Engaging, alluring female lead and singer, a beauty contest winner ("Miss New Orleans" of 1931) who became an instant star at Paramount with her debut appearance in "The Jungle Princess" (1936). With her dusky, sensuous beauty, Lamour was often typed in exotic roles requiring her to wear a sarong ("Aloma of the South Seas" 1941, "Beyond the Blue Horizon" 1942, John Ford's superior "The Hurricane" 1937). Despite her typically sultry, sometimes deadpan expression, though, she generally approached her roles in a good-natured, slightly self-mocking way. Most often cast in musicals or comedies, Lamour performed well in occasional change-of-pace dramatic films such as "Spawn of the North" (1938), "Johnny Apollo" (1940), "A Medal for Benny" (1945) and "Wild Harvest" (1947). She is perhaps best remembered as the glamorous romantic cornerstone of the seven "road" comedies she made with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, beginning with "Road to Singapore" in 1940. After her starring career petered out in the early 1950s, Lamour later appeared very occasionally on stage and TV and played a handful of character roles in films including John Ford's "Donovan's Reef" (1963) and the horror sequel "Creepshow 2" (1987).
Family
FATHER: John Watson Slaton. Waiter. Divorced from Lamour's mother.
MOTHER: Carmen Watson Slaton. Waitress. Divorced from Lamour's father.
STEP-SON: William Ross Howard IV. Survived her.
SON: John Ridgely Howard. Survived her.
SON: Richard Thomson Howard. Survived her.
Companion
HUSBAND: Herbie Kaye. Bandleader. First husband, married 1935-39.
HUSBAND: William Ross Howard III. Businessman. Married from 1943 until his death in 1978.
Milestone
1931: Voted Miss New Orleans
1936: Achieved instant star status with her debut appearance in Paramount's "Jungle Princess"
1938: First film with Bob Hope, "The Big Broadcast of 1938"
1940: First "Road" picture with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, "The Road to Singapore"
1942: Appeared with Paulette Goddard and Veronica Lake in the all-star musical revue "Star Spangled Rhythm", singing a song which parodied aspects of their star images: "A Sweater, a Sarong, and a Peek-a-Boo Bang"
1949: Last starring vehicle for Paramount, "Manhandled"
1952: Played supporting star or guest star roles in two early 1950s films, but left films for a decade after playing opposite Hope and Crosby in "The Road to Bali"
1962: Returned to films to play a cameo role in "The Road to Hong Kong", starring Hope and Crosby
Made occasional appearances onstage in the 1960s and 70s, including performing in the leading role of "Hello, Dolly!" with a touring company in Las Vegas
Toured in one-woman show, singing and reminiscing about her career
1987: Made final film appearance in "Creepshow 2"
1989: Appeared in the documentary film, "Entertaining the Troops"
1991: Performed onstage as narrator and singer in the Stephen Sondheim revue, "Side by Side by Sondheim" at the Grand Hotel in Anaheim, CA
Bibliography
"Dorothy Lamour" Dorothy Lamour with Dick McInnes 1981
She took her stage name from her stepfather whose last name was Lambour.
Contributions
The title of Lamour's bio is "My Side of the Road" as told to Dick McInnes. I am Dick McInnes and I had the best time writing this book, interviewing Hope, Crosby, Fonda, Raft, Stewart, Cass Daley, Jerry Colonna, Bill Holden, Martha Raye, Edith Head etc. Everyone loved her
-- Submitted by: dickmcinnes
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