Dorothy Coburn(1905-1978)
- Actress
Brunette, curvaceous Dorothy Coburn was the daughter of western
actor/producer Wallace G. Coburn. Her grandfather Robert, a pioneer cattleman, had founded the famous Montana Circle C Ranch in 1886. Dorothy
appeared in silent comedy shorts for
Hal Roach -- often as the quintessential
flapper, society lady or nurse. A feisty personality, she was ideally cast as a perennial foil for
Stan Laurel and
Oliver Hardy. Her best-known appearances
with the famous duo include
Les Forçats du pinceau (1927)
(where Stan inadvertently covers her bottom with white paint);
Mon neveu l'écossais (1927)
(in which she is being chased by an over-amorous, kilt-wearing Stan
Laurel around town); and as a dentist's nurse in
Laissez-nous rire (1928). A genuine trooper, Dorothy cheerfully took every indignity inflicted upon
her in her stride, whether it was falling into a pit of whitewash in
Laurel et Hardy constructeurs (1928),
being pied in
La bataille du siècle (1927),
or covered in mud in
Un homme à boue (1928).
Also an accomplished rider and a fit athlete, Dorothy (billed as 'Dottie Coburn') occasionally worked as a stunt performer in westerns, doubling for the likes of Gary Cooper and Joel McCrea. After the advent of sound, she was sometimes engaged as a stand-in for Ginger Rogers at RKO. After leaving the movie business in 1936, she found employment as a receptionist for an insurance agency.
Also an accomplished rider and a fit athlete, Dorothy (billed as 'Dottie Coburn') occasionally worked as a stunt performer in westerns, doubling for the likes of Gary Cooper and Joel McCrea. After the advent of sound, she was sometimes engaged as a stand-in for Ginger Rogers at RKO. After leaving the movie business in 1936, she found employment as a receptionist for an insurance agency.
