Dorothy Knapp


Dorothy Knapp was an American dancer, actress, model and Ziegfeld girl.

Early life

Dorothy Knapp was born in Chicago, or Dallas. She lived in New York City after 1915, and was dancing professionally by 1916, in the company of Norma Gould.

Career

Knapp began modeling and entering beauty contests as a teenager, and was publicized as "American Venus" in 1922. She won a precursor contest to what became the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City. In a 1922 newsreel she was described as "the perfect woman". Her measurements were published in detail, and she was often photographed in a swimsuit doing exercises. "Keeping fit is a pleasure by radio," one such photograph of Knapp was captioned.
From beauty pageants and glamorous photographs, she was cast in variety shows, including Earl Carroll's Vanities in 1923, 1926, and 1928, and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1924 and 1925. In 1929 she starred on Broadway in Fioretta; the show's failure was blamed on Knapp's lack of musical talent, and she was hospitalized after she was fired from the production, and lawsuits followed. She appeared twice more on Broadway, in Free For All and Broadway Interlude, but both shows closed quickly.
On screen, she was seen in the films None But the Brave, The Border Patrol, Whoopee!, and Under the Cock-Eyed Moon. She also appeared on some early television programming for NBC in 1931.

Personal life

Knapp was involved with Earl Carroll, and was briefly engaged to actor Chick Chandler, nephew of illustrator Howard Chandler Christy. In 1933 she married a Canadian radio announcer, Jack Edmond; they divorced in 1934. She made public comments about withdrawing to a convent, possibly in Mexico, but had not done so before 1936, when she was reported living in Tudor City and making sculptures. In 1957, Walter Winchell mentioned that Knapp was working at the jewelry counter of a department store, and living with Anna May Wong.