Actress, Model and an African American Rights Activist. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to a Presbyterian minister. Her stage began at a young age, preforming on the Bible Belt where she appeared singing and acting in several religious themed productions. While World War II was going on, she worked as a typist and secretary in a steel factory while appearing in amateur theatre nights and weekends. In the late 1950s, she moved to California and worked as a TV commercial and magazine model appearing in several advertisements for well known brand names including Maxwell House Coffee, Westinghouse, Sears Roebuck, and Hersey’s Chocolates. She had been inspired to become an actress after seeing the Oscar winning performance of Hattie McDaniel in Gone with the Wind in 1939. In the early 1970’s she got her acting debut  in an episode of The Bill Cosby Show. Other television series were quick to follow, The New Temperature Rising Show in 1972, Circle of Fear also in 1972, The Waltons in 1973, Sanford and Sons from 1973 to 1975, That’s My Mama in 1974 and The Rookies in 1975. She quickly became a regular supporting actress on several well known Television shows of the 1970’s and 1980’s. Dorothy also acted in films including Helter Skelter in 1976, The Greatest in 1977, Roller Boogie in 1979, Whose Life Is It Anyway in 1981, Hollywood Vice Squad in 1986, Cobra in 1986, Moving in 1988 and Wildfire also in 1988. She is best remembered for her acting roles as a wisecracking maid, nurse, and church lady. She was very active as an African American Rights Activist and spoke several times on civil liberties in low income communities and was supportive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was a staunch liberal Democrat who strongly supported the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. In 1987, she passed away from undisclosed causes and two films she was making at the time, Moving and Wildfire, were released posthumously. At her request upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes scattered at sea in the Pacific Ocean. She was 62 years old. (bio by: Babe)