Signed out of Southern Methodist University at age 18 by RKO, brunette (later blonde) leading lady Dorothy Malone made her film debut in "The Falcon and the Co-Ed" under her real last name Maloney. When she moved to Warner Bros. in 1945, she dropped the "y" and soon made her first impact as a nymphomaniac entertaining Humphrey Bogart one thundery afternoon in "The Big Sleep" (1946). Early in her career, her roles consisted mainly of standard pretty girl leads, but it was as a fine dramatic actress that she made her mark, gaining acclaim in the 1950s for her strong, sensual portrayals of experienced, world-weary, sometimes neurotic women, notably in Douglas Sirk's "Written on the Wind" (1956), for which she won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress, and "Tarnished Angels" (1957). Malone also turned in a top-notch performance as a woman trapped by falling debris in "The Last Voyage" (1960), playing almost the entire movie with only her nose and occasionally her mouth above sea level.
A veteran of TV's "Golden Age", appearing in episodes of "The General Electric Theater" and "Revlon Mirror Theater" (both CBS), Malone did few films in the 60s, working instead as an aerialist in the series "The Greatest Show on Earth" (ABC, 1962-63) and then starring in the primetime serial "Peyton Place" (ABC, 1964-69) as Constance Mackenzie, a role she would reprise in two NBC movies, "Murder at Peyton Place" (1977) and "Peyton Place: The Next Generation" (1985). By the 70s, the good feature parts were going elsewhere, but she shouldered on, eventually acting in the sci-fi flicks "The Day Time Ended" (1980) and "The Being" (1983) before taking a hiatus of nearly a decade. Malone returned briefly in the deliciously understated part of a murderous lesbian in "Basic Instinct" (1992), her last screen portrayal to date.
Companion
HUSBAND: Jacques Bergerac. Actor. Married in 1959; divorced in 1964.
Milestone
As a child, worked as a model and appeared regularly in school plays
At age 18 was spotted by a talent agent while performing in a college play at Southern Methodist University; put under contract by RKO
1943: Film debut as Dorothy Maloney in "Falcon and the Co-Eds"
1945: Joined Warner Bros. and changed billing to Dorothy Malone
1946: Had first impact as brunette nymphomaniac who lets down her hair and entertains Humphrey Bogart one thundery afternoon in "The Big Sleep"
Worked on TV during its "Golden Era", acting in episodes of "Revlon Mirror Theater" and "The General Electric Theater" (both CBS)
1955: Played one of three sisters (with Doris Day and Elizabeth Fraser) in "Young at Heart", starring Frank Sinatra
1955: Undressed in an armchair for Raoul Walsh's "Battle Cry"
1957: Won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as Robert Stack's nymphomaniac sister in "Written on the Wind", directed by Douglas Sirk; also first film with Rock Hudson
1957: Portrayed Lon Chaney's lackadaisical first wife in "Man of a Thousand Faces", starring James Cagney
1958: Reunited with director Douglas Sirk and co-stars Rock Hudson and Robert Stack for "The Tarnished Angels"; portrayed Stack's promiscuous parachutist wife
1960: Again cast as Stack's wife in the engrossing drama of a luxury ship going down at sea, "The Last Voyage"
1961: Third movie with Hudson, Robert Aldrich's "The Last Sunset"
1963 - 1964: Had a regular role as an aerialist on the ABC series "The Greatest Show on Earth"
Top-billed as Constance Mackenzie in ABC primetime soap opera "Peyton Place"
1976: Appeared in ABC's popular miniseries "Rich Man, Poor Man"
1977: Reprised Constance Mackenzie for NBC movie "Murder in Peyton Place"
1985: Again played Constance Mackenzie in NBC movie "Peyton Place: The Next Generation"
1992: Last feature film to date, "Basic Instinct"
Education
Highland Park High School - Highland Park, Illinois
Southern Methodist University - Dallas, Texas
Ursuline Convent School
The Hockaday School - Dallas, Texas - attended on scholarship
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