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Patricia Dane
Dane in Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941)
Born	Thelma Patricia Pippins (1917-08-04)August 4, 1917 Florida, U.S.
Died	June 5, 1995(1995-06-05) (aged 77) Blountstown, Florida, U.S.
Resting place	Pine Memorial Cemetery, Blountstown, Florida
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1941–1956
Spouse	Tommy Dorsey (m. 1943; div. 1947)

Patricia Dane (born Thelma Patricia Pippins, August 4, 1917 – June 5, 1995)^[1] was an American film actress of the 1940s.

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Early life

Dane was born Thelma Patricia Pippins to William Pippins and Emma F. Montford. Sources differ as to her birth year (1917 - 1919) and birthplace (Jacksonville, Florida or Blountstown, Florida).^[2]^[3] She was later known as Thelma Patricia Burns and Thelma Patricia Byrnes after her mother's second husband, whose surname was Burns. She attended the University of Alabama for almost three years. In 1938 she moved to New York, where she worked as a model for a dress design firm.^[4] During this period she met industrialist and film industry executive Howard Hughes, who encouraged her to move to Los Angeles and helped her find an apartment there.^[5]^[6]

Career

Dane was signed to a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract in 1941. As she gained attention in Hollywood, gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Jimmy Fidler both noted her strong resemblance to Hedy Lamarr, who was also under contract to MGM.^[7] Dane's earliest appearances were two uncredited roles in Ziegfeld Girl and I'll Wait for You (both 1941). She played the part of "Jennitt Hicks" in Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941) and her well-received performance earned her a long-term contract. Dane played "Garnet" in Johnny Eager (1942) directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The film starred Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. Dane received favorable press for her acting in Grand Central Murder (1942), in which she was billed second to Van Heflin.^[8]

Dane married bandleader Tommy Dorsey in Las Vegas on April 8, 1943.^[9] Dorsey did not want his wife to work, and she took a break from her film career.^[10] Her MGM contract lapsed in 1945.

Dorsey's biographer described both parties to the marriage as temperamental.^[11] Their union was said to be "tempestuous from the start."^[12] They separated three times before Dane filed for divorce on July 3, 1947, citing "extreme mental cruelty" and Dorsey's constant travel with his touring orchestra. However, the divorce was essentially amicable, and they had various rendezvous in the years ahead.^[13]

Following her divorce, Dane resumed her movie career at the low-budget Monogram Pictures studio^[14] with Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad (1948). Her final film appearances were uncredited parts in Road to Bali (1952) and The Harder They Fall (1956).^[15]

Later life

Tommy Dorsey died in 1956. He left Dane a $26,000 insurance policy after she informed him that she was unable to work due to injuries sustained in a 1956 boating accident.^[16]^[17] In 1973 she returned to Blountstown, where she lived with her mother and worked as a librarian. Dane never remarried.^[18]^[19] She is interred in Pine Memorial Cemetery in Blountstown, Florida.^[20]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1941	Ziegfeld Girl	Ziegfeld Girl	Uncredited
	I'll Wait for You	Blonde in Elevator	Uncredited
	Life Begins for Andy Hardy	Jennitt Hicks
	Johnny Eager	Garnet
1942	Rio Rita	Lucette Brunswick
	Grand Central Murder	Mida King
	Somewhere I'll Find You	Crystal McRegan
	Northwest Rangers	Jean Avery
1943	I Dood It	Suretta Brenton
1948	Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad	Iris March
1948	Are You with It?	Sally
1952	Road to Bali	Handmaiden	Uncredited
1956	The Harder They Fall	Shirley	Uncredited, (final film role)

References

^ Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. "Thelma Patricia Burns". Ancestry.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Thelma Patricia Burns". Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
^ Charity, Keith. "Actress Thelma Byrnes Dies in Blountstown". Newspapers.com. Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
^ Lindstrom, Andy. "The Stories She Can Tell". Newspapers.com. Tallahassee Democrat, May 29, 1988. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
^ Wagner, Laura (2020). Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4766-3833-1.
^ Lindstrom, Andy. "The Stories She Can Tell".
^ Wagner. pp. 142–143.
^ Wagner. pp. 142–148.
^ Levinson, Peter J. (2005). Tommy Dorsey: Livin' In A Big Way. Cambridge MA: Da Capo Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-306-81111-1.
^ Wagner. p. 144.
^ Levinson. p. 171.
^ Wagner. p. 144.
^ Levinson. p. 211.
^ "Exits and Entrances". Oakland Tribune, Oakland CA. 9 October 1947. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
^ Wagner, p. 148
^ Levinson. p. 308.
^ "Widow of Tommy Dorsey is "Broke"". The Times (Hammond, Indiana). Associated Press. 1 September 1959. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
^ Charity, Keith. "Actress Thelma Byrnes Dies in Blountstown". Newspapers.com. Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
^ Levinson. p. 320.
^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.