Gloria Dickson

About Gloria Dickson

Gloria Dickson was born Thais Alalia Dickerson on August 13, 1917, in Pocotello, Idaho. After her father died, her mother took Gloria and her sister to California. During high school she started acting in local theater productions. When she was nineteen a Warner Brothers talent scout saw one of her performances and offered her a contract. For her first film she was given the leading role in They Won't Forget (1937). Her performance got rave reviews and she was called the "luckiest girl in Hollywood". Gloria continued to get good roles in Gold Diggers in Paris (1938), They Made Me a Criminal (1939), and I Want a Divorce (1940). In 1938 she married makeup artist Perc Westmore. He wanted her to be more glamorous and persuaded her to have a nose job. After leaving MGM, Gloria's career stalled and she could only get small roles in B-movies like Lady of Burlesque (1943) and The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (1942). Gloria divorced Perc and married director Ralph Murphy in 1941. Unfortunately, Ralph had a wandering eye, and their marriage only lasted two years. By 1944, Gloria was unemployed and overweight and was also struggling with a serious alcohol problem. She married former boxer William Fitzgerald and rented a house in West Hollywood. On April 10, 1945, Gloria was taking a nap when the house caught fire. She tried to escape but ended up trapped in a bathroom. Gloria suffered second-degree burns and died from asphyxiation. She was only 27 years old. Ironically, in one of her final performances, The Crime Doctor's Strangest Case (1943), she played the wife of a man who habitually started accidental fires with carelessly discarded smoking materials. Two such scenes were featured in the movie and just two years later she died in a house fire suspected to have been caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette.Gloria is buried at Hollywood Forever cemetery with a tombstone reading "Thais A. Dickerson, My Baby".
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Elizabeth Ann

Spouses
William Fitzgerald(June 1944 - April 10, 1945) (her death)
Ralph Murphy(October 10, 1941 - April 18, 1944) (divorced)
Perc Westmore(June 20, 1938 - June 21, 1941) (divorced)