Doris Weston

She was born of Swedish ancestry, Thyra Doris Marion Swanstrom, in Chicago, Illinois. Her career began as a singer on NBC radio and as a vocalist in nightclubs. A very pretty blonde, Doris got her first break of sorts in 1935 after appearing on "Major Bowe's Original Amateur Hour" in New York. She was then spotlighted for nine weeks at the prestigious Rainbow Room in mid-town Manhattan, a restaurant frequented by the city elite. Before long, a Warner Brothers talent scout 'discovered' her for the pictures and she was signed under contract in November 1936. Several alternatives were rejected before Warners accepted 'Weston' as a suitable choice for her new stage name. The following year, Doris appeared opposite Dick Powell in a minor musical, The Singing Marine (1937), as replacement for his usual co-star Ruby Keeler. As it turned out, the lack of chemistry between the two leads showed and the only highlight in this flimsily plotted outing proved to be Doris warbling the Harry Warren-Johnny Mercer ballad "Night Over Shanghai". Her career then went into a rapid decline, though she did manage a brief resurgence as Betty Houston, the girlfriend of Mandrake, the Magician (1939) (played by Warren Hull) in the Columbia serial. After appearing as the perfunctory female lead in a Johnny Mack Brown western, she called it a day and retired from films. Sadly, Doris died of lung cancer aged just 42 in July 1960.