grant,James Stewart, andKatharine Hepburn. She also appeared as a debutante in the MGM musicalLady Be Good (1941) starringAnn Sothern,Eleanor Powell,Robert Young andLionel Barrymore.
Fay married singer/actorTex Ritter on June 14, 1941. Fay made several more movies after she and Ritter married, but then retired from show business in late 1941. In 1965, she and Ritter moved toNashville, Tennessee, because of his singing and recording career. For a time, she was an official greeter at theGrand Ole Opry. On January 2, 1974, Ritter suffered a fatal heart attack (the family suspects adissecting aortic aneurysm) in Nashville. Fay and Ritter had been married 32 years and had two sons; Thomas and the late comedic actorJohn Ritter.
Fay returned toSouthern California in 1981. She turned down several offers to return to movie work, including an opportunity to appear on theABC television seriesThe Love Boat playing the mother of real-life son, John. But she did appear with him in the TV special "Superstars and their Moms" in 1987. She was also a frequent guest at western movie conventions.
In 1987, Fay suffered a stroke that impacted her speech. She moved to theMotion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital inWoodland Hills, California, in 1989. In August 2001, she was mistakenly reported to have died byThe Daily Telegraph newspaper in London. The error happened when an employee at the retirement home found that Fay was not in her room, and after inquiring about her absence, was told that Fay had "gone", by which it was meant that she had left her room and was in another wing of the building. However, the employee mistook this as meaning she had died, and telephoned a friend — who happened to work at theTelegraph's obituaries desk — with the supposed "news". Fay and her family found the blunder amusing and took it in good sport.[5]
Fay died of natural causes at the age of 88 at theMotion Picture and Television Home in Woodland Hills, California,[2] less than two months after the death of her son,John. She is interred with her parents at Mountain View Cemetery in her hometown of Prescott, Arizona.[2]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Frontier Scout | Julie, Steve's Sweetheart | |
| The Stranger from Arizona | Ann Turner | ||
| Law of the Texan | Helen Clifford | ||
| Prairie Justice | Anita Benson | OppositeBob Baker asinging cowboy | |
| Song of the Buckaroo | Anna Alden | ||
| 1939 | Long Shot | Betty Ralston | |
| Trigger Pals | Doris Allen | Credited as Dorothy Faye | |
| Sundown on the Prairie | Ruth Graham | Alternative title:Prairie Sundown | |
| Rollin' Westward | Betty | Alternative title:Rollin' West | |
| Missing Daughters | Showgirl | Uncredited | |
| 1940 | Convicted Woman | Frances | Uncredited |
| Sporting Blood | Guest | Uncredited Alternative title:Sterling Metal | |
| Rainbow Over the Range | Mary Manners | ||
| Glamour for Sale | Trilby | Uncredited | |
| The Green Archer | Elaine Bellamy | ||
| The Philadelphia Story | Main Line Society Woman | Uncredited | |
| 1941 | White Eagle | Janet Rand | |
| North from the Lone Star | Madge Wilson | ||
| Lady Be Good | Debutante | Uncredited |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
