Dorothy Collier Best – Producer
Dorothy Best has been a veteran of the entertainment industry for 54 years.
At the tender age of three she made her stage debut as part of her parents Repertory company in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Upon moving to Los Angeles at age of eight she appeared in several television shows, “Leave it to Beaver”, “Restless Gun”, “Wells Fargo”, “GE Theatre” hosted by Ronald Reagan; and a Frank Sinatra special where she was featured with several children singing the popular song “ High Hopes”. Her critically acclaimed theatre appearances include “The Bad Seed”, “Our Town”, and “The Miracle Worker”.
Her college years at the renowned Theatre Arts Department of Los Angeles City College enabled her to make the difficult transition to adult actress. She appeared in several productions while honing her craft. “Come Blow Your Horn”, “The Children's Hour”, “The Crucible”, “Alice in Wonderland”, “Oklahoma”, “Major Barbara”, “How to Succeed”, “Stop the World”, “Roar of the Greasepaint”; to name a few. She was part of the theatre company representing LACC at the First College Threatre festival in 1969 with “The Way of the World” a restoration comedy, executing two roles in the production. The production was chosen to re-open the Ford Theatre in Washington D.C.; her endeavor was rewarded with a Best Actress Award. After college, Dorothy was involved in several theatre productions in the L.A. market, including an award winning production of Neil Simon's “Barefoot in the Park”.
Jimmy's daughter Janeen, James and Dorothy in 2006.
She next moved on to production finding that aspect of the industry to be farmore challenging and rewarding. In conjunction with her husband, actor James Best she has produced numerous plays, including “Hellbent for Good Times” in six cities across the country. She owned, operated and also taught at the James Best Film Acting Workshop in Longwood Florida, along with teaching at the University of Central Florida. In 2002, she founded with James and Kevin Lang Best friend Films, a High Definition production company in Orlando, Florida.
Her production credits include a syndicated fishing show, a video release film “DeathMask”, a short film “House of Forever” which won the Peoples Choice Award at the 2004 Melbourne Independent Filmmaker Festival. Produced the marketing short film “Hellbent for Good Times”, along with numerous commercials and corporate promos.
