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Dolores Donlon Profile
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Photo gallery |
| (Patricia Vaniver) |
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| 19 September 25 / 26 | is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| ? | graduates from a French convent in Tarrytown, New York |
| ? | is crowned “Miss Philadelphia” |
| 45 | is a Walter Thornton model and resides in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania |
| two months after her arrival in New York City, she is elected "Queen of the New York Press Photographer's Ball." After that she earns $500 a week as a model under the name of Pat Van Iver. |
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| December 45 | more than 300,000 GI’s elect a pinup photograph of her the "picture of the year" |
| January 46 | as Patricia Van Iver she reigns as queen of the annual Press Photographers Ball. Her age is given as 20. |
| ? | receives a screen test invitation from the Samuel Goldwyn office / is discovered by columnist Cobina Wright, who introduces her to producer Louis B. Mayer |
| ? | vacations in Hollywood and MGM signs her to a year's contract at $150 weekly |
| April 46 | promotes "The Atomic Hat," designed by Seaman G. Mills of Los Angeles, in a contest by GI’s at various USO clubs in the U.S. |
| she and Dick Gelb of Yale are reported a spring swoon |
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| August 46 | promotes the 41st annual convention of the American Retail Jewelers Association in New York City as an "Ideal Bride," wearing a $500 gown, $4,000 headpiece, $1,550 necklace, $6,000 ring set and an $8,000 bracelet |
| September 46 | she and fellow models Darryl Harvey and Frances Ward are selected as the "Brides of 1946." Their gowns are part of the exhibit at the convention of the National Retail Jewelers Association, held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. |
| 1 October 46 | she and fellow model Sarah Meyer invite William O’Dwyer, mayor of New York, to attend the opening of the eleventh annual exhibit of the New York Press Photographers Association on October 12th in the Museum of Science and Industry at Rockefeller Center |
| Early 47 | marries secretly but parts from the groom after a week |
| February 47 | dates Nick Bjorn, the ex of Pat Coogan |
| her folks come to town to quash her romance with Nick Bjorn |
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| April 47 | is the new heart interest of A&P heir Huntington Hartford II, but the press notes that his name is linked with every glamour girl on the East and West Coasts. |
| August 47 | is a new twosome with Hollywood attorney Greg Bautzer |
| November 47 | columnist Dorothy Kilgallen tells that Pat, "who trekked to Hollywood to visit Huntington Hartford, is on the verge of eloping with Vic Orsatti..." |
| July 48 | she and fellow model Joy Lansing sport the same measurements: They are both five feet, six inches tall, weigh 115 pounds, and have a 36-inch bust, 33-inch hips, and a 23-inch waist. |
| August 48 | gets a lot of attention from Vic Orsatti, the ex of actress Marie McDonald |
| June 49 | her wedding date with Victor Orsatti will be August 1 |
| August 49 | will marry Vic Orsatti on Labor Day |
| ? | the Orsattis honeymoon in Europe |
| 53 | as Pat Van Iver she is cast for the upcoming The Long Wait. Upon the film’s release, her name is changed to Dolores Donlon. |
| December 53 | starts a publicity crusade to encourage American females to wear the "right kind" of nightgowns and lingerie |
| January 54 | her pinup by Stew Sawyer is named best cheesecake shot of 1953 by United Press |
| February 54 | under the name of Pat Van Iver she is on the cover of Focus |
| May 54 | poses in swimsuits for Eye |
| June 54 | she and Orsatti are pictured dancing at the Club Mocambo |
| Summer 54 | is on the cover of Peep Show |
| October 54 | is sued by agent Walter Thornton for $120,000 in damages in Los Angeles. Thornton claims that as Pat Van Iver she signed a contract with him in 1945 and disappeared in 1946. After seeing the billboards he learned she is now the wife of Vic Orsatti. Thornton asks $20,000, which he says he spent promoting his client, and $100,000 "lost benefits" under the contract. |
| December 54 | is on the cover of Life |
| is on the cover of Tempo |
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| May 55 | is on the cover of Point |
| July 55 | she and her husband, Vic Orsatti, will film Hong Kong in London and Hong Kong |
| travels to London, England |
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| August 55 | is on the cover of Night & Day |
| along with actresses Peggy Castle and Shawn Smith, she's caught dining at Toots Shor |
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| April 57 | tests for Russell Birdwell's The Face, the Body and the Mind |
| August 57 | is Playboy's "Playmate of the Month" |
| July 58 | is on the cover of Bold |
| 11 October 58 | a Santa Monica court awards her $800-a-month temporary alimony from her estranged husband |
| 17 October 58 | sues Orsatti for divorce in Santa Monica charging cruelty. She’s 27; he’s 52. |
| December 58 | goes East for the holidays to visit her family in Philadelphia and to have some fun with friends in New York |
| ? | after her divorce, she moves into an apartment over their garage on Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills |
| January 59 | is seen at the Roundtable with Freddie Robbins |
| November 59 | dines at the Villa Frascati with Carlos Ramires, a wealthy young Bolivian. She met him in New York at a party for the U.N., and he followed her to Hollywood to ask her to dinner. |
| December 59 | since her attorneys get nowhere at the pre-trial hearing, the divorce case will be fought out in court |
| 25 February 60 | gets her divorce from Orsatti in Los Angeles after nine years of marriage. She testifies that her husband spurned her meals, kicked the table and the TV set, and threw plates onto the floor. "My husband was preoccupied with his work 24 hours a day," she says. "He was nervous and high strung." The press gives his age as 53; hers as 29. |
| March 60 | Honolulu real estate tycoon Claude Degan tosses a big luau in her honor at Don the Beachcomber's. He's a friend of her sister Rosemary. |
| she and her sister, Rosemary, are given a big party by Linda Christian. Specifically, the soiree is for Rosemary, who soon returns to her home in Philadelphia. |
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| June 60 | suffers a minor heat stroke while working in 120-degree temperatures in Papeete for Naked Odyssey |
| July 60 | Charles Hirshon gives a big rush to her on location in Tahiti for Naked Odyssey, a.k.a. Love:Tahiti Style. He arranges for a case of French champagne to be shipped to her each week from Paris. Hirshon is the guy actress Natalie Trundy recently got an annulment from. |
| January 61 | columnist Walter Winchell writes: "Haven't heard any new rumors about Dolores Donlon and Guy Madison, have you?" |
| July 61 | is pictured hosting Italian actor David Mioni, who was recently signed by MGM. She will make a movie in Rome, the words of which will be dubbed into Italian. |
| December 61 | she and fellow TV actress Ruta Lee promote the world’s largest and most expensive martini, made of 120 quarts of gin and 60 bottles of dry Vermouth. The martini party is thrown by the Italian firm that processes the vermouth. |
| March 62 | together with Tina Louise and Nina Filgate she’s on the cover of Jest |
| c. November 62 | marries Robert de Pasquale, a violinist with the New York Philharmonic. She expects her baby in May. |
| August 63 | is married to a fine violinist of the New York Symphony and lives in the Big Apple |
| ? | divorces de Pasquale |
| 74 | marries Fernando Mendez |
| ? | she and her husband live in Colombia for two years but return to Philadelphia |
| ? | divorces Mendez |
| November 12 | dies at age 86 / 87 in Philadelphia |
| Sources: Giancarlo Stampalia, The Marion Star, The Lowell Sun, The Monessen Daily Independent, The Bradford Era, Lincoln Journal, The New York Times, Mansfield News-Journal, Middletown Times Herald, Waterloo Sunday Courier, The Zanesville Signal, The Daily Independent, The Lima News, The Coshocton Tribune, The Newark Advocate, Nevada State Journal, The Vidette-Messenger, The Daily Gleaner, The Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Olean Times Herald, The Charleston Gazette, The Kansas City Star, The Kerrville Times, Indiana Evening Gazette, The Daily Review, The Sunday Previewer, People Today, Night and Day | |
| Recommended Books: | |
| Links: Filmography | |