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Claire Dodd (December 29, 1908 – November 23, 1973) was an American film actress. Born as Dorothy Anne Dodd in Baxter, Iowa, Dodd was born to Walter W. Dodd, a farmer and veterinarian, and Ethel V. Cool Dodd, the daughter of Baxter Postmaster Peter J. Cool. As Dorothy Dodd, she attended school in Baxter. When her parents later separated in Montana, she went to California, where she worked as a model in Los Angeles and auditioned for minor film roles. Dorothy moved to New York City to study singing and dancing.. She joined the Ziegfeld Follies where she was eventually discovered by Darryl... MORE

Claire Dodd (December 29, 1908 – November 23, 1973) was an American film actress. Born as Dorothy Anne Dodd in Baxter, Iowa, Dodd was born to Walter W. Dodd, a farmer and veterinarian, and Ethel V. Cool Dodd, the daughter of Baxter Postmaster Peter J. Cool. As Dorothy Dodd, she attended school in Baxter. When her parents later separated in Montana, she went to California, where she worked as a model in Los Angeles and auditioned for minor film roles. Dorothy moved to New York City to study singing and dancing.. She joined the Ziegfeld Follies where she was eventually discovered by Darryl F. Zanuck. Some confusion has led to Dodd's birthplace being listed as Des Moines, Iowa. Early in her career, Dodd applied for a passport in preparation for a trip to Europe, and was reported as saying she only knew she was born in Iowa. Whether an attempted bit of publicity, she wound up with plenty in her home state. Dorothy Anne Dodd had many relatives who still lived in and around Baxter when Claire's memory lapse was reported in the Register & Tribune's Iowa News Service on April 29, 1935, and folks there were in an uproar. "She isn't worthy of her birthplace" was the title of one editorial in LESS