Dorothy Arzner

American film director and film editor (1897–1979)
Person human Q447847
Dorothy Arzner
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Dorothy Arzner was born on January 3, 1897, in San Francisco [1][2][3]. She died on October 1, 1979, in La Quinta [3][2]. As a citizen of the United States [4], she pursued a multifaceted career as a film director, film editor, screenwriter, theatrical producer, radio producer, and advertising person [5][6]. Dorothy Arzner's educational background includes attending the University of Southern California and Harvard-Westlake School . Her professional experience involved working with several notable employers, including the University of California, Los Angeles, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, Realart Pictures Inc., and Paramount Pictures [5]. She was influenced by prominent figures such as James Cruze, Alla Nazimova, and Nan Heron [5]. Throughout her career, Dorothy Arzner received recognition for her contributions, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame [1]. Her life and career spanned multiple decades, from her birth in 1897 to her death in 1979, leaving a lasting impact on the film industry.

Key Facts

  • Date of birth: January 3, 1900[11]
  • Country of citizenship: United States[12]
  • Occupation: advertising person[13], director[14]
  • Employer: University of California, Los Angeles[15], Famous Players-Lasky Corporation[16], Realart Pictures Inc.[17], Paramount Pictures[18], Dorothy Davenport Reid Productions[19], RKO Pictures[20], United Artists[21], Columbia Pictures[22], Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer[23], Women's Army Corps[24], Paramount Pictures Studios[25]
  • Educated at: University of Southern California[26], Harvard-Westlake School[27]
  • Award received: star on Hollywood Walk of Fame[28]
  • Influenced by: James Cruze[29], Alla Nazimova[30], Nan Heron[31]
  • Sex or gender: female[32]
  • Sexual orientation: homosexuality[33]
  • Commons category: Dorothy Arzner[34]
  • Unmarried partner: Marion Morgan[35]
  • Family name: Arzner[36]
  • Given name: Dorothy[37], Emma[38]
  • Described at URL: https://dbpedia.org/resource/Dorothy_Arzner[39], https://www.filmportal.de/8DEFCCEC57944D2EB431DBC4E5EF1DC3[40]
  • Student of: James Cruze[41]
  • Described by source: Edited By – Women Film Editors[42], Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World[43], Women film directors : an international bio-critical dictionary[44], The St. James women filmmakers encyclopedia[45]
  • Commons Creator page: Dorothy Arzner[46]
  • Start of work period: 1922[47]

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Dorothy Arzner include Dorothy Arzner Directors Award[48], an award[49].

Why It Matters

Dorothy Arzner has Wikipedia articles in 20 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[50] She is known by 15 alternative names across languages and contexts.[51]

Entities named for her include Dorothy Arzner Directors Award[48], an award[49].

FAQs

Where was Dorothy Arzner born?

Dorothy Arzner's place of birth was San Francisco[2].

Where did Dorothy Arzner die?

Dorothy Arzner passed away in La Quinta[4].

What did Dorothy Arzner do for work?

Dorothy Arzner worked as a film director[5], film editor[6], screenwriter[7], theatrical producer[8], and radio producer[9].

Where did Dorothy Arzner go to school?

Dorothy Arzner was educated at University of Southern California[26] and Harvard-Westlake School[27].

What awards did Dorothy Arzner receive?

Honors received include star on Hollywood Walk of Fame[28].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [32] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . womenfilmeditors.princeton.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  4. [12] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  5. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [27] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  7. [33] ↑ . Q100740760. wikidata.org.
  8. [5] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  9. [6] ↑ . Edited By – Women Film Editors. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  10. [7] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  11. [8] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  12. [9] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  13. [13] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  14. [14] ↑ . www.acmi.net.au. wikidata.org.
  15. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [16] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  17. [17] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  18. [18] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  19. [19] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  20. [20] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  21. [21] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  22. [22] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  23. [23] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  24. [24] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  25. [25] ↑ . Edited By – Women Film Editors. womenfilmeditors.princeton.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  26. [28] ↑ . walkoffame.com. Retrieved . walkoffame.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  27. [34] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [35] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  29. [1] ↑ . Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. Retrieved . walkoffame.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  30. [11] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  31. [3] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  32. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [29] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  36. [30] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  37. [31] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  38. [39] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  39. [40] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  40. [41] ↑ . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved . wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  41. [42] ↑ . womenfilmeditors.princeton.edu. womenfilmeditors.princeton.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  42. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  43. [44] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  44. [45] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  45. [46] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  46. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [48] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [49] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [50] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [51] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 12h ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Wikipedia languages → ['ar', 'arz', 'ca', 'commons', 'de', 'en', 'eo', 'es', 'eu', 'fa', 'fr', 'gl', '
    Sitelink count → 31
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbeditentity-update-languages-and-other-short:0||nb */ other names, source for place of birth, source for place of death, source for date of birth, source for date of death from Store norske leksik"
  2. 13d ago · Rémi sim · 2026-10-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Sitelink count → 31
    Wikipedia languages → ['ar', 'arz', 'ca', 'commons', 'de', 'en', 'eo', 'es', 'eu', 'fa', 'fr', 'gl', '
    P14724 → 24623903
    Claims rich → —
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  3. 6w ago · MsMorale · 2026-09-01 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Sinemalar person id → 131210
    P14750 → 337E-1AD8-0016-0B21-DE27
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Sinemalar person id: 131210, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/270112|batch #270112]]"
  4. 13w ago · ならちゃん · 2026-07-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Cine21 person id → 9506
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/42119|batch #42119]]"
  5. 16w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Described by source → Edited By – Women Film Editors, Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World, Women film directors : an international bio-critical dictionary +1
    Occupation → film director, film editor, screenwriter +4
    Student of → James Cruze
    On focus list of wikimedia project → Art+Feminism
    + 27 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14536: 395407, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782462304762"
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