10/19/1882
Brooklyn, New York, USA:
Margaret Dumont would probably consider it a tragedy that she is best-known for her performances as the ultimate straight woman in seven of the Marx Brothers' films (including most of their best). By all accounts she never understood their jokes (offscreen and on), which is of course a major reason why she's so funny. Apart from a small role in a 1917 Dickens adaptation, she spent her early career on the stage, ending up with the Marxes in the late 1920s in the stage versions of The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930), and was given a Paramount contract at the same time they were. She played similar roles alongside other great comedians, including W.C. Fields, Laurel & Hardy and Jack Benny and also played straight dramatic parts (her chief love), but few of them made much impact - it is as Groucho Marx's foil that she ranks among the immortals, and she died shortly after being reunited with him on "The Hollywood Palace" (1964).
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Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults (1999) as (archive footage) |
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The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (1982) as (archive footage) |
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The Hollywood Clowns (1979) as (archive footage) |
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That's Entertainment, Part II (1976) as (archive footage) |
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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1975) as Self (archive footage) |
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Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972) as Self (archive footage) |
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What a Way to Go! (1964) as Mrs. Foster |
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Zotz! (1962) as Persephone Updike |
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Around the World with Nellie Bly (1960) as Dowager #1 |
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Auntie Mame (1958) as Noblewoman in Play (uncredited) |
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Shake, Rattle and Rock! (1956) as Georgianna Fitzdingle |
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Stop, You're Killing Me (1952) as Mrs. Whitelaw |
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Three for Bedroom C (1952) as Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne |
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Susie Steps Out (1946) as Mrs. Starr |
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Little Giant (1946) as Mrs. Hendrickson |
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Sunset in El Dorado (1945) as Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella |
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Diamond Horseshoe (1945) as Mrs. Standish |
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The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) as Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder |
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Bathing Beauty (1944) as Mrs. Allenwood |
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Seven Days Ashore (1944) as Mrs. Croxton-Lynch |
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Up in Arms (1944) as Mrs. Willoughby |
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The Dancing Masters (1943) as Louise Harlan |
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Rhythm Parade (1942) as Ophelia MacDougal |
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Tales of Manhattan (1942) as Mme. Langehanke (uncredited) |
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About Face (1942) as Mrs. Culpepper |
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Sing Your Worries Away (1942) as Flo Faulkner - Landlady |
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Born to Sing (1942) as Mrs. E. V. Lawson |
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Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941) as Mrs. Hemogloben |
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The Big Store (1941) as Martha Phelps |
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For Beauty's Sake (1941) as Mrs. Franklin Evans |
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At the Circus (1939) as Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury |
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Dramatic School (1938) as Pantomime Teacher |
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Wise Girl (1937) as Mrs. Bell-Rivington |
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High Flyers (1937) as Martha Arlington |
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Youth on Parole (1937) as Mrs. Abernathy |
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The Life of the Party (1937) as Mrs. Penner |
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A Day at the Races (1937) as Emily Upjohn |
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Arbor Day (1936) as Woman Outside (uncredited) |
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Song and Dance Man (1936) as Mrs. Whitney |
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Anything Goes (1936) as Mrs. Wentworth |
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A Night at the Opera (1935) as Mrs. Claypool |
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Rendezvous (1935) as Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited) |
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Reckless (1935) as Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited) |
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Gypsy Sweetheart (1935) as Mrs. Van Updyke |
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After Office Hours (1935) as Mrs. Murchison (uncredited) |
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Kentucky Kernels (1934) as Mrs. Baxter |
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Gridiron Flash (1934) as Mrs. Fields |
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Fifteen Wives (1934) as Sybilla Crum |
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Duck Soup (1933) as Gloria Teasdale |
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Storm at Daybreak (1933) as Duchess Sophie (uncredited) |
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Wonderland of California (1933) as Self |
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Here, Prince (1932) as The Queen of Deleria (uncredited) |
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The Girl Habit (1931) as Blanche Ledyard |
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Animal Crackers (1930) as Mrs. Rittenhouse |
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The Cocoanuts (1929) as Mrs. Potter |
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Enemies of Women (1923) as French Beauty |
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A Tale of Two Cities (1917) as Aristocrat (uncredited) |