The Tragic Years
Dorothy's life seemed to unravel in late 1959. First, she met a handsome white restaurant owner named Jack Denison who pursued her relentlessly. Not many people had kind words to describe Denison and most considered him a gold digger. Dorothy, however, basked in his attentions and when he proposed, she accepted. They were married on June 22, 1959.
Dorothy was a kind and extremely giving individual and she always wanted to please everyone. When Denison asked her to perform at his restaurant, she agreed. Everyone, including her close friend and former manager, Earl Mills and her friend Geri Branton, felt that this was a terrible mistake. Mills told her that a person of her magnitude should not be performing at a small restaurant. Dorothy would only listen to her husband but unfortunately her friends were right.
Denison (left) not only took over Dorothy's career but he attempted to shut out her friends. He was also very abusive and it is known that he beat her. He was only interested in her money and he took it whenever he could. On top of this, an oil investment that Dorothy had entered into with other Hollywood stars turned out to be a scam and Dorothy lost a large amount of money. She had never handled her money very well and she always relied on other people to handle it for her. To alleviate her troubles, she began to drink heavily.
After almost two years of abuse, Dorothy finally threw Denison out of her house and filed for a divorce. She hoped that things would begin to get better but they only seemed to escalate. Helen Calhoun, whom Dorothy had been paying handsomely through the years to look after Lynn, returned Lynn when Dorothy could not longer pay her. She agonized over what to do and finally she had to have Lynn committed to a state hospital.
On April 26, 1963, she declared bankruptcy. She lost her beautiful home and found a smaller house near her friend Geri Branton. She contacted Earl Mills, who agreed to help her find work again. Dorothy had made one film after Porgy and Bess called Malaga, but it was another low budget feature which came and vanished quickly. She was later cast in a film version of Marco Polo and even shot some scenes before the project went bankrupt. She was then offered the role of a down and out jazz singer for a television series called "Cain's Hundred". The episode, Blue For A Junk Man, concerned a down and out jazz singer who is trying to restore her life after serving time in jail on drug charges. The role had many fine dramatic moments. Other scenes were shot so that a feature length version could be shown in Europe. The film version was titled The Murder Men (photo above).
Dorothy continued to drink heavily and she would call various friends at night and talk for hours about everything that was going on in her life. She was a very lonely woman and she often sounded disoriented. She was given a prescription antidepressant drug which seemed to lift her spirits. She did get nightclub work again but many critics noticed that her performances did not contain the magic that they once held.
Earl Mills worked with Dorothy to help her regain her health and put together another nightclub act. She attended a health spa in Mexico and then began a series of nightclub engagements in Mexico and Japan. She was scheduled to play again in New York but she sprained her ankle which resulted in a fracture in her foot.
On the morning of September 8, 1965, Dorothy had an appointment to have a cast put on her foot. Earl Mills called her early but she asked that he reschedule the appointment for later so that she could sleep a few more hours. Mills tried calling again later in the morning but he could get no answer. He went to Dorothy's apartment but he could not get in. He returned around 2 pm and finally forced his way in. He found Dorothy lying dead on the bathroom floor. She was nude except for a blue scarf around her head.
A few months earlier, Dorothy had given Earl a note which read "In case of my death - to whomever discovers it - don't remove anything I have on - scarf, gown or underwear. Cremate me right away. If I have anything, money, furniture, give it to my mother Ruby Dandridge. She will know what to do. Dorothy Dandridge."
Her death was first attributed to a blood clot caused by the fracture in her foot but an autopsy revealed that she had died of an overdose of Tofranil, the antidepressant that she was taking. Whether the overdose was accidental or intentional remains a mystery to this day.
Dorothy was cremated and buried at the Little Church of the Flowers at Forest Lawn.
Ruby Dandridge died in 1987. Cyril Dandridge died in 1989. Vivian Dandridge died in 1991. Dorothy's daughter, Harolyn, still lives in a California institution.
