- Born
- Died
- Nicknames
- Dot
- Dorothy Reid
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- The Davenport family was well known in theatrical circles. Her aunt, Fanny Davenport was considered one of the greatest stage actresses of her time and her father, Harry Davenport, was a Broadway star before later venturing into movies. Her mother, Alice Davenport, was a respected Broadway and film actress. With a background on the stage, Dorothy was in her early teens when she started playing bit parts in films. By the time she was 17, she was a star at Universal, where she would meet a young actor-assistant director-gopher-scenario writer named Wallace Reid. Called on to act with him in a film, she was frustrated by his apparent lack of acting ability on the first day, but was smitten with him on the third day of their work together. Dorothy was a horsewoman of distinction who had no regard for a man who couldn't stay in the saddle. When Wallace proved to be an excellent horseman, she was hooked.
After six months working on a job with another film company, Wallace returned to Universal and they married on October 13, 1913. The newlyweds continued to work. He directed and starred with Dorothy in two films a week for the next year. When Wallace left Universal Dorothy also left films, returning in 1916 to appear in a handful of them. In 1917 she gave birth to Wallace Reid Jr. and became a full-time mother and wife.
When Wallace Reid died from morphine addiction in 1923, Dorothy and Bessie Love made Human Wreckage (1923), a film that dealt with the dangers of narcotics. Dorothy would not return to the screen again until she directed and acted in The Red Kimono (1926). Dorothy later in life dabbled as a producer and a writer.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana <[email protected]>
- SpouseWallace Reid(October 13, 1913 - January 18, 1923) (his death, 2 children)
- Parents
- RelativesKate Davenport(Half Sibling)
- One of the few women in Hollywood to act as a producer and director in the 1930s, albeit at smaller studios.
- Daughter of Alice Davenport and Harry Davenport. Sister of Ann Davenport (1892-1968) and Kate Davenport (1896-1954); half-sister of Arthur Rankin (1900-47).
- Children: Betty and Wallace Reid Jr.
- Aunt of Dirk Wayne Summers and Arthur Rankin Jr..
- As Mrs. Wallace Reid, Davenport produced The Red Kimona in 1925. The story was based on the true story of Gabrielle Darley, but Davenport did not secure her permission to film the events in her life. When Darley, who had moved on to marry and become an upstanding member of her community, found out that a film of her life had been made without her consent, she sued Davenport and won. The court in Melvin v. Reid, 112 Cal.App. 285, 297 (1931) stated, "any person living a life of rectitude has that right to happiness which includes a freedom from unnecessary attacks on his character, social standing or reputation." The case is still cited today as a "right to be forgotten case.".
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