Actress. She starred in several dozen Hollywood features during the 1930s. Born Dorothy Arlene Dodd, to Walter and Ethel Cool Dodd (who later divorced), she was raised in Iowa until she moved to New York in her mid-teens in order to support herself. While working on Broadway in the “Ziegfeld Follies”, she was spotted by producer Darryl F. Zanuck and put under contract to Warner Brothers, though she made her silver screen bow in a bit (as a mannequin) in MGM’s “Our Blushing Brides” (1930). Claire made films for Warner, Paramount and Universal, twice taking the role of Perry Mason’s ‘Girl-Friday’, Della Street; her other credits included “Ex-Lady” (1933), the 1938 “Three Loves Has Nancy”, and 1941’s “The Black Cat”. After the 1942 “The Daring Young Man”, she retired to marry H. Brand Cooper and raise a family. She died of cancer. (bio by: Bob Hufford)  Family links:  Parents:  Walter E. Dodd (1887 – 1957) Inscription:Beloved Wife and Mother