Arlene Dahl was born on August 11 1925 in Minneapolis. She took part in school plays at Margaret Fuller Elementary School and Washburn High School. Growing up she took both elocution lessons and dance lessons. Following high school Miss Dahl worked as a model for department stores and took part in a local drama group. She attended the University of Minnesota for a brief time.
Arlene Dahl moved to New York City where she signed with the Walter Thornton Modelling Agency. In 1945 she made her Broadway debut in Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston. It was in 1946 that she became the Rheingold Beer Girl. Arlene Dahl made her film debut in 1947 in an uncredited role in Life with Father. Her first major role came with her next movie, My Wild Irish Rose (1947). The movie brought her to the attention of MGM, who signed her to a contract. For the remainder of the Forties she appeared in the movies The Bride Goes Wild (1947), A Southern Yankee (1948), Reign of Terror (1949), Scene of the Crime (1949), Ambush (1950), The Outriders (1950), Three Little Words (1950), and Watch the Birdie (1950).
In the Fifties Arlene Dahl appeared in the films Inside Straight (1951), No Questions Asked (1951), Caribbean (1952), Desert Legion (1953), Jamaica Run (1953), Sangaree (1953), Here Come the Girls (1953), The Diamond Queen (1954), Woman's World (1954), Bengal Brigade (1954), Slightly Scarlet (1956), Wicked as They Come (1956), Fortune is a Woman (1957), and Journey to he Centre of the Earth (1959). She made her television debut in an episode of Lux Video Theatre. During the Fifties she appeared on the shows The Ford Television Theatre, Opening Night, and Riverboat. She appeared on Broadway in Cyrano de Bergerac. She also wrote a beauty column syndicated in newspapers and in 1954 she founded Arlene Dahl Enterprises, which specialized in cosmetics and lingerie.
In the Sixties Arlene Dahl appeared in the films Kisses for My President (1964), Les poneyttes (1968), Les chemins de Katmandou (1969), Land Raiders (1969), and Du blé en liasses (1969). She appeared in the television shows Burke's Law, Bob Hope Presents Chrysler Theatre and Laugh-In. In 1967 she became a vice president at the advertising agency Kenyon and Eckhardt. In 1970 she began work at Sears Roebuck as the director of their beauty products.
In the Seventies she appeared on Broadway in Applause. She guest starred on the shows Love, American Style and Jigsaw John. In the Eighties Miss Dahl had a recurring role on the soap opera One Life to Live. She guest starred on the shows Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. In the Nineties she guest starred on the soap opera All My Children and she guest starred on the show Renegade and Air America. She appeared in the movie Night of the Warrior (1991).
Arlene Dahl also wrote books on beauty and even on astrology.
Arlene Dahl once said that her old films were "such an embarrassment." That was not necessarily true, as Miss Dahl was a fairly good actress. In Slightly Scarlet she played an ex-con, Dorothy, who was not only a kleptomaniac, but also a psychopath. In Fortune is a Woman she played a housewife who is implicated in insurance fraud. In Journey to the Centre of the Earth she played the backer of the expedition to the centre of the Earth. Arlene Dahl always lit up the screen, even when the movies in which she appeared might not have been that remarkable.
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