Shirley Chambers, a talented actress, was known as Hollywood's First Dumb Blonde. She began her film career at the dawn of talking pictures and was the first 'dumb blonde' at R.K.O Studios, starring in light comedies and fluffy musicals.
Born in Seattle, Washington, Chambers' family moved to California when she was an infant. Settling in Pasadena, she was schooled in Huntington Park. By the time she left school in 1928, she was already working as a model. In 1930, she was signed by Samuel Goldwyn as a Goldwyn Girl alongside other notable actresses such as Betty Grable, Paulette Goddard, Lucille Ball, Dorothy Coonan, Toby Wing, and Pat Wing.
Chambers' early film credits include The Kid from Spain (1932),42nd Street (1932),and Gold Diggers of 1933. She made her film debut in the chorus of Whoopee! (1930) starring Eddie Cantor. She and 100 other girls were filmed from above, a new technique that would later become associated with Berkeley.
In 1932, she left MGM for RKO. After appearing in a series of film shorts, including Diplomaniacs starring the comedy duo Wheeler and Woolsey, and The Iceman's Ball, Chambers was offered the role of Gladys in the Lupe Velez comedy vehicle The Half Naked Truth (1932). Lupe Velez was the star and was very difficult to work with, but Chambers was able to make a successful transition to the role.
Chambers continued to appear in films throughout the 1930s, including Melody Cruise (1933),Flying Down to Rio (1933),King Kong (1933),and Morning Glory (1933). She also appeared in Dancing Lady (1933) with Joan Crawford, Viva Villa! (1934),Nothing Sacred (1937),and Gone With the Wind (1939).
During World War II, Chambers toured with the USO and became the first screen star to perform in South Africa. She entertained hundreds of Allied Forces as part of a theatre company. In 1943, she returned to the US and joined the cast of the Moss Hart morale booster, Winged Victory. The play opened in Boston and transferred to Broadway, where it became a smash hit, playing to over 350,000 people in 226 performances.
Chambers married in 1945 and had one daughter. For the last three decades of her career, she was active in repertory theatre and in TV commercials.
