Ann Dvorak
Known for Acting · 87 credits
- Born
- 1911-08-02
- Died
- 1979-12-10
- Place of birth
- New York City, New York, USA
- Also known as
- Anna McKim · Ann McKim · Baby Anna Lehr · Anna Lehr
Biography
Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim; August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My fake name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent."
Dvorak was the daughter and only child of silent film actress Anna Lehr and director Edwin McKim. While in New York, she attended St. Catherine's Convent. After moving to California, she attended Page School for Girls in Hollywood.
She made her film debut when she was five years old in the silent film version of Ramona (1916), credited as "Baby Anna Lehr". She continued in children's roles in The Man Hater (1917) and Five 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.
In the late 1920s, Dvorak worked as a dance instructor and gradually began to appear on film as a chorus girl. Her friend, actress Karen Morley, introduced her to billionaire movie producer Howard Hughes, who groomed her as a dramatic actress. She was a success in such pre-Code films as Scarface (1932) as Paul Muni's sister; in Three on a Match (1932) with Bette Davis and Joan Blondell as the doomed, unstable Vivian; in The Crowd Roars (1932) with James Cagney; and in Sky Devils (1932) opposite Spencer Tracy. Known for her style and elegance, she was a popular leading lady for Warner Bros. during the 1930s, and appeared in numerous contemporary romances and melodramas. At age 19, Dvorak eloped with Leslie Fenton, her English co-star from The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932), and they married on March 17, 1932. 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 in Three on a Match. She completed her contract on permanent suspension, then worked as a freelancer. Although she worked regularly, the quality of her scripts declined sharply. She appeared as secretary Della Street to Donald Woods' Perry Mason in The 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 an ambulance driver and acted in several British films. She appeared as a saloon singer in Abilene Town with Randolph Scott and Edgar Buchanan, released in 1946. The following year she adeptly handled comedy by giving an assured performance in Out of the Blue (1947). In 1948, Dvorak gave her only performance on Broadway in The Respectful Prostitute.
Dvorak's marriage to Fenton ended in divorce in 1946. In 1947, she married Igor Dega, a Russian dancer who danced with her briefly in The Bachelor's Daughters. The marriage ended two years later.
Known For
Movies (87)
Scarface
1932
as Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte
'G' Men
1935
as Jean Morgan
Abilene Town
1946
as Rita
Heat Lightning
1934
as Myra
Side Streets
1934
as Marguerite Gilbert
Ramona
1916
as Ramona Phail (age 4)
Sky Devils
1932
as Mary Way
Massacre
1934
as Lydia
Crooner
1932
as Judith 'Judy' Mason
Good News
1930
as Student
Midnight Court
1937
as Carol O'Neill
Racing Lady
1937
as Ruth Martin
Midnight Alibi
1934
as Joan
Sweet Music
1935
as Bonnie Haydon
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
1929
as Chorus Girl from Omaha (uncredited)
Gangs of New York
1938
as Connie Benson
Madam Satan
1930
as Zeppelin Reveler (uncredited)
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
2008
as Vivian Revere Kirkwood (archive footage)
Merrily We Live
1938
as Minerva Harlan
Our Blushing Brides
1930
as One of the 'Quartet' of Models with Tony (uncredited)
Out of the Blue
1947
as Olive Jensen
I Sell Anything
1934
as Barbara
Bogart: The Untold Story
1997
as Self (archive footage)
Friends of Mr. Sweeney
1934
as Miss Beulah Boyd
Gentlemen Are Born
1934
as Susan Merrill
The Secret of Convict Lake
1951
as Rachel Schaeffer
The Long Night
1947
as Charlene
The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
1932
as Madeleine Maude 'Molly' Louvain
Son of India
1931
as Dancer (uncredited)
Dr. Socrates
1935
as Josephine
The Crowd Roars
1932
as Lee Merrick
Flame of Barbary Coast
1945
as Ann 'Flaxen' Tarry
The Return of Jesse James
1950
as Sue Ellen Younger
A Life of Her Own
1950
as Mary Ashlon
Politics
1931
as Rally Audience Extra (uncredited)
Estrellados
1930
as Chorine (uncredited)
The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
1947
as Madeleine Forestier
I Was an American Spy
1951
as Mrs. Claire 'High Pockets' Phillips
Dance, Fools, Dance
1931
as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Girls of the Road
1940
as Kay Warren
The Case of the Stuttering Bishop
1937
as Della Street
Lord Byron of Broadway
1930
as Chorus Girl
We Who Are About to Die
1937
as Connie Stewart
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
1937
as Ann Rogers
Housewife
1934
as Nan Reynolds
Murder in the Clouds
1934
as Judy Wagner
Children of Pleasure
1930
as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Roast-Beef and Movies
1934
as Chorine (archive footage) (uncredited)
Free and Easy
1930
as Chorine (uncredited)
Bright Lights
1935
as Fay Wilson
Stranger in Town
1931
as Marian Crickle
Love is a Racket
1932
as Sally Condon
Blind Alley
1939
as Mary
Devil-May-Care
1929
as Chorine (uncredited)
Three on a Match
1932
as Vivian Revere
Manhattan Serenade
1929
as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
The Woman Racket
1930
as Chorus Girl
The Devil's Cabaret
1930
as Chorine in Black (uncredited)
Thanks a Million
1935
as Sally Mason
Masquerade in Mexico
1945
as Helen Grant
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone
1950
as Connie Kepplar
Way Out West
1930
as Carnival Show Girl (uncredited)
The Guardsman
1931
as Fan Saying "There He Is" (uncredited)
The Way to Love
1933
as Madeleine
Breakdowns of 1936
1936
as Self
Cafe Hostess
1940
as Jo
The Walls of Jericho
1948
as Belle Connors
This Was Paris
1942
as Ann Morgan
Stronger Than Desire
1939
as Eva McLain
So This Is College
1929
as Student (uncredited)
College Coach
1933
as Claire Gore
The Song Writers' Revue
1929
as Member of the Chorus (uncredited)
A Lady to Love
1930
Our Very Own
1950
as Gert Lynch
This Modern Age
1931
as Party Guest (Uncredited)
Escape to Danger
1943
as Joan Grahame
The March of Time
1930
as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Chasing Rainbows
1930
as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio
1935
as Herself (uncredited)
It's a Great Life
1929
as Chorus Girl
The Bachelor's Daughters
1946
as Terry Wilson
Squadron Leader X
1943
as Barbara Lucas
She's No Lady
1937
as Jerry
Hello Pop
1933
as Dancer
The Man Hater
1917
as Phemie's Sister
The Doll Shop
1929
as Doll
A Tailor-Made Man
1931
as Bit (uncredited)
About Ann Dvorak
Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim; August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My fake name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent." Dvorak was the daughter and only child of silent film actress Anna Lehr and director Edwin McKim. While in New York, she attended St. Catherine's Convent. After moving to California, she attended Page School for Girls in Hollywood. She made her film debut when she was five years old in the silent f… With 87 credits spanning from 1916 to 2008, Ann Dvorak has appeared in 87 films and 0 TV shows.
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Most Popular Ann Dvorak Movies
- Scarface (1932) — as Francesca 'Cesca' Camonte
- 'G' Men (1935) — as Jean Morgan
- Abilene Town (1946) — as Rita
- Heat Lightning (1934) — as Myra
- Side Streets (1934) — as Marguerite Gilbert
Where to Watch Ann Dvorak Films
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