1915-05-31 New York City, New York, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Barbara Pepper (born Marion B. Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969) was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first "Doris Ziffel" on the sitcom Green Acres. Pepper was born in New York City, the daughter of actor David Mitchell "Dave" Pepper, and his wife, Harrietta S. Pepper. At age 16 she started life in show business with Goldwyn Girls, a musical stock company where she met lifelong friend Lucille Ball. Pepper began making movies. Among her later film parts were small roles in My Fair Lady and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. She also performed radio parts. In 1943, she married actor Craig Reynolds (né Harold Hugh Enfield), and the couple later had two sons. After Reynolds died in 1949 in a California motorcycle accident, Pepper was left to raise their children alone. She never remarried. After gaining weight, her roles were mostly confined to small character parts on television, including several appearances on I Love Lucy, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Petticoat Junction, and The Jack Benny Program. She made four appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Martha Dale, mother of the title character, in the 1957 episode "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen". A long-time friend of Lucille Ball, Barbara was considered for the role of Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy," but was passed over due to the fact that she was reportedly a drinker. William Frawley ("Fred Mertz") was, likewise, reportedly, a drinker and was already cast. It was felt that having two drinkers in the cast might eventually cause difficulties so they auditioned and found Vivian Vance to play Ethel instead. She may be best remembered as the first Doris Ziffel on Petticoat Junction in 1964, although her character's name on the "Genghis Keane" episode of Petticoat Junction was Ruth Ziffel. Her role as Doris Ziffel continued on Green Acres from 1965 to 1968, until heart ailments finally forced her to leave that weekly series. Veteran actress Fran Ryan replaced her on Green Acres, which would continue to run for another three years. Her final performance was in the 1969 film Hook, Line & Sinker, in which she played Jerry Lewis's secretary.
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Kiss Me, Stupid | Big Bertha | 1964-12-22 |
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Who's Minding the Store? | Customer at Bargain Sale (uncredited) | 1963-11-28 |
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A Child Is Waiting | Miss Brown (uncredited) | 1963-02-13 |
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The Music Man | Mrs. Hawkes | 1962-06-19 |
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It's Only Money | Fisherwoman | 1962-11-20 |
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Sex Kittens Go to College | Circe | 1960-08-24 |
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The Bramble Bush | Polly Welk | 1960-02-24 |
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Auntie Mame | Mrs. Krantz (uncredited) | 1958-12-04 |
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The D.I. | Woman Customer | 1957-05-30 |
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Dark Meeting | Clara | 1956-01-05 |
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A Star Is Born | Esther's Neighbor (uncredited) | 1954-10-01 |
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The Eddie Cantor Story | Beer Garden Patron | 1953-12-25 |
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Inferno | Waitress (uncredited) | 1953-08-12 |
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So This Is Love | Fat Girl with Sailor in Nightclub (uncredited) | 1953-07-15 |
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Ghost Buster | Mrs. Nolan | 1952-03-07 |
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Unmasked | Mrs. Schmidt | 1950-01-30 |
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No Way Out | Woman (uncredited) | 1950-08-16 |
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The Fuller Brush Girl | Wife Watching TV (uncredited) | 1950-09-15 |
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My Blue Heaven | Susan (uncredited) | 1950-09-15 |
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The Crooked Way | 1949-04-22 | |
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The Inspector General | Buxom Villager (uncredited) | 1949-12-31 |
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The Snake Pit | Asylum Patient (uncredited) | 1948-11-04 |
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Terror Trail | Karen Kemp, the Louisville Lady | 1946-11-21 |
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The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry | Annie | 1945-08-17 |
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Trouble Chasers | Goldie | 1945-05-02 |
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Murder, He Says | Bonnie Fleagle | 1945-06-23 |
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The Naughty Nineties | Gilded Cage Hostess (uncredited) | 1945-06-20 |
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Once Upon a Time | Cabbie (uncredited) | 1944-06-29 |
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Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid | Miss LaRue ("Wild Rose") | 1944-04-01 |
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A Maid Made Mad | Blonde | 1943-03-19 |
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Blonde and Groom | Rex's Fiancée | 1943-04-16 |
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Aerial Gunner | Blonde at Shooting Gallery (uncredited) | 1943-03-20 |
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So This Is Washington | Betty - Taxi Driver (uncredited) | 1943-08-01 |
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Let's Face It | Daisy (uncredited) | 1943-08-04 |
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Girls in Chains | Barbara Pepper | 1943-05-17 |
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One Thrilling Night | Lettie | 1942-06-05 |
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My Favorite Spy | Speedy | 1942-06-12 |
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Carry Harry | Edith, Harry's Girl Friend | 1942-09-03 |
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Sappy Pappy | Female Customer | 1942-10-30 |
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Birth of the Blues | Maizie | 1941-11-07 |
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Manpower | Polly | 1941-08-09 |
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Three Sons o' Guns | Francie LaRue | 1941-08-02 |
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South of Tahiti | Julie | 1941-10-17 |
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Out of the Fog | 1941-06-14 | |
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The Lady Eve | Lady Wrestler Type on Ship (uncredited) | 1941-02-25 |
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The Return of Frank James | Nellie Blane | 1940-08-10 |
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Sailor's Lady | Maude | 1940-07-05 |
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Castle on the Hudson | Goldie | 1940-02-17 |
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Framed | Goldie Green | 1940-02-23 |
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Foreign Correspondent | Dorine | 1940-08-16 |
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Forgotten Girls | Eve Abbott | 1940-03-15 |
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Colorado Sunset | Ginger Bixby | 1939-07-30 |
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Of Mice and Men | Second Girl (uncredited) | 1939-12-24 |
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Three Sons | Viola | 1939-10-13 |
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Off the Record | Flossie - Telephone Operator (uncredited) | 1939-01-21 |
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Flight at Midnight | Mildred | 1939-08-28 |
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The Amazing Mr. Williams | Muriel - Wedding Guest (uncredited) | 1939-11-22 |
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They Made Me a Criminal | Budgie Massey | 1939-01-21 |
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Bachelor Mother | Dance-Hall Hostess (uncredited) | 1939-06-30 |
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The Women | Tough Girl (uncredited) | 1939-09-01 |
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The Girl Downstairs | Woman at bar (uncredited) | 1938-12-23 |
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The Chaser | Mabel, Drunken Girl | 1938-07-29 |
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Hollywood Stadium Mystery | Althea Ames | 1938-02-21 |
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Army Girl | Riki | 1938-08-11 |
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Wide Open Faces | Belle | 1938-04-18 |
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The Lady in the Morgue | Kay Renshaw | 1938-04-22 |
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The Strange Case of Dr. Meade | Mattie | 1938-12-15 |
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Music for Madame | Blonde on Bus (Uncredited) | 1937-10-08 |
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The Outcasts of Poker Flat | Blonde Saloon Lady (uncredited) | 1937-04-16 |
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Forty Naughty Girls | Alice | 1937-09-24 |
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Many Unhappy Returns | Sophie - Cigar Store Counter Girl | 1937-10-14 |
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The Big Shot | Mamie | 1937-07-23 |
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The Westland Case | Agatha Hogan | 1937-10-30 |
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Portia on Trial | Evelyn | 1937-11-08 |
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Too Many Wives | Angela Brown | 1937-04-09 |
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You Can't Buy Luck | Store Clerk | 1937-04-30 |
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After the Thin Man | Party Guest (uncredited) | 1936-12-25 |
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Mummy's Boys | Mary Browning | 1936-10-02 |
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The Big Game | Lois | 1936-10-09 |
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What Becomes of the Children? | Elsie Ford | 1936-12-04 |
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The Rogues' Tavern | Marjorie Burns | 1936-06-04 |
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Show Boat | 1936-05-17 | |
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Wanted: Jane Turner | Marge Sanders | 1936-12-04 |
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Taming the Wild | Hazel White | 1936-02-14 |
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Winterset | Girl | 1936-12-03 |
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M'Liss | Clytie Morpher | 1936-07-27 |
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The Singing Vagabond | Honey | 1935-12-16 |
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Forced Landing | Nancy 'Dusty' Rhodes | 1935-12-02 |
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Let 'em Have It | Milly Adams | 1935-05-15 |
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Waterfront Lady | Gloria Vance | 1935-10-04 |
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Frisco Waterfront | The Blonde Stranger | 1935-12-03 |
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The Sagebrush Troubadour | Joan Martin | 1935-12-02 |
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Our Daily Bread | Sally | 1934-10-02 |
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Strictly Dynamite | Party Girl (uncredited) | 1934-05-11 |
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Roman Scandals | Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) | 1933-11-27 |
