Marriages and relationships
Van Doren's personal life received considerable attention from the press during the 1950s and 1960s, when her marriages and relationships with entertainers and professional athletes frequently became part of her public image. In her 1987 autobiography, Playing the Field: My Story, she discussed many of these relationships, sometimes providing details that were not reported at the time. Later profiles have similarly emphasized the contrast between the highly publicized nature of her romantic life and her efforts to maintain a degree of independence within Hollywood's publicity system.
Van Doren met sportswear manufacturer Jack Newman around 1949. Newman was a friend of her father, and the two sometimes attended boxing matches together. Van Doren and Newman became engaged and married in Santa Barbara, California, in 1950, after which they honeymooned in San Francisco.
In Playing the Field, Van Doren recalled that she viewed marriage as a way of leaving her parents' home and beginning an independent adult life. She also acknowledged that she understated her age when the marriage took place. According to her recollections, she initially enjoyed Newman's affluent lifestyle, including his residence in Beverly Hills, California, but the relationship deteriorated quickly. She described Newman as possessive and jealous of the attention she received from other men and alleged that his behavior toward her became abusive.
Van Doren later recalled an incident in which Newman threatened to throw her from a second-story balcony, an episode she said was interrupted when neighbors intervened. She also described an occasion when he destroyed one of her favorite hats. These allegations are based principally on Van Doren's later recollections; contemporary independent documentation of the incidents is limited. The marriage ended after less than a year.
Before the divorce was finalized, Van Doren became involved with former heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey. Dempsey, who was more than three decades older than Van Doren, had met her through the boxing and nightclub circuit. The relationship attracted press attention, and the couple became engaged in 1951. Van Doren later recalled that she and Dempsey were able to frequent prominent New York establishments such as the Stork Club, the Copacabana and the 21 Club. She ultimately returned to Los Angeles and ended the engagement as she pursued opportunities in the film industry. Dempsey's engagement to Van Doren is also documented in biographical accounts of the boxer.
In 1955, Van Doren began a relationship with bandleader, trumpeter and actor Ray Anthony. Anthony was then working on the film Daddy Long Legs (1955), and after completing his work on the production he and Van Doren took a vacation together in Hawaii. Van Doren later recalled that photographers followed the couple during the trip, contributing to the publicity surrounding their relationship.
The couple married on August 29, 1955, in Toledo, Ohio. Their only child, Perry Ray Anthony, was born on March 18, 1956. Contemporary music-industry reporting confirmed the birth and identified Ray Anthony as the child's father. Van Doren later said that the pregnancy occurred before the marriage and that the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy affected her relationship with Universal Studios, which was concerned about the public image of its contract actresses.
The marriage subsequently deteriorated. Van Doren filed for divorce in 1958, citing cruelty, while later accounts also described Anthony's frequent absences and the pressures created by their respective careers. The divorce was finalized on March 22, 1961, with Van Doren receiving custody of Perry. Van Doren subsequently described her son as an important influence on her decisions about work and family life. In a 1987 interview, she said that Perry had remained close to her and her fifth husband, Thomas Dixon.
During the early 1960s, Van Doren was also romantically linked with several public figures. Among the more extensively documented relationships was her engagement to Bo Belinsky, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. Belinsky and Van Doren became engaged in April 1963, and their relationship was widely covered by the press. The engagement ended later that year. Belinsky subsequently said that the two remained friends.
Van Doren's autobiography also discusses relationships and encounters with a number of other entertainment figures. These accounts include references to actors, musicians and other prominent figures of the period. Because many of these stories were published years after the alleged events and are based largely on Van Doren's own recollections, they are generally treated as autobiographical claims rather than independently established facts.
On July 1, 1966, Time reported that Van Doren had married Lee Meyers, a 19-year-old minor-league baseball pitcher associated with the California Angels. The marriage took place in Boise, Idaho, and Van Doren was 33 at the time. Contemporary newspaper accounts indicate that the marriage had actually taken place earlier in May 1966, although published reports differed on the exact date.
In Playing the Field, Van Doren gave a considerably more personal account of the marriage. She wrote that she had become pregnant after a relationship with football player Joe Namath and that she married Meyers after telling him that he was the father. She later said that the pregnancy ended in an abortion. These details derive from Van Doren's autobiography and have not been independently established. In keeping with the personal nature of the account, the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy and abortion have generally been reported as Van Doren's own recollection.
The marriage was short-lived. Van Doren later attributed its breakdown to differences in temperament and Meyers' drug use. The couple separated and subsequently divorced. Baseball histories record that Meyers continued playing in the minor leagues after the marriage; he died in a car accident in California in 1972.
Van Doren's fourth marriage was to businessman Ross McClintock. The couple married in 1972, during the period when Van Doren was involved in political and entertainment activities. The marriage was extremely brief and was annulled by an Orange County Superior Court judge after 37 days.
McClintock was a businessman and former executive associated with the Fluor Corporation. His 1985 obituary in the Los Angeles Times described his marriage to Van Doren as lasting 37 days and specifically stated that it was annulled rather than simply dissolved by divorce. Van Doren later characterized the relationship as unsuccessful and moved on relatively quickly.
Van Doren met actor and future husband Thomas Dixon while performing in a stage production of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?. Dixon was working as an actor in the production, and the two became friends before beginning a relationship. Van Doren later recalled that the two spent time together while the production was touring and that Dixon eventually accompanied her to California.
The couple lived together for several years before marrying on June 26, 1979. Dixon, who was also involved in writing and editing and had worked as an actor and dental professional, was considerably younger than Van Doren. The marriage became Van Doren's longest-lasting relationship. In later interviews, she described Dixon as her most enduring partner and spoke of their shared interest in animals, particularly birds.
Van Doren's relationship with Dixon also coincided with a shift in her public life. During the 1970s she increasingly concentrated on stage and nightclub appearances and on selective film and television work rather than maintaining the level of studio activity associated with her 1950s career. By the 1980s she was describing herself as selective about professional projects while continuing to perform and record music.
Van Doren dated Boston Red Sox player Tony Conigliaro in 1969. Conigliario led Major League Baseball with 32 home runs in 1965. He was top ten in the American League in home runs in 1965, 1966, and 1970. Conigliario suffered a stroke in 1982 and died eight years later.
