- Known For
- Acting
- Born
- October 19, 1882
- Place of Birth
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Died
- March 6, 1965
Margaret Dumont
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 bein…
Filmography
movieHidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
1999 · (archive footage)
movie100 Years at the Movies
1994 · Self (archive footage)
movieThe Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
1982 · (archive footage)
movieThe Hollywood Clowns
1979 · (archive footage)
movieThat's Entertainment, Part II
1976 · (archive footage)
movieBrother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975 · Self (archive footage)
movieHollywood: The Dream Factory
1972 · Self (archive footage)
movieWhat a Way to Go!
1964 · Mrs. Foster
movieZotz!
1962 · Persephone Updike
movieAround the World with Nellie Bly
1960 · Dowager #1
movieAuntie Mame
1958 · Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
tvThe Donna Reed Show
1958
movieShake, Rattle and Rock!
1956 · Georgianna Fitzdingle
tvThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · Self
movieStop, You're Killing Me
1952 · Mrs. Whitelaw
movieThree for Bedroom C
1952 · Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne
tvRacket Squad
1951
tvThe Colgate Comedy Hour
1950 · Self
movieSusie Steps Out
1946 · Mrs. Starr
movieLittle Giant
1946 · Mrs. Hendrickson
movieSunset in El Dorado
1945 · Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella
movieDiamond Horseshoe
1945 · Mrs. Standish
movieThe Horn Blows at Midnight
1945 · Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
movieBathing Beauty
1944 · Mrs. Allenwood
movieSeven Days Ashore
1944 · Mrs. Croxton-Lynch
movieUp in Arms
1944 · Mrs. Willoughby
movieThe Dancing Masters
1943 · Louise Harlan
movieRhythm Parade
1942 · Ophelia MacDougal
movieTales of Manhattan
1942 · Mme. Langehanke (uncredited)
movieAbout Face
1942 · Mrs. Culpepper
movieSing Your Worries Away
1942 · Flo Faulkner - Landlady
movieBorn to Sing
1942 · Mrs. E. V. Lawson
movieNever Give a Sucker an Even Break
1941 · Mrs. Hemogloben
movieThe Big Store
1941 · Martha Phelps
movieFor Beauty's Sake
1941 · Mrs. Franklin Evans
movieAt the Circus
1939 · Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury
movieDramatic School
1938 · Pantomime Teacher
movieWise Girl
1937 · Mrs. Bell-Rivington
movieHigh Flyers
1937 · Martha Arlington
movieYouth on Parole
1937 · Mrs. Abernathy
movieThe Life of the Party
1937 · Mrs. Penner
movieA Day at the Races
1937 · Emily Upjohn
movieArbor Day
1936 · Woman Outside (uncredited)
movieSong and Dance Man
1936 · Mrs. Whitney
movieAnything Goes
1936 · Mrs. Wentworth
movieA Night at the Opera
1935 · Mrs. Claypool
movieRendezvous
1935 · Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
movieReckless
1935 · Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)
Gypsy Sweetheart
movieGypsy Sweetheart
1935 · Mrs. Van Updyke
movieAfter Office Hours
1935 · Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)
movieKentucky Kernels
1934 · Mrs. Baxter
movieGridiron Flash
1934 · Mrs. Fields
movieFifteen Wives
1934 · Sybilla Crum
movieDuck Soup
1933 · Gloria Teasdale
movieStorm at Daybreak
1933 · Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
movieWonderland of California
1933 · Self
Here, Prince
movieHere, Prince
1932 · The Queen of Deleria (uncredited)
movieThe Girl Habit
1931 · Blanche Ledyard
movieAnimal Crackers
1930 · Mrs. Rittenhouse
movieThe Cocoanuts
1929 · Mrs. Potter
movieEnemies of Women
1923 · French Beauty
movieA Tale of Two Cities
1917 · Aristocrat (uncredited)