Margaret Dumont
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 19, 1882
- Died
- March 6, 1965
- Birthplace
- 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
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults 1999
as (archive footage)
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell 1982
as (archive footage)
The Hollywood Clowns 1979
as (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II 1976
as (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? 1975
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory 1972
as Self (archive footage)
What a Way to Go! 1964
as Mrs. Foster
Zotz! 1962
as Persephone Updike
Around the World with Nellie Bly 1960
as Dowager #1
Auntie Mame 1958
as Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
Shake, Rattle and Rock! 1956
as Georgianna Fitzdingle
Stop, You're Killing Me 1952
as Mrs. Whitelaw
Three for Bedroom C 1952
as Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne
Susie Steps Out 1946
as Mrs. Starr
Little Giant 1946
as Mrs. Hendrickson
Sunset in El Dorado 1945
as Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella
Diamond Horseshoe 1945
as Mrs. Standish
The Horn Blows at Midnight 1945
as Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
Bathing Beauty 1944
as Mrs. Allenwood
Seven Days Ashore 1944
as Mrs. Croxton-Lynch
Up in Arms 1944
as Mrs. Willoughby
The Dancing Masters 1943
as Louise Harlan
Rhythm Parade 1942
as Ophelia MacDougal
Tales of Manhattan 1942
as Mme. Langehanke (uncredited)
About Face 1942
as Mrs. Culpepper
Sing Your Worries Away 1942
as Flo Faulkner - Landlady
Born to Sing 1942
as Mrs. E. V. Lawson
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break 1941
as Mrs. Hemogloben
The Big Store 1941
as Martha Phelps
For Beauty's Sake 1941
as Mrs. Franklin Evans
At the Circus 1939
as Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury
Dramatic School 1938
as Pantomime Teacher
Wise Girl 1937
as Mrs. Bell-Rivington
High Flyers 1937
as Martha Arlington
Youth on Parole 1937
as Mrs. Abernathy
The Life of the Party 1937
as Mrs. Penner
A Day at the Races 1937
as Emily Upjohn
Arbor Day 1936
as Woman Outside (uncredited)
Song and Dance Man 1936
as Mrs. Whitney
Anything Goes 1936
as Mrs. Wentworth
A Night at the Opera 1935
as Mrs. Claypool
Rendezvous 1935
as Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
Reckless 1935
as Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)
- Gypsy Sweetheart
Gypsy Sweetheart 1935
as Mrs. Van Updyke
After Office Hours 1935
as Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)
Kentucky Kernels 1934
as Mrs. Baxter
Gridiron Flash 1934
as Mrs. Fields
Fifteen Wives 1934
as Sybilla Crum
Duck Soup 1933
as Gloria Teasdale
Storm at Daybreak 1933
as Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
Wonderland of California 1933
as Self
- Here, Prince
Here, Prince 1932
as The Queen of Deleria (uncredited)
The Girl Habit 1931
as Blanche Ledyard
Animal Crackers 1930
as Mrs. Rittenhouse
The Cocoanuts 1929
as Mrs. Potter
Enemies of Women 1923
as French Beauty
A Tale of Two Cities 1917
as Aristocrat (uncredited)
Credits from TMDB.