Chapter 9
A short time after arriving in Los Angeles Delia captured the hearts and imagination of America. She was the poor orphan who had realized the American dream despite the odds. Discovered in the 1950s in her late teens, Delia was turning down starring roles by the time she was twenty-five as well as trying to put several much-publicized affairs with her leading men behind her. In Los Angeles, she encountered the same reality of many would be stars: it was almost impossible in those days to just be discovered without putting time in on your back. And if you were n***o, your chances at getting a role other than in a position of subservience were almost null and void. Delia had absolutely no intention of playing mammy roles or of struggling, like Lena Home and Dorothy Dandr
