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Dorothy Cumming

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Years active
  
1915-1929

Name
  
Dorothy Cumming

Role
  
Actress



Born
  
12 April 1894 (
1894-04-12
)

Occupation
  
Stage and silent film actress

Died
  
December 10, 1983, New York City, New York, United States

Spouse
  
Frank Elliott Dakin (m. 1922–1927)

Children
  
Anthony Cumming, Lt. Greville C. E. Cumming

Parents
  
Victor Cumming, Sarah T. Fennell

Movies
  
The King of Kings, The Wind, Snow White, The Divine Lady, Applause

Similar People
  
Victor Sjostrom, Harry Beaumont, Herbert Brenon, Rose Cumming, J Searle Dawley

Dorothy Cumming (12 April 1894 – 10 December 1983) was an actress of the silent film era. She appeared in 39 American, English, and Australian films between 1915 and 1929, notably appearing as the Virgin Mary in Cecil B. DeMille's 1927 film The King of Kings and the jealous wife in Lillian Gish's 1928 The Wind. She also appeared in stage productions in those same countries.

Contents

Childhood and early career

She was born Dorothy Greville Cumming in Boorowa, New South Wales. Her father, Victor Albert Cumming was an officer of the Lands Department and also owned Narrangullen sheep station, near Yass. Her mother was the former Sarah T. Fennell. The family moved to Sydney around 1904, settling in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra. There, while a student at Ascham School, Dorothy attended elocution and acting lessons, appearing on stage from 1907. In 1911 she appeared with Enid Bennett in J. C. Williamson's production Everywoman.

In 1915 she appeared in the 6 reel J.C. Williamson film Within our Gates, or Deeds that Won Gallipoli, a spy drama directed by English actor-director Frank Harvey. At this time Williamsons made a handful of films using their own actors, in response to the threat of increasing American imports, including Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford and Officer 666, directed by Fred Niblo. Determined to follow a career in film, Cumming departed for the US in mid 1916.

Cumming had three full siblings, including two sisters who also moved to the United States. Rose Cumming became a prominent American interior decorator, and Eileen Cumming an advertising executive, who married rheumatologist Dr. Russell LaFayette Cecil. Cumming also had several half-siblings from her mother's first marriage.

Marriages

Cumming was married twice. Her husbands were:

  • Frank Elliott Dakin (married 4 April 1922, separated 1925, divorced 9 December 1927), a stage director known professionally as Frank Elliott. They had two sons, each of whom took his mother's maiden name after their parents' divorce: Anthony Cumming and Lt. Greville C. E. Cumming (1921–1942).
  • Allan McNab (born 1901), married 2 August 1932. He was a British artist and designer who became the art director of Life, worked as design director for Norman Bel Geddes, and became the director of administration of the Art Institute of Chicago.
  • Death

    She died in New York City in 1983.

    Filmography

    Actress
    1929
    Applause as
    Mother Superior (uncredited)
    1929
    Innocents of Paris as
    Bit Role (uncredited)
    1929
    Kitty as
    Mrs. St. George
    1928
    The Divine Lady as
    Queen Maria Carolina
    1928
    The Wind as
    Cora
    1928
    Our Dancing Daughters as
    Diana's Mother
    1928
    Life's Mockery as
    Gladys Morrison
    1928
    Forbidden Hours as
    Queen Alexia
    1928
    The Divine Woman as
    Mmme. Zizi Rouck, Marianne's Mother
    1927
    The Lovelorn as
    Beatrice Fairfax
    1927
    In Old Kentucky as
    Mrs. Brierly
    1927
    The King of Kings as
    Mary - The Mother
    1926
    Butterflies in the Rain as
    Lady Pintar
    1926
    For Wives Only as
    Countess von Nessa
    1926
    Mademoiselle Modiste as
    Marianne
    1926
    Dancing Mothers as
    Mrs. Mazzarene
    1925
    A Kiss for Cinderella as
    Queen
    1925
    The New Commandment as
    Countess Stoll
    1925
    The Coast of Folly as
    Constance Fay
    1925
    The Manicure Girl as
    Flora
    1925
    One Way Street as
    Lady Frances Thompson
    1924
    The Female as
    Clodah Harrison
    1924
    Nellie the Beautiful Cloak Model as
    Mrs. Horton
    1924
    The Next Corner as
    Paula Vrain
    1923
    Twenty-One as
    Mrs. McCullough
    1923
    The Cheat as
    Lucy Hodge
    1923
    The Self-Made Wife as
    Elena Vincent
    1922
    Manslaughter as
    Eleanor Bellington
    1922
    The Man from Home as
    Princess Sabina
    1921
    Don't Tell Everything as
    Jessica Ramsey
    1921
    Ladies Must Live as
    Minor Role (uncredited)
    1920
    The Thief as
    Isabelle Lenwright (as Dorothy Cummings)
    1920
    Idols of Clay as
    Lady Cray
    1920
    The Notorious Miss Lisle as
    Mrs. Lyons (as Dorothy Cummings)
    1920
    The Notorious Mrs. Sands as
    Dulcie Charteris
    1920
    The Woman and the Puppet as
    Bianca
    1920
    A Woman Who Understood as
    Mrs. Alden
    1916
    Snow White as
    Queen Brangomar (as Dorothy G. Cumming)
    1915
    Within Our Gates as
    Freda Henschell

    References

    Dorothy Cumming Wikipedia


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