About

Known credits:
54
Birthday:
1882-10-19
Place of birth:
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Website:
N/A

Margaret Dumont

Overview

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).

Known for

Acting
2002 Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults Actor Self (archiveFootage) N/A
N/A
1982 The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell Actor (archive footage) N/A
N/A
1979 The Hollywood Clowns Actor (archive footage) N/A
N/A
1976 That's Entertainment, Part II Actor (archive footage) 59
Average
1975 Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? Actor Self (archive footage) 59
Average
1972 Hollywood: The Dream Factory Actor Self (archive footage) 59
Average
1964 What a Way to Go! Actor Mrs. Foster 60
Fair
1962 Zotz! Actor Persephone Updike 58
Average
1958 Auntie Mame Actor Noblewoman in Play (uncredited) 60
Fair
1956 Shake, Rattle and Rock! Actor Georgianna Fitzdingle 58
Average
1952 Stop, You're Killing Me Actor Mrs. Whitelaw N/A
N/A
1952 Three for Bedroom C Actor Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne N/A
N/A
1946 Little Giant Actor Mrs. Hendrickson 58
Average
1945 Sunset in El Dorado Actor Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella 58
Average
1945 Diamond Horseshoe Actor Mrs. Standish 59
Average
1945 The Horn Blows at Midnight Actor Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder 59
Average
1944 Bathing Beauty Actor Mrs. Allenwood 58
Average
1944 Seven Days Ashore Actor Mrs. Croxton-Lynch 58
Average
1944 Up in Arms Actor Mrs. Willoughby 59
Average
1943 The Dancing Masters Actor Louise Harlan 59
Average
1942 Rhythm Parade Actor Ophelia MacDougal N/A
N/A
1942 Tales of Manhattan Actor Mme. Langehanke (uncredited) 59
Average
1942 About Face Actor Mrs. Culpepper 59
Average
1942 Sing Your Worries Away Actor Flo Faulkner - Landlady 59
Average
1942 Born to Sing Actor Mrs. E. V. Lawson 58
Average
1941 Never Give a Sucker an Even Break Actor Mrs. Hemogloben 59
Average
1941 The Big Store Actor Martha Phelps 59
Average
1941 For Beauty's Sake Actor Mrs. Franklin Evans N/A
N/A
1939 At the Circus Actor Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury 59
Average
1938 Dramatic School Actor Pantomime Teacher 59
Average
1937 Wise Girl Actor Mrs. Bell-Rivington 59
Average
1937 High Flyers Actor Martha Arlington 59
Average
1937 Youth on Parole Actor Mrs. Abernathy 58
Average
1937 The Life of the Party Actor Mrs. Penner 58
Average
1937 A Day at the Races Actor Emily Upjohn 62
Fair
1936 Song and Dance Man Actor Mrs. Whitney N/A
N/A
1936 Anything Goes Actor Mrs. Wentworth 58
Average
1935 A Night at the Opera Actor Mrs. Claypool 66
Fair
1935 Rendezvous Actor Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited) 58
Average
1935 Reckless Actor Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited) 58
Average
1935 Gypsy Sweetheart Actor Mrs. Van Updyke 58
Average
1935 After Office Hours Actor Mrs. Murchison (uncredited) 59
Average
1934 Kentucky Kernels Actor Mrs. Baxter 59
Average
1934 Gridiron Flash Actor Mrs. Fields 58
Average
1934 Fifteen Wives Actor Sybilla Crum 58
Average
1934 We're Rich Again Actor Wedding Guest (uncredited) 58
Average
1933 Duck Soup Actor Gloria Teasdale 67
Fair
1933 Storm at Daybreak Actor Duchess Sophie (uncredited) 58
Average
1933 Wonderland of California Actor Self N/A
N/A
1932 Here, Prince Actor The Queen of Deleria (uncredited) N/A
N/A
1931 The Girl Habit Actor Blanche Ledyard N/A
N/A
1930 Animal Crackers Actor Mrs. Rittenhouse 62
Fair
1929 The Cocoanuts Actor Mrs. Potter 60
Fair
1917 A Tale of Two Cities Actor Aristocrat (uncredited) 58
Average