May 44
marries William Fitzgerald, who works at MGM, in Acapulco, Mexico. The native Southern Californian is an ex-Marine, former middleweight boxer, and former bodyguard to Jean Harlow. This marriage is her happiest.
Summer 44
the Fitzgeralds rent a large home in West Hollywood from Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Toler. The hillside house, which overlooks the Sunset Strip, has large windows on the ground floor and small windows upstairs, feet above the ground.
10 April 45
fails to keep an appointment with agent Leon Lance to discuss new film work. Lance is not concerned since he knows she has a reputation for tardiness and taking afternoon naps.
shortly after 2:00 p.m., one of Gloria’s neighbors smells what he thinks to be burning leaves, but he is not alarmed. Two hours later, he sees flames coming from the front of Gloria’s house. He runs to the house and sees flames shooting from the roof. A crowd has gathered. Five fire departments and Gloria’s husband rush to the scene. Unfortunately, it is too late. Fitzgerald tries to enter the house screaming, "My baby’s in there! I have got to get to my baby!" He has to be restrained.
Gloria’s body is found face down by a bathroom window. An autopsy reveals that she died of asphyxiation from inhalation of flames that seared her lungs. She suffered first- and second-degree burns over her entire body. Her lifeless pet boxer is found a few feet away.
it is theorized the fire began by an unextinguished cigarette that ignited an overstuffed chair on the main floor, while Gloria napped upstairs. Gloria`s dog probably awakened her once the main floor was engulfed. The upstairs windows were too high to reach, and she tried to escape through the small bathroom window, but was overcome with smoke. She may have waited for an hour in the bathroom to be rescued.
11 April 45
a visibly upset Emma Dickerson visits the scene of the fire in hopes of finding some of her daughter’s personal possessions. Damage to the house is estimated at $22,500.00.
17 April 45
funeral services are held at 2:00 p.m. Internment is at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Section 2, Lot 18. She rests beneath a shady tree; her marker reads, "Thais A. Dickerson, My Baby, 1917 - 1945."
50
working as a long-haul truck driver, William Fitzgerald is arrested for desertion in time of war and serves time in a military brig in Plattsmouth, New Hampshire
51
Fitzgerald is dishonorably discharged
55
in a Reno ceremony, Fitzgerald marries a woman from Darr, Nebraska. The marriage ends in less than one month when she discovers he has been writing bad checks on her account. The last check, for thirty dollars (payable to Omaha’s Castle Hotel, a known location of prostitution), sends him to the Nebraska State Penitentiary for a five-year sentence.
5 May 58
Fitzgerald dies in prison from complications of venereal disease at age 47. His body is unclaimed and he is buried in the prison cemetery.