Dorothy Short was a 1930s starlet best known for starring in the cult classic Reefer Madness

She was born Dorothy Marie Short on June 29, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When she was a teenager her grandmother entered her in a beauty contest. Dorothy won the contest and was offered a seven year film contact at MGM. The pretty brunette made her film debut in the 1934 musical Hollywood Party. While filming Savage Fury in 1935 she was attacked by a chimpanzee and had to be hospitalized. In 1936 she landed the leading role in the low budget film Reefer Madness. The drama, which was about the dangers of drug use, would become a cult classic. She married Dave O’Brien, her Reef Madness costar, in 1936. Dorothy appeared in numerous westerns including The Singing Cowgirl, Code Of The Cactus, and Wildhorse Canyon.

During the 1940s she and Dave costarred in a series of comedy shorts where they played husband and wife. The couple had two daughters – Patricia and Pamela. Tragically in 1947 their infant son died just six hours after he was born. Her final acting role was in the 1953 film Things We Can Do Without. In 1954 she divorced Dave after eighteen years of marriage. By this time she was also struggling with alcoholism. Sadly on June 4, 1963 she died from a gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by cirrhosis of the liver. She was only forty-seven years old. Dorothy was buried at
Inglewood Park Cemetery in
Inglewood, California.