He graduated from the City College of New York in 1936. He established the David Dortort Endowed Scholarship in Creative Writing and the David Dortort Endowed Lectureship in Writing for the Dramatic Arts; Stage; Film and Television.
He is survived by his son, Fred Dortort and daughter-in-law Gael Dortort; and daughter Wendy Dortort Czarnecki.