The Sarong Girl from New Orleans
Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton was born in New Orleans on December 10, 1914, and grew up in a modest household in the city. She was crowned Miss New Orleans in 1931, at seventeen, and that title launched her out of Louisiana and into one of the most successful careers in Golden Age Hollywood. The world would know her as Dorothy Lamour — the "Sarong Girl," the exotic beauty who starred opposite Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in the beloved "Road to..." comedy series that defined 1940s American cinema.
The Road Movies
Between 1940 and 1962, Lamour appeared in seven "Road to..." films with Hope and Crosby — "Road to Singapore," "Road to Zanzibar," "Road to Morocco," "Road to Utopia," "Road to Rio," "Road to Bali," and "Road to Hong Kong." The formula was simple: Hope and Crosby played bumbling con men competing for Lamour's affection in exotic locations. The films were huge hits, and the chemistry between the three performers was genuine and effortless.
Lamour's role was more than just the love interest. She was the straight woman to two of the greatest comedians in history, and she held her own with both of them. Her timing was impeccable, her beauty was undeniable, and her ability to keep a straight face while Hope and Crosby ad-libbed around her was a skill that doesn't get enough credit.
The Sarong
Lamour became famous for wearing a sarong in her early Paramount films — "The Jungle Princess" in 1936 and "The Hurricane" in 1937 — and the studio kept putting her in sarongs for years afterward. She was good-humored about it, even as she recognized that the costume had typecast her. "I was the highest-paid sarong wrapper in Hollywood," she joked. The sarong became her trademark, and while it limited the kinds of roles she was offered, it also made her one of the most recognizable women in America.
The Bond Seller
During World War II, Dorothy Lamour became one of the most effective war bond sellers in American history. She crisscrossed the country on bond tours, appearing at rallies, factories, and military bases, personally selling over $300 million in war bonds — an astronomical sum in 1940s dollars. Her appeal was patriotic and personal — soldiers knew her from the movies, their wives and girlfriends admired her, and her warmth and accessibility made people open their wallets.
The Treasury Department credited her as one of the single most effective celebrity bond sellers of the war. In an era when Hollywood stars were expected to support the war effort, Lamour went above and beyond, treating the bond tours not as obligations but as a genuine expression of the community spirit she'd grown up with in New Orleans.
The New Orleans Girl
Lamour never lost her connection to New Orleans. She returned regularly, rode in Mardi Gras parades, and spoke about the city with the kind of affection that only someone who grew up there can muster. She died in 1996 at 81, one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. The girl from New Orleans who became the Sarong Girl, who made America laugh with Hope and Crosby, who sold $300 million in war bonds — she did it all with the grace, humor, and unshakable charm that New Orleans produces better than anywhere else.
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