Margaret Dumont
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 19, 1882
- Died
- March 6, 1965 (aged 82)
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
Biography
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).
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
Movie · as (archive footage)
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
Movie · as (archive footage)
The Hollywood Clowns
Movie · as (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie · as (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
What a Way to Go!
Movie · as Mrs. Foster
Zotz!
Movie · as Persephone Updike
Around the World with Nellie Bly
Movie · as Dowager #1
Auntie Mame
Movie · as Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
The Donna Reed Show
TV · 1 ep
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Movie · as Georgianna Fitzdingle
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Stop, You're Killing Me
Movie · as Mrs. Whitelaw
Three for Bedroom C
Movie · as Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne
Racket Squad
TV · 1 ep
The Colgate Comedy Hour
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Little Giant
Movie · as Mrs. Hendrickson
Susie Steps Out
Movie · as Mrs. Starr
The Horn Blows at Midnight
Movie · as Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
Diamond Horseshoe
Movie · as Mrs. Standish
Sunset in El Dorado
Movie · as Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella
Bathing Beauty
Movie · as Mrs. Allenwood
Up in Arms
Movie · as Mrs. Willoughby
Seven Days Ashore
Movie · as Mrs. Croxton-Lynch
The Dancing Masters
Movie · as Louise Harlan
About Face
Movie · as Mrs. Culpepper
Sing Your Worries Away
Movie · as Flo Faulkner - Landlady
Born to Sing
Movie · as Mrs. E. V. Lawson
Rhythm Parade
Movie · as Ophelia MacDougal
Tales of Manhattan
Movie · as Mme. Langehanke (uncredited)
The Big Store
Movie · as Martha Phelps
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
Movie · as Mrs. Hemogloben
For Beauty's Sake
Movie · as Mrs. Franklin Evans
At the Circus
Movie · as Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury
Dramatic School
Movie · as Pantomime Teacher
A Day at the Races
Movie · as Emily Upjohn
Wise Girl
Movie · as Mrs. Bell-Rivington
Youth on Parole
Movie · as Mrs. Abernathy
High Flyers
Movie · as Martha Arlington
The Life of the Party
Movie · as Mrs. Penner
Anything Goes
Movie · as Mrs. Wentworth
Song and Dance Man
Movie · as Mrs. Whitney
Arbor Day
Movie · as Woman Outside (uncredited)
A Night at the Opera
Movie · as Mrs. Claypool
Rendezvous
Movie · as Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
Reckless
Movie · as Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)
After Office Hours
Movie · as Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)
Gypsy Sweetheart
Movie · as Mrs. Van Updyke
Gridiron Flash
Movie · as Mrs. Fields
Fifteen Wives
Movie · as Sybilla Crum
Kentucky Kernels
Movie · as Mrs. Baxter
Duck Soup
Movie · as Gloria Teasdale
Storm at Daybreak
Movie · as Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
Wonderland of California
Movie · as Self
Here, Prince
Movie · as The Queen of Deleria (uncredited)
The Girl Habit
Movie · as Blanche Ledyard
Animal Crackers
Movie · as Mrs. Rittenhouse
The Cocoanuts
Movie · as Mrs. Potter
Enemies of Women
Movie · as French Beauty
A Tale of Two Cities
Movie · as Aristocrat (uncredited)