Margaret Dumont
Acting
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).
Filmography(61)
movieHidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
as (archive footage) · 1999 · 9.0
movieThe Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
as (archive footage) · 1982 · 9.0
movieThe Hollywood Clowns
as (archive footage) · 1979 · 0.0
movieThat's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage) · 1976 · 7.0
movieBrother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage) · 1975 · 6.3
movieHollywood: The Dream Factory
as Self (archive footage) · 1972 · 7.3
movieWhat a Way to Go!
as Mrs. Foster · 1964 · 7.1
movieZotz!
as Persephone Updike · 1962 · 5.5
movieAround the World with Nellie Bly
as Dowager #1 · 1960 · 10.0
movieAuntie Mame
as Noblewoman in Play (uncredited) · 1958 · 7.0
tvThe Donna Reed Show
as · 1958 · 6.5
movieShake, Rattle and Rock!
as Georgianna Fitzdingle · 1956 · 5.6
tvThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show
as Self · 1956 · 6.4
movieStop, You're Killing Me
as Mrs. Whitelaw · 1952 · 7.7
movieThree for Bedroom C
as Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne · 1952 · 10.0
tvRacket Squad
as · 1951 · 6.5
tvThe Colgate Comedy Hour
as Self · 1950 · 6.9
movieSusie Steps Out
as Mrs. Starr · 1946 · 10.0
movieLittle Giant
as Mrs. Hendrickson · 1946 · 5.2
movieSunset in El Dorado
as Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella · 1945 · 5.7
movieDiamond Horseshoe
as Mrs. Standish · 1945 · 7.0
movieThe Horn Blows at Midnight
as Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder · 1945 · 5.8
movieBathing Beauty
as Mrs. Allenwood · 1944 · 5.9
movieSeven Days Ashore
as Mrs. Croxton-Lynch · 1944 · 4.2