Name Rachel Dooley | ||
Full Name Rachel Rice Dooley Born October 30, 1888 ( 1888-10-30 ) Glasgow, Scotland Died January 28, 1984(1984-01-28) (aged 95)East Hampton, New York | ||
Rachel Rice "Ray" Dooley (October 30, c. 1888 – January 28, 1984) was a vaudeville performer.
Contents
Biography
Dooley is believed to have been born on October 30, 1888 in Glasgow, Scotland to Robert Rogers Dooley, an Irish-born circus clown. Her brothers, Gordon, Johnny, and Willie Dooley, were also performers.
She made her performing debut in a minstrel show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She played "babies and brats" in the Ziegfeld Follies after World War I with W. C. Fields, Will Rogers, and Fannie Brice, among others. From there she moved to musical stage performances.
Marriage
She eloped with Eddie Dowling; the couple had two children, a son, Jack, and a daughter, Mary Maxine (later Mrs. Clark).
From 1919-34, Dooley teamed with Dowling for Ziegfeld Follies and in Thumbs Up in 1934, after which she retired. She came out of retirement in 1948 to appear in Hope's the Thing and Home Life of a Buffalo.
Death
Ray Dooley died on January 28, 1984 at her home in East Hampton, New York.