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 | (archive footage) | 1999-07-20 |
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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 | 1964-07-02 |
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Zotz! | Persephone Updike | 1962-10-03 |
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Around the World with Nellie Bly | Dowager #1 | 1960-01-03 |
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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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Stop, You're Killing Me | Mrs. Whitelaw | 1952-12-10 |
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Three for Bedroom C | Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne | 1952-06-26 |
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Little Giant | Mrs. Hendrickson | 1946-02-22 |
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Susie Steps Out | Mrs. Starr | 1946-12-13 |
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Diamond Horseshoe | Mrs. Standish | 1945-05-02 |
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Sunset in El Dorado | Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella | 1945-09-29 |
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The Horn Blows at Midnight | Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder | 1945-04-28 |
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Bathing Beauty | Mrs. Allenwood | 1944-06-27 |
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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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The Dancing Masters | Louise Harlan | 1943-11-19 |
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Born to Sing | Mrs. E. V. Lawson | 1942-02-18 |
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Tales of Manhattan | Mme. Langehanke (uncredited) | 1942-08-05 |
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Rhythm Parade | Ophelia MacDougal | 1942-12-11 |
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Sing Your Worries Away | Flo Faulkner - Landlady | 1942-03-06 |
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About Face | Mrs. Culpepper | 1942-04-16 |
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For Beauty's Sake | Mrs. Franklin Evans | 1941-06-06 |
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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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At the Circus | Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury | 1939-10-20 |
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Dramatic School | Pantomime Teacher | 1938-12-09 |
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Wise Girl | Mrs. Bell-Rivington | 1937-12-31 |
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A Day at the Races | Emily Upjohn | 1937-06-11 |
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The Life of the Party | Mrs. Penner | 1937-09-03 |
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Youth on Parole | Mrs. Abernathy | 1937-10-04 |
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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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Arbor Day | Woman Outside (uncredited) | 1936-05-02 |
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Anything Goes | Mrs. Wentworth | 1936-01-24 |
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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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Gridiron Flash | Mrs. Fields | 1934-10-06 |
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Kentucky Kernels | Mrs. Baxter | 1934-11-02 |
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Fifteen Wives | Sybilla Crum | 1934-07-15 |
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Storm at Daybreak | Duchess Sophie (uncredited) | 1933-06-14 |
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Duck Soup | Gloria Teasdale | 1933-11-12 |
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Wonderland of California | Self | 1933-01-01 |
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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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Enemies of Women | French Beauty | 1923-04-15 |
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A Tale of Two Cities | Aristocrat (uncredited) | 1917-03-10 |
