Born in Gloversville, New York, in 1901 to Henry Malloy (noted as a "prominent gambler" in a few publicity items)[1] and Kate Huckans, Doris worked as an ambulance woman in Europe during World War I,[2][3] before becoming a studio stenographer at Universal for screenwriter Raymond L. Schrock and then a script reader[4] in Hollywood.
She even took her experience working as an ambulance driver in combat zones during World War I and used it to inform The Mad Parade, one of her first screenwriting assignments, which she co-wrote with Gertrude Orr.
[6][7][8] She specialized in writing B-movie thrillers, war stories, crime dramas, and screwball comedies.
By the mid-1930s, she had partnered with veteran screenwriter Harry Clork, and the pair became an in-demand duo around town; their co-written scripts include Mister Dynamite and Diamond Jim.
[9] Malloy was married and divorced several times, according to an item from gossip columnist Sidney Skolsky.