MANDELL, Dorothy Ellen
Dorothy Ellen Mandell, 88, née Matthews, died on Friday,
September 3, 2021. She was born on November 25, 1932, in Los Angeles, CA, and was raised in Golden, Colorado. Dorothy enjoyed skiing, riding horses, and playing tennis. She developed a love for acting when she performed her first monologue in a Christmas show in grade school. After starring in high school plays, and then attending Denver University for two years, she took a bus to New York City to study acting at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1955. While there, she worked as the private secretary to an heiress, a hatcheck girl at the Copacabana, a waitress in the tearoom of Schraft's, and elsewhere. She acted in three Off-Broadway productions, performed summer stock in Maine, and received her Equity card when she was in the chorus of "The Pirates of Penzance" on Broadway. After three years in New York, she moved to Hollywood and worked as a secretary at Columbia Pictures, where she took a screen test and was cast in small parts in three films. In 1959, she married Myles Mandell, a marketing executive and entrepreneur, with whom she had four children. Dorothy and her husband were active participants in "Theater-in-the-Rough" in Deerfield, IL. Later, while living in Bucks County, PA, she performed at the Bucks County Playhouse, in Children's Theater and in "Carousel" at a dinner-theater in Downingtown, PA. She also did voice-overs for commercials and recordings for the Library of Congress. While living in Wellesley, MA, Dorothy was an extra in "The Friends of Eddie Coyle," which was shot in Boston and starred one of her favorite actors, Robert Mitchum. In Athens, Ohio, she acted in numerous plays, including Ohio University's George
Bernard Shaw Festival and Ohio Valley Summer Theater's
"Romantic Comedy;" she also was a theater and film critic for Athens Public Radio WOUB. When she and her husband later moved to Dayton, OH, she garnered notice for her many starring roles in community theater, including "Agnes of God," "The Subject Was Roses," "Steel Magnolias," "Broadway Bound," and "Lost in Yonkers." She appeared as The Donut Lady in "Night Owls," a short film that won a student Emmy. After she moved to Columbus, OH, and was in treatment for cancer, she gave her final performance at age 85 in the comedy "Silver Linings." Dorothy and her husband loved traveling and fine dining. Dorothy was a volunteer for several organizations, including Welcome Wagon, Junior Great Books, and as a tutor for Dayton Public Schools. Dorothy's tireless energy and engagement with life will be missed. Dorothy is preceded in death by her husband, Myles Mandell, and daughter,
Denise Marks. She is survived by her son, Brad, daughter-in-law, Renae, and her granddaughters, Lydia and Julia of
Powell, OH; her daughter, Melanie (Abela) and son-in-law, Pietro, of Qualicum Beach, BC; and daughter, Pamela, and son-in-law, Paul Bowen, of Williamsville, VT.
MANDELL, Dorothy
