Dottie Dee Dancers Collection (MS-00544)

Dancer and choreographer Dorothy Dalton (stage name Dottie Dee) was born on September 9, 1922. By age 16 Dorothy was managing a dance studio, and at age 18, on the road as a professional dancer. In 1941 she was performing with the La Bard Dancers in Las Vegas when they performed at the opening of the El Rancho. Dorothy spent time on tour as a solo act, and shortly thereafter established the Dottie Dee Dancers in San Francisco. In 1943 the group began appearing at the El Rancho in Las Vegas with a line of 12 women who also ran a tour rotation from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to San Francisco. The group was in such demand that it grew to two lines making the rotation and another line performing in Texas and Colorado. In 1948 Dalton took a line of dancers to Alaska where she met and eventually married Donald Tomlin. The Dottie Dee Dancers would continue to perform at the El Rancho until 1954. Donald managed the chorus line.

By 1959 the Tomlins had left Las Vegas to travel with their two sons. They moved back to Las Vegas in the late 1970s and settled permanently. Dorothy passed away on March 13, 2014 in Las Vegas.