how the world began book dorothy straight

To understand how far Dorothy Comingore had fallen, you need to know that she was a genuine talent, an actress who’d been discovered by Charlie Chaplin, directed by Frank Capra, and represented by uber-agent Lew Wasserman. She was struggling to find her footing in a town where policemen monitored people considered “subversive,” during a time when “national security” trumped individual rights. Sixty years ago, the legendary star of the masterpiece Citizen Kane was down on her luck, a wronged woman who had defied the US House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). “I guess I shouldn’t have been an unfriendly witness,” she’d later tell reporters. Why would someone spy on her? At some point, she realized:

Why would anyone care about her, a faded film star, a “hysterical drunk,” as her ex-husband would say, a woman with so little power that she couldn’t even see her two little kids? Dorothy wracked her brain. Hanging up, she tried to compose herself. It was the same sound she’d heard a few nights ago, only now, she recognized what it was: “My phone’s been tapped.” As she waited for someone (anyone) to pick up, she heard the unmistakable click on the other end. But when she unlocked the door to her apartment, she froze: the pictures on her wall were askew, the venetian blinds were twisted, and a drawer lay open, its private contents strewn lewdly across the floor.ĭorothy dialed for help. Dorothy walked up the driveway, to the back of a house, and climbed the stairs over the garage. As neighbors peeked out their windows, they saw the svelte woman clad in a worn overcoat, red curls coiled around her face. A pretty woman living alone was a suspicious sight in West Hollywood and distrust trailed Dorothy like rocket vapor. It was late afternoon, winter 1953, and the yellow leaves of the liquidambar trees brightened the otherwise forlorn lane.

Instead, Dorothy Comingore ignored the signposts and quickly crossed the street. The “unfriendly” woman should have seen it coming. EVIL CAN BE CAPRICIOUS, following a path when suddenly it veers off course and taps you softly on the shoulder.

How the world began book dorothy straight