# Dotty Mack

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**Dotty Mack** (born **Dorothy Zompero**, April 25, 1929 – November 11, 2019) was a [lip sync](/source/Lip_sync) actress and [mime](/source/Mime) artist, known as the "Queen of Pantomime" for her appearances in *[The Paul Dixon Show](/source/The_Paul_Dixon_Show)* (1951), *[The Dotty Mack Show](/source/The_Dotty_Mack_Show)* (1953) and *[Cavalcade of Stars](/source/Cavalcade_of_Stars_(TV_series))* (1949).[1]

## Early life

Mack was born in [Price Hill, Cincinnati](/source/Price_Hill,_Cincinnati), Ohio, and attended the [Mother of Mercy High School](/source/Mother_of_Mercy_High_School_(Cincinnati,_Ohio)), graduating in 1947.[1] She then worked as a human mannequin in a department store window in Cincinnati, and as a salesperson,[1] before being employed as a record librarian at [WCPO-AM](/source/WCPO-AM) radio in March 1949.[1][2]

## Career

Mack appeared in [Paul Dixon](/source/Paul_Dixon_(entertainer))'s radio show.[1] When [WCPO-TV](/source/WCPO-TV) started in July 1949, she transferred to the *Paul Dixon's Song Shop* on television, performing with Dixon and Wanda Lewis.[1] She lip-synched to songs by singers including [Rosemary Clooney](/source/Rosemary_Clooney),[1][3] [Doris Day](/source/Doris_Day),[1] [Dinah Shore](/source/Dinah_Shore),[1] [Patti Page](/source/Patti_Page),[3] and [Eartha Kitt](/source/Eartha_Kitt).[3] She was known as the "Queen of Pantomime"[2][4] for "her striking beauty and seemingly innate ability to pantomime expertly any type of song."[2] She was so popular that she was given her own show, first *Your Pantomime Hit Parade*, then a 15-minute show called *Girl Alone*, and finally a half-hour program called *[The Dotty Mack Show](/source/The_Dotty_Mack_Show)*, in which she was joined by [Bob Braun](/source/Bob_Braun) and Colin Male.[1] [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company) and the [DuMont Television Network](/source/DuMont_Television_Network) screened the *Dotty Mack Show* nationally from 1953 to 1956.[1] By 1955, a Dotty Mack fan club existed in Cincinnati.[5] TV host [Faye Emerson](/source/Faye_Emerson) said of her show in 1954, she is "extremely talented ... She can be cute as a kitten's ear, romantic as rose petals, or sultry as absinthe ... She is a good actress and her sense of timing is nothing short of miraculous."[3] However, Emerson wrote, she "would still rather see Rosemary Clooney singing her own songs" than "pretty little parrots like Dotty Mack and her friends."[3] She sometimes had enquiries for singing from people who did not know that she was principally a mime.[1] She was noted for her beautiful gowns on the air;[5] however, there was no clothing allowance, so they were all hers.[1]

## Personal life

Mack went out with [Dick Van Dyke](/source/Dick_Van_Dyke), [Frank Sinatra](/source/Frank_Sinatra) and [Joe DiMaggio](/source/Joe_DiMaggio). She married [William B. Williams](/source/William_B._Williams_(DJ)) who was a disc jockey in New York in 1960. In 1961 her son Jeffrey, was born and she became a full time mother, but she still mixed socially with [Doris Day](/source/Doris_Day), [Rosemary Clooney](/source/Rosemary_Clooney), [Steve Lawrence](/source/Steve_Lawrence) and [Eydie Gorme](/source/Eydie_Gorme). She moved to [Miami, Florida](/source/Miami,_Florida) after her husband died in 1986, where she died on November 11, 2019.[1]

## References

1. Kiesewetter, John (November 11, 2019). ["Dotty Mack, 1950s Cincinnati TV Star, Dies In Florida"](https://www.wvxu.org/post/dotty-mack-1950s-cincinnati-tv-star-dies-florida#stream/0). *Cincinnati Public Radio*. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

1. Warnick, Charles (6 September 1953). ["Pantomiming: Will It Last?"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/103300427/?terms=%22Dotty%2BMack%22). *The Cincinnati Enquirer*. p. S3-1. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

1. Emerson, Faye (11 April 1954). ["Practice of 'Miming' Records Disturbs Faye"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/150127190/?terms=%22Dotty%2BMack%22). *The Pittsburgh Press*. p. S5-13. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

1. Devane, James (29 June 1957). ["Dotty's Devotees Want Her"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/103484872/?terms=%22Dotty%2BMack%22). *The Cincinnati Enquirer*. p. 20. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

1. Devane, James (6 April 1955). ["Jessie Is Dotty Mack's Devotee. Club Works Hard To Promote Star Of WCPO-TV Show"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/103307482/?terms=%22Dotty%2BMack%22). *The Cincinnati Enquirer*. p. 19. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dotty Mack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotty_Mack) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotty_Mack?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.