The 1950s saw a relatively quiet period in Dorothy’s recording career. Her professional (and personal) relationship with Billy Reid had broken up amidst much acrimony in the early part of the decade, and a well-publicised court case ensued. Billy Reid retained the Astoria Theatre in Llanelli, which they had jointly owned, while Dorothy kept their home St. Mary’s Mount in Bexley, Kent. It was later to be the venue for many of Dorothy’s famous show business parties.
In 1952 Dorothy was introduced to a young aspiring actor called Roger Moore, and in July 1953 she duly became Mrs Moore. That same year Dorothy also had a Top 20 hit with another Billy Reid song, I’m Walking Behind You. For much of the decade Dorothy was living with her young husband in the United States, initially in New York and then in Hollywood. She returned to Britain for occasional theatre and television engagements. Dorothy also recorded an English version of Edith Piaf’s Hymne a l’Amour, under the title If You Love Me, which Piaf considered to be better than her own version. Dorothy had first heard the song when Piaf performed it in a Hollywood nightclub. The two women subsequently met after the show, and many years later Dorothy was to incorporate a tribute to the Little Sparrow in her own stage shows.
In the mid-50s Dorothy was signed to Nixa Records in Britain and released a succession of singles including When You Lose The One You Love (which she composed), I Saw The Look In Your Eyes, Come Home To My Arms, Precious Love, Torremolinos, and Don’t Search For Love. She also released her first album Dorothy Squires Sings Billy Reid in 1957. The previous year Dorothy co-starred with Pat Kirkwood in the British film musical Stars In Your Eyes in which she gave a credible performance as a music hall entertainer who is estranged from her husband. The movie also featured Nat Jackley, Bonar Colleano, Jack Jackson, Vera Day, Freddie Frinton, and Jimmy Clitheroe.
Dorothy was also active in furthering her husband Roger Moore’s acting career and she helped to negotiate his first American film contract in 1954 when they moved to Hollywood. Roger’s big break came when he began filming with Elizabeth Taylor in The Last Time I Saw Paris. Dorothy also had a huge success in her own right when she appeared in cabaret at the Moulin Rouge in Hollywood. One of her biggest fans was a young Elvis Presley who attended several of her performances, and repeatedly asked her to sing This Is My Mother’s Day! She was also invited to replace one of the famous Andrews Sisters – an offer that she turned down
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