At least Dorothy obviously waited a bit to wed; her step-mom, the infamous Peaches Browning was all of 15 years old when she tied the knot with the old gas bag, himself a mere 52 winters gone by. Dorothy was 10 when her new mom showed up, her sister Marjorie all of 12. Here are the sisters, in a photo from Daddy’s divorce case file in his first marriage to Adele Lowen. She was 23, he already 41 in 1915 when they wed. It lasted 8 years, but the couple had no biological children of their own. Each adopted a daughter, separately, with Daddy Browning taking sole custody of little Dorothy (right, brunette) and Adele taking Marjorie (left, blonde).
What about that shir-eating grin on groom Clarence Hood’s face? He probably thought his new wife would inherit a bundle when her old man croaked. Clarence was in for a big surprise, though. Daddy Browning left his fortune to a newly created foundation that imitated the Nobel Prizes, and years of litigation followed before Dorothy was able to milk some dough for herself.
Pity her poor upbringing, Dorothy’s had to be gruesome. But when I get married, I want a gown just like THAT:-)
Wedding photo courtesy of the Green-Wood Historic Fund
