Trivia

During World War II, she toured the country, selling in excess of $300 million worth of war bonds.

Her famous "Road" co-stars Bing Crosby and Bob Hope are seen watching her from the audience as she performs in Cecil B. DeMille's circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth (1952).

Her stepson gave her a dog, CoCo, when her husband died. She did not want it at first, but he insisted. She soon learned to love the dog and referred to him as her boyfriend.

Went to secretarial school where she became an excellent typist. Even as a star, she typed her own letters.

Derived her acting name name "Dorothy Lamour" from her stepfather, whose surname was "Lambour".

Femme fatale in the Bing Crosby - Bob Hope "Road" series of Paramount Pictures offerings from 1941 to 1953. In the final entry, The Road to Hong Kong (1962), she appeared with Crosby and Hope but the femme fatale this time was Joan Collins.

Miss New Orleans 1931.

Her original sarong for The Jungle Princess (1936) was designed by Edith Head. She also wore special sandals to cover her feet.

Lamour is named in the film J. Edgar (2011) as having had an early affair with J. Edgar Hoover. Books on Hoover also report that she was his great love, something she never confirmed or denied.

She first met Bob Hope while working as a singer at the popular nightclub 1 Fifth Avenue in New York's Greenwich Village, where she was accompanied on twin pianos by Julius Monk and Cy Feuer. She had top billing over him in several of their first pictures together at Paramount.

She was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6332 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Radio at 6240 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

She was one of the few film stars who was allowed to make records throughout her career. She rivaled Alice Faye for the number of songs she introduced on screen, including "Moon of Manakoora", "Moonlight and Shadows", "Moonlight Becomes You", "I Remember You", "Personality" and "It Could Happen to You".

At the start of her career, she was in a romantic relationship with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

She had French, Irish and Spanish ancestry.

In the 1940s, she was the celebrity spokeswoman for Chesterfield Cigarettes.

In 1946 (with the full assistance of Paramount's publicity department), she staged a memorable stunt by publicly burning a sarong, the garment with which she had been associated since her first starring role.

Had co-starred as a featured regular with Don Ameche, W.C. Fields and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on the popular "Chase and Sanborn Radio Hour".

Was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), which went to Vivien Leigh.

Turned down the role of Crystal Allen in The Women (1939) for she considered the character to be "less than desirable".

John Ford began filming his classic The Hurricane (1937) with Margo in the leading female role, but Samuel Goldwyn halted production and replaced her with Lamour because of the success of The Jungle Princess (1936).

Was friends with Betty Grable, Carole Landis, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Linda Darnell and Betty Hutton.

Sang the show-stopping "Broadway Baby" in a 1990 Long Beach, California revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies".

She opened the first of what was meant to be a chain of "Dorothy Lamour" beauty salons in New York's Greenwich Village in 1960, not far from where she had begun her nightclub career in the 1930s.

"The Moon of Manakoora" from The Hurricane (1937), was her signature song.

Toured successfully for a year in the musical "Hello, Dolly!" including a lengthy run at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, where she alternated performances with Ginger Rogers because of the 14 show-a-week schedule. Lamour was the first to play Dolly Levi as a brunette.

Her stepson William Ross "Bill, Jr." Howard IV was born in 1933. Her son John Ridgely "Ridge" Howard was born January 8, 1946. Her son Richard Thomson "Tommy" Howard was born on October 20, 1949.

Appeared as herself on the Jack Benny Program on the radio December 10, 1944.

Interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California, USA, in the Enduring Faith section, lot 387, space 2.

Was a staunch conservative Republican who was active both personally and financially in the campaigns of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

Host of NBC Radio's "Sealtest Variety Theater" (aka The Dorothy Lamour Show) (1948-1949).

Was scheduled to make her Broadway debut in the 1957 musical "Oh, Captain!" as a replacement for Abbe Lane. She played a few previews, but the show closed before her official opening night.

Soldso many war bonds during the war that she became known as Bond Bombshell.

First wore a sarong in Jungle Princess.

In Italy, almost all her films were dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta.

Mother of Ridgely Howard.

Biography in: "American National Biography." Supplement 1, pp. 338-339. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Caricatured in Hollywood Steps Out (1941).

In 1938 Dorothy Lamour and other Paramount stars, including Harold Lloyd appeared in publicity photos with the Popeye cartoon character promoting a world-wide trip by Popeye to promote current Paramount pictures. The stills would sometimes also promote the star's current movie.

Had 2 sons and a step son, William Ross Howard 1v with second husband.