by Hans J. Wollstein
biography
A model prior to her screen debut in 1934, minor-league dumb blonde comedienne Dorothea Kent usually turned up as the star's squeaky-voiced girlfriend. But unlike the better remembered Marie Wilson or Joyce Compton, Kent was mainly relegated to programmers, often of the poverty row variety. In 1936, she enjoyed a rare starring role -- as an heiress, no less -- in Carnival Queen, a Universal potboiler with Robert Wilcox, but her dumb blonde looks worked against her and she almost immediately returned to supporting roles.
