Arlene Dahl
Arlene Carol Dahl (August 11, 1925 – November 29, 2021) was an American actress active in films from the late 1940s.
Arlene Dahl
November 29, 2021 (aged 96)
- Actress
- businesswoman
- columnist
1944–2012
3, including Lorenzo Lamas
AJ Lamas (grandson)
Shayne Lamas (granddaughter)
She was also an author and entrepreneur. She founded two companies, Arlene Dahl Enterprises and Dahlia, a fragrance company.
Born in Minnesota to parents of Norwegian descent, Dahl started her acting career in musicals before transitioning to film, where she gained significant roles in MGM productions such as My Wild Irish Rose (1947) and The Bride Goes Wild (1948). Dahl also starred in adventure films, notably Caribbean Gold (1952) and Desert Legion (1953).
Despite her acting success, Dahl faced financial challenges, declaring bankruptcy in 1981. She then entered the field of astrology, writing a syndicated column and operating a premium phoneline company. She also wrote numerous books on beauty and astrology.
In her personal life, Dahl had six husbands, including actors Lex Barker and Fernando Lamas, and was the mother to three children, the eldest of whom is actor Lorenzo Lamas. She lived between New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida, until her death in 2021.
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Dahl was born on August 11, 1925, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Idelle (née Swan) and Rudolph Dahl, a Ford Motor dealer and executive. Her parents were both of Norwegian descent.[3] She cited her year of birth as 1928,[4] although her birth record (1925-43442, available through the Minnesota Historical Society) shows she was born on August 11, 1925.[1] An August 13, 2014, article in the New York Social Diary by David Patrick Columbia, titled "Losses and Gains", references her 89th birthday celebration with her husband, children, and family.[2]
As a child, Dahl took elocution and dancing lessons and was active in theatrical events at Margaret Fuller Elementary School, Ramsey Junior High School, and Washburn Senior High School. After graduating from high school, she held such jobs as performing in a local drama group and briefly working as a model for department stores. Dahl's mother was involved in local amateur theatre. Dahl briefly attended the University of Minnesota.[5]
Early career[edit]
A year after graduation from high school, Dahl lived in Chicago, where she worked as a buyer for Marshall and Brown. She then traveled to New York and worked as a model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency,[6] where she successfully auditioned for a part in the musical Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston in 1945. This led to her gaining the lead in another play, Questionable Ladies, which was seen by a talent scout from Hollywood.[5]
Dahl had an uncredited bit part in Life with Father (1947). She was promoted to leading lady in My Wild Irish Rose (1947) with Dennis Morgan, a big hit that led to an offer from MGM for a long-term contract.[5]
MGM[edit]
Dahl began working for MGM to play a supporting role in her first film, The Bride Goes Wild (1948), starring Van Johnson and June Allyson.[7] She remained there to play the female lead in the Red Skelton comedy A Southern Yankee (1948).[7]
Eagle-Lion hired her to star as the female lead in Reign of Terror (1949). Then at MGM, she acted opposite Van Johnson in Scene of the Crime (1949); Robert Taylor in Ambush (1950); Joel McCrea in The Outriders (1950); Fred Astaire and Skelton in Three Little Words (1950), playing Eileen Percy; and Skelton again in Watch the Birdie (1950). Except for The Outriders, all these movies were profitable for MGM.[8]
MGM gave Dahl the lead in several B movies, such as Inside Straight (1951) and No Questions Asked (1951), both of which flopped.[9]
Business ventures[edit]
In 1951, Dahl began writing for a tri-weekly beauty column for Let's Be Beautiful, a newspaper owned by Chicago Tribune founder Robert McCormick.[3]
In the mid-1950s, Dahl founded Arlene Dahl Enterprises, selling lingerie, nightgowns, pajamas and cosmetics.[7][3] She invented the Dahl Beauty Cap, a knitted sleeping cap for women.[3]
Dahl began working at Sears Roebuck as director of beauty products in 1970, earning nearly $750,000 annually, but she left in 1975 to found a short-lived fragrance company, Dahlia.[12][13][24]