Acting · Portland, Maine, USA · Born January 6, 1906
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dorothy Appleby (January 6, 1906 – August 9, 1990) was an American film actress. She appeared in over 50 films between 1931 and 1943. Appleby gained early acting experience as an understudy and a chorus member in plays in New York City. A newspaper article reported that Appleby "came to New York fresh from winning a Maine beauty contest." Appleby was seen in many supporting roles, almost always in short subjects or low-budget feature films. She never progressed to leading roles in important pictures because of her height, which made her difficult to cast The trim brunette stood just over five feet tall, and her early leading men (like comedian Charley Chase) towered over her. She soon found steady if not prestigious work in Columbia Pictures' two-reel comedies. She appeared frequently with The Three Stooges, who were only a few inches taller than she was, and in 1940 she became Buster Keaton's leading lady, for the same reason: her height complemented his. She worked with Columbia comics Andy Clyde, El Brendel, and Hugh Herbert, and she had an uncredited part in John Ford's Stagecoach. Some of her Stooge comedies were Loco Boy Makes Good, So Long Mr. Chumps, and In the Sweet Pie and Pie. One memorable appearance was as Mexican brunette Rosita in 1940's Cookoo Cavaliers. In the film, Appleby gets clobbered by the Stooges when a facial "mud pack" made of cement dries on her face. Her petite figure belied her age, and she continued to play "younger" roles into the 1940s. One of her last screen roles was a one-line bit (playing a college co-ed at age 35) in the 1941 Jane Withers feature Small Town Deb.
MovieThe Three Stooges Follies
1974
as Mrs. Plunkett (archive footage)
MoviePitchin' in the Kitchen
1943
as Dagmar Spiggott, the wife
MovieWhat's the Matador?
1942
as O'Brien's Secretary
MovieWhat Makes Lizzy Dizzy?
1942
as Aggie
MovieLoco Boy Makes Good
1942
as Twitchell's Girl
MovieIn the Sweet Pie and Pie
1941
as Tiska Jones
MovieGeneral Nuisance
1941
as Dorothy - Army nurse
MovieManpower
1941
as Wilma
Black Eyes and Blues
1941
as Helen Potts Harmon
MovieSo Long Mr. Chumps
1941
as Pomeroy's Girlfriend (uncredited)
MovieHigh Sierra
1941
as Margie (uncredited)
MovieHis Ex Marks the Spot
1940
as His wife
MovieCookoo Cavaliers
1940
as Rosita (uncredited)
MovieThe Devil's Pipeline
1940
as Stewardess
MovieThe Spook Speaks
1940
as Newlywed wife
MovieFrom Nurse to Worse
1940
as Dr. Lerious' Receptionist (uncredited)
MovieGold Rush Maisie
1940
as Hatcheck Girl (Uncredited)
MovieThe Taming of the Snood
1940
as Miss Wilson
MovieThe Doctor Takes a Wife
1940
as Woman in Book Store (uncredited)
MoviePardon My Berth Marks
1940
as Mary Crissman
MovieRockin' Thru the Rockies
1940
as Tessie
MovieConvicted Woman
1940
as Daisy
MovieNothing But Pleasure
1940
as Mrs. Plunkett
MovieThe Women
1939
as Treatment Girl (uncredited)
MovieWhen Tomorrow Comes
1939
as Waitress (uncredited)
MovieThe Flying Irishman
1939
as Maybelle
MovieStagecoach
1939
as Girl in Saloon (uncredited)
MovieMaking the Headlines
1938
as Claire Sandford
MovieLive, Love and Learn
1937
as Lou - Bob's Model (uncredited)
MovieSmall Town Boy
1937
as Sandra French
MovieMake a Wish
1937
as Telephone Girl
MovieParadise Express
1937
as Kay Carson
MovieNorth of Nome
1936
as Ruby
MovieRiffraff
1936
as Gertie
MovieLet 'em Have It
1935
as Lola McArdle
MovieCharlie Chan in Paris
1935
as Nardi
MovieFate's Fathead
1934
as Dorothy Chase
MovieYou Said a Hatful!
1934
as Dorothy
MovieTwo Heads on a Pillow
1934
as Mitzie LaVerne
MovieI Give My Love
1934
as Alice Henley
MovieSchool for Girls
1934
as Florence Burns
MovieJail Birds of Paradise
1934
as Miss Deering, Prison Warder
MovieAs the Earth Turns
1934
as Doris
MovieKing of the Wild Horses
1933
as Napeeta
Trick for Trick
1933
as Maisie Henry
MovieUnder Eighteen
1932
as Elsie
Square Crooks
1928
as Kay Ellison
