{{Short description|American actress and model (1922–2010)}} {{for|the mother of U.S. President Gerald Ford|Dorothy Ayer Gardner Ford}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Dorothy Ford | image = Dorothy Ford in Love Laughs at Andy Hardy.jpg | caption = Ford in ''[[Love Laughs at Andy Hardy]]'' (1946) | birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|4|4}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2010|10|15|1922|4|4}} | death_place = | height = {{convert|6|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} | occupation = Actress and [[model (person)|Model]] | years_active = 1943–1966 | spouse = James Sterling (1949-1949; annullment)<br>Thomas B. Chambers (1952-1954; divorced)<br>Mike Ragan (1965-1995; his death) | domesticpartner = | website = }}
'''Dorothy Ford''' (April 4, 1922 – October 15, 2010)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tributes.com/show/Dorothy-Ford-Bane-89676793|title=Dorothy Bane Obituary - Canoga Park, California - Tributes.com|website=www.tributes.com}}</ref> was an American actress and [[model (person)|model]] active from the 1940s through the 1960s.
==Career== She began her career as a model,<ref name="lbi">{{cite news|last1=Neill|first1=Frank|title=She's Not Only Pretty; There's More of Her|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/74859378/?terms=%22Dorothy%2BFord%22%2Bactress|work=Long Beach Independent|agency=International News Service|date=March 26, 1948|location=California, Long Beach|page=29|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = May 27, 2017}} {{Open access}}</ref> largely owing to her height of {{convert|6|ft|2|in|cm}} and a 38-26-{{frac|38|1|2}} figure.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Eder |first1=Bruce |title=Dorothy Ford |website=AllMovie|url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/dorothy-ford-p24228 |access-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218023623/https://www.allmovie.com/artist/dorothy-ford-p24228 |archive-date=February 18, 2020}}</ref> She went on to be the first woman signed by showman [[Billy Rose]] for the swimming chorus in his Aquacade at the [[Golden Gate International Exposition]] in San Francisco.<ref name=lbi/> She studied at the [[Actors' Laboratory Theatre]].<ref name="ci">{{cite journal|last1=Wagner|first1=Laura|title=Dorothy Ford: 'Glamazon'|journal=Classic Images|date=April 2017|issue=502|pages=43–44}}</ref> After seven months with the Aquacade, she became a showgirl at [[Earl Carroll]]'s, where she worked for a year and a half.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Todd |first1=John |title=Four Six-Footers, Pick of Luscious Feminity, Form Spectacular Background for Movie |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45060547/salt_lake_telegram/ |access-date=February 18, 2020 |work=Salt Lake Telegram |agency=International News Service |date=February 10, 1943 |location=Utah, Salt Lake City |page=14|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
In 1944, she made her screen debut in ''[[Lady in the Dark (film)|Lady in the Dark]]''. She continued her acting career, including roles in the [[Andy Hardy]] movie ''[[Love Laughs at Andy Hardy]]'' (1946) and in [[Abbott and Costello]]'s ''[[Jack and the Beanstalk (1952 film)|Jack and the Beanstalk]]'' (1952). She appeared in 39 movies from 1943 to 1962.{{Citation needed |date=April 2026}}
==Personal life== Ford and James Sterling wed in Las Vegas in April 1949. The marriage was annulled two months later. On April 23, 1952, she married Tommy Chambers, a tennis player. She had a miscarriage the next year and divorced. Her third and final husband was Hollis Bane, an actor who was also billed as Mike Ragan. They remained married until his death.<ref name=ci/>
==Partial filmography== {{Div col}} * ''[[Thousands Cheer]]'' (1943) - Dancer in Don Liper Number / Bathing Beauty in Red Skelton Skit (uncredited) * ''[[Lady in the Dark (film)|Lady in the Dark]]'' (1944) - Model (uncredited) * ''[[Broadway Rhythm]]'' (1944) - Co-ed in Drugstore (uncredited) * ''[[Two Girls and a Sailor]]'' (1944) - Hotel Guest (uncredited) * ''[[Meet the People]]'' (1944) - Tall Girl (uncredited) * ''[[Bathing Beauty]]'' (1944) - Dorothy (uncredited) * ''[[The Thin Man Goes Home]]'' (1944) - Tall Girl with Dog (uncredited) * ''[[Here Come the Co-Eds]]'' (1945) - Bertha (uncredited) * ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)|The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'' (1945) - Tall Chorine (uncredited) * ''[[Thrill of a Romance]]'' (1945) - Hotel Guest (uncredited) * ''[[Ten Cents a Dance (1945 film)|Ten Cents a Dance]]'' (1945) - Hat Check Girl * ''[[Nob Hill (film)|Nob Hill]]'' (1945) - Tall Showgirl in Sally's Act (uncredited) * ''[[Lover Come Back (1946 film)|Lover Come Back]]'' (1946) - Tall Brunette (uncredited) * ''[[Love Laughs at Andy Hardy]]'' (1946) - Coffy Smith * ''[[On Our Merry Way]]'' (1948) - Lola Maxim * ''[[3 Godfathers]]'' (1948) - Ruby Latham * ''[[One Sunday Afternoon (1948 film)|One Sunday Afternoon]]'' (1948) - Daisy (uncredited) * ''[[Sands of Iwo Jima]]'' (1949) - Tall Girl (uncredited) * ''[[Key to the City (film)|Key to the City]]'' (1950) - Miss Construction (uncredited) * ''[[Let's Go Navy!]]'' (1951) - Kitten * ''[[Flame of Araby]]'' (1951) - Naja (uncredited) * ''[[Jack and the Beanstalk (1952 film)|Jack and the Beanstalk]]'' (1952) - Receptionist / Polly * ''[[Feudin' Fools]]'' (1952) - Tiny Smith * ''[[Limelight (1952 film)|Limelight]]'' (1952) - Patrician Lady in Dress Circle (uncredited) * ''[[A Perilous Journey]]'' (1953) - Rose * ''[[The High and the Mighty (film)|The High and the Mighty]]'' (1954) - Mrs. Wilson (uncredited) * ''[[The Seven Year Itch]]'' (1955) - Indian Girl / Tall Beauty at Train Station (uncredited) * ''[[Indestructible Man]]'' (1956) - Tall Stripper (uncredited) * ''[[Pardners]]'' (1956) - Amanda Wentworth (uncredited) * ''[[Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956 film)|Beyond a Reasonable Doubt]]'' (1956) - Tall Burlesque Blonde (uncredited) * ''[[Gun Brothers]]'' (1956) - Molly MacLain * ''Pagan Island'' (1961) - Pagan Woman {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|285620}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Dorothy}} [[Category:1923 births]] [[Category:2010 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American actresses]] [[Category:American television actresses]] [[Category:Actresses from California]] [[Category:Female models from California]] [[Category:21st-century American women]]
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