1882-10-19 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 | Self (archiveFootage) | 2002-03-05 |
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The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell | (archive footage) | 1982-01-02 |
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The Hollywood Clowns | (archive footage) | 1979-03-23 |
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That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976-05-16 |
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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) | 1975-08-06 |
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Hollywood: The Dream Factory | Self (archive footage) | 1972-01-10 |
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What a Way to Go! | Mrs. Foster | 1964-07-31 |
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Zotz! | Persephone Updike | 1962-10-03 |
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Auntie Mame | Noblewoman in Play (uncredited) | 1958-12-04 |
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Shake, Rattle and Rock! | Georgianna Fitzdingle | 1956-11-01 |
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Three for Bedroom C | Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne | 1952-06-26 |
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Stop, You're Killing Me | Mrs. Whitelaw | 1952-12-10 |
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Little Giant | Mrs. Hendrickson | 1946-02-22 |
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Sunset in El Dorado | Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella | 1945-09-29 |
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Diamond Horseshoe | Mrs. Standish | 1945-05-02 |
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The Horn Blows at Midnight | Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder | 1945-04-28 |
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Up in Arms | Mrs. Willoughby | 1944-02-17 |
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Seven Days Ashore | Mrs. Croxton-Lynch | 1944-04-25 |
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Bathing Beauty | Mrs. Allenwood | 1944-06-27 |
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The Dancing Masters | Louise Harlan | 1943-11-19 |
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Tales of Manhattan | Mme. Langehanke (uncredited) | 1942-08-05 |
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Sing Your Worries Away | Flo Faulkner - Landlady | 1942-03-06 |
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Born to Sing | Mrs. E. V. Lawson | 1942-02-18 |
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About Face | Mrs. Culpepper | 1942-04-16 |
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Rhythm Parade | Ophelia MacDougal | 1942-12-11 |
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The Big Store | Martha Phelps | 1941-06-20 |
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Never Give a Sucker an Even Break | Mrs. Hemogloben | 1941-10-10 |
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For Beauty's Sake | Mrs. Franklin Evans | 1941-06-06 |
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At the Circus | Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury | 1939-10-20 |
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Dramatic School | Pantomime Teacher | 1938-12-09 |
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The Life of the Party | Mrs. Penner | 1937-09-03 |
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Wise Girl | Mrs. Bell-Rivington | 1937-12-31 |
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Youth on Parole | Mrs. Abernathy | 1937-10-04 |
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A Day at the Races | Emily Upjohn | 1937-06-11 |
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High Flyers | Martha Arlington | 1937-11-07 |
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Song and Dance Man | Mrs. Whitney | 1936-03-11 |
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Anything Goes | Mrs. Wentworth | 1936-01-24 |
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Arbor Day | Woman talking to the midgets outside | 1936-05-02 |
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Gypsy Sweetheart | Mrs. Van Updyke | 1935-03-30 |
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A Night at the Opera | Mrs. Claypool | 1935-11-15 |
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Rendezvous | Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited) | 1935-10-25 |
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Reckless | Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited) | 1935-04-19 |
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After Office Hours | Mrs. Murchison (uncredited) | 1935-02-22 |
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We're Rich Again | Wedding Guest (uncredited) | 1934-07-13 |
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Fifteen Wives | Sybilla Crum | 1934-07-15 |
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Gridiron Flash | Mrs. Fields | 1934-10-06 |
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Kentucky Kernels | Mrs. Baxter | 1934-11-02 |
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Storm at Daybreak | Duchess Sophie (uncredited) | 1933-06-14 |
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Wonderland of California | Self | 1933-01-01 |
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Duck Soup | Gloria Teasdale | 1933-11-12 |
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Here, Prince | The Queen of Deleria (uncredited) | 1932-10-01 |
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The Girl Habit | Blanche Ledyard | 1931-06-27 |
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Animal Crackers | Mrs. Rittenhouse | 1930-08-08 |
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The Cocoanuts | Mrs. Potter | 1929-05-23 |
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A Tale of Two Cities | Aristocrat (uncredited) | 1917-03-10 |
