Dowling, Doris (1921–2004)

views updated

Dowling, Doris (1921–2004)

American tv and screen actress. Born May 15, 1921, in Detroit, Michigan; died June 18, 2004, in Los Angeles, California; sister of Constance Dowling (actress); became 7th wife of Artie Shaw, 1952 (div. 1956); m. Robert Blumofe (UA executive), 1956 (div. 1959); m. Leonard Kaufman (publicist), 1960; children: Jonathan Shaw.

Sultry-voiced character actress, 1st appeared on Broadway; made film debut as the hooker in The Lost Weekend (1945), followed by The Blue Dahlia (1946); unhappy with parts offered in Hollywood, moved to Italy with sister, mingled with the cognoscenti, and filmed the neo-realist Riso amaro (Bitter Rice 1949); returned to US (1950); other films include The Crimson Key, The Tragedy of Othello and The Party Crashers; on tv, appeared as Sally Reuters on "Scruples" (1980), among others.