- Born
- Died
- Birth nameDorothy Gladys Smith
- Born Dorothy Gladys Smith in Lancashire, England, Dodie Smith was raised in Manchester (her memoir is titled "A Childhood in Manchester"). She was just an infant when her father died, and she grew up fatherless until age 14, when her mother remarried and the family moved to London. There she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and tried for a career as an actress, but with little success. She finally wound up taking a job as a toy buyer for a furniture store to make ends meet. Giving up dreams of an acting career, she turned to writing plays, and in 1931 her first play, "Autumn Crocus", was published (under the pseudonym "C.L. Anthony"). It was a success, and her story -- from failed actress to furniture store employee to successful writer -- captured the imagination of the public and she was featured in papers all over the country. Although she could now afford to move to a London townhouse, she didn't get caught up in the "literary" scene -- she married a man who was a fellow employee at the furniture store.
During World War II she and her husband moved to the US, mostly because of his stand as a conscientious objector and the social and legal difficulties that entailed. She was still homesick for England, though, as reflected in her first novel, "I Capture the Castle" (1948). During her stay she formed close friendships with such authors as Christopher Isherwood and John Van Druten, and was aided in her literary endeavors by writer A.J. Cronin.
She is perhaps best known for her novel "The Hundred and One Dalmations", a hugely popular childrens book that has been made into a string of very successful animated films by Walt Disney. She died in 1990.- IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com
- SpouseAlec Macbeth Beesley(1939 - 1987) (his death)
- During their lengthy American sojourn, Smith and her husband were close friends of the novelist Christopher Isherwood, who caused them a great deal of worry, as they felt he didn't look after himself properly, was prone to self-destructive behavior (notably drinking too much) and hypochondria and never seemed to have much money. It was at their house that another guest, the successful playwright John Van Druten, was jokingly challenged by them to make a play out of Isherwood's famous stories of pre-war Berlin. Van Druten took the challenge seriously and called Isherwood the following day to say he'd worked out a method whereby the stories could be made into a play, and could he have permission to continue? Isherwood assented, and the ensuing play, "I Am A Camera", was a huge hit on Broadway and in London, was filmed in 1955 and later was the basis for the even more popular musical "Cabaret" - all of which added greatly to Isherwood's income. He later claimed that Smith and her husband had raised the topic of a play quite deliberately as a covert way of helping him out.
- She began her writing career as a teenager in the early days of the First World War. Using a male pseudonym, she wrote an original film script and actually sold it, the film appearing in 1915. Her fee was three pounds and ten shillings.
- After several years of living with Alec Macbeth Beesley, she married him at the beginning of 1939, and they immediately left England for America, where they lived for many years. Beesley was committed to being a conscientious objector in the war he felt sure was coming to Europe, and they both felt that a change of country would avoid legal problems as a result of this.
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