Dora Bryan
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 7, 1923
- Died
- July 23, 2014 (aged 91)
- Birthplace
- Parbold, Lancashire, England, UK
Biography
Dora May Bryan OBE was an English actress of stage, film and television. Born Dora May Broadbent, her career began in pantomime as a child actor. In World War II she joined the ENSA in Italy to entertain British troops. After having established herself as a versatile stage actress, covering everything from drama and comedy to musicals, she started to appear in film in the late 1940s, and in 1968 she even had her own TV series, "According to Dora". At one point in her career she was Britain's highest-paid star. She was active on stage until the mid 1990s and continued to work in film and television until 2005, when she finally had to give up the acting profession as she could no longer remember her lines. Her autobiography According To Dora was published in 1987. In 1996, she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to acting and the same year she was also awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for her role in the West End production of the Harold Pinter play "The Birthday Party". She was married to British cricket player Bill Lawton from 1954 to his death in 2008. She lived in a nursing home in Hove, outside Brighton, until her death in 2014.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
According To Dora
TV · 14 eps
MirrorMask
Movie · as Aunt Nan
Thora Hird Tribute
Movie · as Self (archive footage, uncredited)
Doctors
TV · as Lily Anderson · 1 ep
Hippies
TV · as Dame Nelly Fletcher · 1 ep
dinnerladies
TV · as Connie · 1 ep
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
Movie · as Millie
Bed
Movie · as Bosom Lady
Mother's Ruin
TV · 6 eps
Frank Stubbs Promotes
TV · as Molly Bramley · 1 ep
Heartbeat
TV · as Jane Thompson · 1 ep
Absolutely Fabulous
TV · as Dolly · 1 ep
Virtual Murder
TV · as Mrs Mim · 1 ep
Palmer
Movie · as Monica
Performance
TV · as Bosom Lady · 1 ep
Apartment Zero
Movie · as Margaret McKinney
Casualty
TV · as Hester Blewett · 1 ep
Screamtime
Movie · as Emma
An Audience with...
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Last of the Summer Wine
TV · as Roz · 60 eps
Up the Front
Movie · as Auntie Cora Crumpington
Both Ends Meet
TV · as Dora Page · 7 eps
Hands of the Ripper
Movie · as Mrs. Golding
Two a Penny
Movie · as Ruby Hopkins
Before the Fringe
TV · 1 ep
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
Movie · as Amber Spottiswood
The Sandwich Man
Movie · as Mrs. De Vere
The Dream Machine
Movie · as Self
World in Action
TV · 1 ep
A Taste of Honey
Movie · as Helen
Happily Ever After
TV · as Dora Morgan · 12 eps
The Night We Got the Bird
Movie · as Julie Skidmore
Alice Through the Looking Box
Movie · as Queen
Follow That Horse!
Movie
Hello London
Movie · as herself
Operation Bullshine
Movie · as Pvt. Cox
Desert Mice
Movie · as Gay Bennett
Carry On Sergeant
Movie · as Norah
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
Movie · as Telephonist
Educating Archie
TV · 1 ep
Small Hotel
Movie · as (uncredited)
Theatre Night
TV · as Julie Skidmore · 1 ep
Child in the House
Movie · as Cassie
The Green Man
Movie · as Lily
The Cockleshell Heroes
Movie · as Myrtie
You Lucky People!
Movie · as Hortense Tipp
As Long As They're Happy
Movie · as May
The Sooty Show
TV · as Herself · 2 eps
Mad About Men
Movie · as Berengaria
Fast and Loose
Movie · as Mary Rawlings, the maid
You Know What Sailors Are
Movie
Harmony Lane
Movie · as Comedian
The Young Lovers
Movie · as Switchboard Operator (uncredited)
The Crowded Day
Movie · as Marge
The Fake
Movie · as Barmaid
The Real Thing
Movie · as Dora
Street Corner
Movie · as Prostitute
Women of Twilight
Movie · as Olga
The Intruder
Movie · as Dora Bee
Miss Robin Hood
Movie · as Pearl
The Ringer
Movie · as Mrs. Hackett
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire
Movie · as Tilly
Gift Horse
Movie · as Glad Flanagan
13 East Street
Movie · as Valerie
Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard
Movie · as Miss La Fosse
Time, Gentlemen, Please!
Movie · as Peggy Stebbins
High Treason
Movie · as Mrs. Bowers
Scarlet Thread
Movie · as Maggie
The Quiet Woman
Movie · as Elsie Tripp
Lady Godiva Rides Again
Movie · as Movie Publicist
Circle of Danger
Movie · as Bubbles Fitzgerald
No Highway in the Sky
Movie
No Trace
Movie · as Maisie
The Blue Lamp
Movie · as Maisie
Traveller's Joy
Movie · as Eva
Something in the City
Movie · as Waitress
Now Barabbas
Movie · as Winnie
The Interrupted Journey
Movie · as the waitress
Once Upon a Dream
Movie · as Barmaid
The Cure for Love
Movie · as Jenny Jenkins
Adam and Evelyne
Movie · as Blonde Sales Assistant (uncredited)
The Perfect Woman
Movie · as Model in Shop
Don't Ever Leave Me
Movie · as Talkative Hairdresser (uncredited)
The Fallen Idol
Movie · as Rose
No Room at the Inn
Movie · as The Girl
Odd Man Out
Movie · as Girl in Telephone Kiosk (uncredited)