Margaret Dumont

Margaret Dumont

Acting
Born 1882-10-19 Died 1965-03-06 Brooklyn, New York, USA 61 credits
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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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Filmography — top 60 of 61
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
1958
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950 · Self
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · Self
Racket Squad
Racket Squad
1951
Bathing Beauty
Bathing Beauty
1944 · Mrs. Allenwood
Duck Soup
Duck Soup
1933 · ★ 7.3 · Gloria Teasdale
Auntie Mame
Auntie Mame
1958 · ★ 7.0 · Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
What a Way to Go!
What a Way to Go!
1964 · ★ 7.1 · Mrs. Foster
A Day at the Races
A Day at the Races
1937 · ★ 7.1 · Emily Upjohn
A Night at the Opera
A Night at the Opera
1935 · ★ 7.4 · Mrs. Claypool
That's Entertainment, Part II
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976 · (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975 · Self (archive footage)
The Big Store
The Big Store
1941 · ★ 6.2 · Martha Phelps
Animal Crackers
Animal Crackers
1930 · ★ 6.9 · Mrs. Rittenhouse
The Cocoanuts
The Cocoanuts
1929 · ★ 6.5 · Mrs. Potter
At the Circus
At the Circus
1939 · ★ 6.4 · Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury
Tales of Manhattan
Tales of Manhattan
1942 · Mme. Langehanke (uncredited)
Rendezvous
Rendezvous
1935 · Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
About Face
About Face
1942 · Mrs. Culpepper
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972 · Self (archive footage)
The Horn Blows at Midnight
The Horn Blows at Midnight
1945 · Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
Little Giant
Little Giant
1946 · Mrs. Hendrickson
Up in Arms
Up in Arms
1944 · Mrs. Willoughby
Around the World with Nellie Bly
Around the World with Nellie Bly
1960 · Dowager #1
The Dancing Masters
The Dancing Masters
1943 · Louise Harlan
Wise Girl
Wise Girl
1937 · Mrs. Bell-Rivington
Reckless
Reckless
1935 · Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)
After Office Hours
After Office Hours
1935 · Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
1999 · (archive footage)
Born to Sing
Born to Sing
1942 · Mrs. E. V. Lawson
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
1941 · Mrs. Hemogloben
Zotz!
Zotz!
1962 · Persephone Updike
Dramatic School
Dramatic School
1938 · Pantomime Teacher
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
1982 · (archive footage)
Wonderland of California
Wonderland of California
1933 · Self
Kentucky Kernels
Kentucky Kernels
1934 · Mrs. Baxter
Anything Goes
Anything Goes
1936 · Mrs. Wentworth
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
1956 · Georgianna Fitzdingle
The Girl Habit
The Girl Habit
1931 · Blanche Ledyard
High Flyers
High Flyers
1937 · Martha Arlington
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities
1917 · Aristocrat (uncredited)
The Life of the Party
The Life of the Party
1937 · Mrs. Penner
Enemies of Women
Enemies of Women
1923 · French Beauty
Susie Steps Out
Susie Steps Out
1946 · Mrs. Starr
Song and Dance Man
Song and Dance Man
1936 · Mrs. Whitney
Youth on Parole
Youth on Parole
1937 · Mrs. Abernathy
Stop, You're Killing Me
Stop, You're Killing Me
1952 · Mrs. Whitelaw
Gridiron Flash
Gridiron Flash
1934 · Mrs. Fields
Sing Your Worries Away
Sing Your Worries Away
1942 · Flo Faulkner - Landlady
For Beauty's Sake
For Beauty's Sake
1941 · Mrs. Franklin Evans
Seven Days Ashore
Seven Days Ashore
1944 · Mrs. Croxton-Lynch
Storm at Daybreak
Storm at Daybreak
1933 · Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
Three for Bedroom C
Three for Bedroom C
1952 · Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne
The Hollywood Clowns
The Hollywood Clowns
1979 · (archive footage)
Rhythm Parade
Rhythm Parade
1942 · Ophelia MacDougal
Sunset in El Dorado
Sunset in El Dorado
1945 · Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella
Diamond Horseshoe
Diamond Horseshoe
1945 · Mrs. Standish
Fifteen Wives
Fifteen Wives
1934 · Sybilla Crum
Arbor Day
Arbor Day
1936 · Woman Outside (uncredited)
Here, Prince
Here, Prince
1932 · The Queen of Deleria (uncredited)
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