The Land of Forgotten Starlets
I've always been drawn to the lives of those on the fringes—the also-rans, the almost-big shots, the disappointed dreamers. Hollywood fan magazines once brimmed with stories of young men and women heralded as the next big thing, each one optimistic about the promise of stardom. But not everyone who entered into studio system emerged a household name.
While browsing through old issues of Picture Play magazine, I came across a few of those promising young women—actresses who arrived in Hollywood with dreams of being a movie star. Some carved out steady, if low-profile, careers in supporting roles, while others flamed out just as quickly as they arrived.
Here are a few of them. . .
Doris Nolan (July 14, 1916 – July 29, 1998)
Initially dropped by Fox Films at the age of 16, Doris Nolan left Hollywood for New York and found success on Broadway, eventually appearing in a total of eight productions between 1935 and 1949.
She returned to Hollywood in the mid-1930s, and between 1936 and 1975, Nolan appeared in eleven films. Her most notable appearance was as Julia Seton in Holiday (1938), starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Lew Ayres. Her other major film credit was Irene (1940), starring Anna Neagle and Ray Milland.
In 1944, she married actor and screenwriter Alexander Knox, best known for his Oscar-nominated performance in Wilson (1944). The couple relocated to the United Kingdom during the Hollywood blacklist due to Knox’s political affiliations. Nolan continued acting on stage and occasionally appeared on British television.
Hazel Forbes (November 26, 1910 – November 19, 1980)
One of the most exotic-looking newcomers, Hazel Forbes is also one of the richest actresses in Hollywood, tooth paste having amassed millions for her but nature gave her the will to succeed. So she’s beginning a musical short, “If This Isn’t Love” with Walter Woolf.
Before transitioning into acting in 1927, seventeen year old Hazel Forbes began her career as a showgirl in the Ziegfeld follies. Despite being featured as a rising star in Picture Play magazine, her filmography is sparse. Between 1927 and 1942, she appeared in just three feature films and five short subjects.
In 1932, Forbes made headlines off-screen when her wealthy husband died less than a year into their marriage. Forbes inherited $2,000,000 making her a very wealthy woman. He initially said she would honor her late husband's wish for her to stay out of acting, but she later returned to motion pictures.
Claire Dodd (December 29, 1911 – November 23, 1973)
Considering Claire Dodd’s beauty and intelligence, it is strange that she has been overlooked by the magazines as well as by Warners, who only see her as a prowling menace to the domestic security of their screen heroines.
Though never a top-billed star, Claire Dodd appeared in over 50 films working at major studios like Warners, Paramount, and Universal. She made her first appearance in Our Blushing Brides (1930). Later, she was often cast in sophisticated or alluring supporting roles in movies like Gambling Lady (1934), Babbitt (1934), and Roberta (1935). Known as “Hollywood’s Mystery Girl,” Dodd was fiercely private, refusing to share details of her personal life with reporters.
She even famously claimed to forget where she was born. She told reporters, "I believe one's personal and professional lives should be kept separate. . .I do not think it wise to publicize my private affairs. My husband is not a professional and most of our friends are non-professionals.”
Dodd retired from acting in 1942 to focus on her home and family.
Ketti Gallian (December 25, 1912 – December 1972)
A Fox official in London on vacation was so impressed by Ketti Gallian’s performance in a stage production that he signed her for a leading role in “Marie Galante.” Now the French charmer is making “Thunder in the Night” with Warner Baxter as her leading man and learning English, too
Ketti Gallian was one of several actresses recruited to Hollywood from Europe in the early 1930s in an effort to replicate the allure, mystery and star power of both Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich.
After signing a contract with Fox Film Corporation she made her American screen debut in George White Scandals (1934), she went on to appear in a total of seven films over four years but she was never able to grab the audience appeal of Garbo or Dietrich.
By 1937, Gallian was back in Europe where she resumed her career appearing sporadically in French films before retiring from the screen in 1956.
Pert Kelton (October 14, 1907 – October 30, 1968)
She’s as peppy as her name and the manner you know on the screen, is Miss Pert. What you don’t know, however, is that she has a limpid coloratura voice that doesn’t fit the snappy roles she plays and therefore she keeps it to herself. You wouldn’t have a dreamed it, would you? Next you’ll see her in “Hooray for Love.”
Pert Kelton began performing as a child in vaudeville before making her Broadway debut at 17. By the late 1920s, she had transitioned to Hollywood, where she became a sought-after comedic actress, often playing the wisecracking best friend or brassy sidekick in 1930s films like The Bowery (1933) and Bed of Roses (1933).
Alongside her work in motion pictures, in the 1940s Kelton appeared regularly on the radio appearing on The Henry Morgan Show and The Milton Berle Show. She also returned to the stage, originating the role of Mrs. Paroo in the Broadway production of The Music Man in 1957.
However, her career suffered a major blow in the early 1950s when she was blacklisted during the Red Scare, forcing her to leave her role as Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners.
Pert Kelton died of a heart attack in 1968.
and finally. . .
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Kelton originated the role of Alice Kramden when Jackie Gleason was performing on the DuMont network. Audrey Meadows took over when he moved to CBS.