Dorothy Coonan Wellman

Born

November 25, 1913

Died

Sep 16, 2009

From

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Also:
Actress

Credits on file

Decades active

In short · Acted for seven decades — 5 credits.

Remembered for

Ranked by community engagement + sustained interest across this person's credits in our database.

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Biography

Dorothy Coonan Wellman (November 25 1913 – September 16 2009) was an American actress and dancer. She married film director William Wellman in 1934, and remained his spouse until his death in 1975; he cast her in several of his movies. Her dancing career began at age fourteen with Warner Brothers Studios, and she appeared in early talkies such as *The Broadway Melody* (1929), *Whoopee!* (1930), *Kiki* (1931), *Palmy Days* (1931) and *The Kid from Spain* (1932), often in uncredited dancer roles. Her most recognized films include *42nd Street* (1933) and *Gold Diggers of 1933*, many of which were choreographed by Busby Berkeley.

William Wellman cast Coonan as “Sally” in his 1933 film *Wild Boys of the Road*, the only credited role in which she received a character name. She also appears uncredited as an army nurse nicknamed Red who briefly marries a soldier in Wellman's *The Story of G.I. Joe* (1945).

Filmography · 4 of 4

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