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Article: DOROTHY COONAN WELLMAN
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 16, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Actress and dancer who became a Sam Goldwyn 'Golden Girl'
Dorothy Coonan was one of Busby Berkeley's principal chorus
dancers who had performed in such films as Whoopee! (1930) and 42nd
Street (1933) when she met the director William Wellman, who cast
her as the female lead in his film Wild Boys of the Road (1933). She
then became Wellman's fifth wife, and remained happily married to
him for over 40 years until his death in 1975. Ten years earlier,
Wellman wrote in his autobiography of his thoughts while watching
her sleeping. "What a beautiful girl. Freckles and a sensitive mouth
and long black hair. That had been all mine for 30 years, and I was
as much in love with it now as ever. I ...