Dora Bryan
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 7, 1923
- Died
- July 23, 2014
- Birthplace
- Parbold, Lancashire, England, UK
Dora May Bryan OBE was an English actress of stage, film and television. Born Dora May Broadbent, her career began in pantomime as a child actor. In World War II she joined the ENSA in Italy to entertain British troops. After having established herself as a versatile stage actress, covering everything from drama and comedy to musicals, she started to appear in film in the late 1940s, and in 1968 she even had her own TV series, "According to Dora". At one point in her career she was Britain's highest-paid star. She was active on stage until the mid 1990s and continued to work in film and television until 2005, when she finally had to give up the acting profession as she could no longer remember her lines. Her autobiography According To Dora was published in 1987. In 1996, she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to acting and the same year she was also awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for her role in the West End production of the Harold Pinter play "The Birthday Party". She was married to British cricket player Bill Lawton from 1954 to his death in 2008. She lived in a nursing home in Hove, outside Brighton, until her death in 2014.
Filmography
MirrorMask 2005
as Aunt Nan
Thora Hird Tribute 2003
as Self (archive footage, uncredited)
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout 1996
as Millie
Bed 1995
as Bosom Lady
Palmer 1991
as Monica
Apartment Zero 1989
as Margaret McKinney
Screamtime 1983
as Emma
Up the Front 1972
as Auntie Cora Crumpington
Hands of the Ripper 1971
as Mrs. Golding
Two a Penny 1967
as Ruby Hopkins
The Sandwich Man 1966
as Mrs. De Vere
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery 1966
as Amber Spottiswood
- The Dream Machine
The Dream Machine 1964
as Self
A Taste of Honey 1961
as Helen
Alice Through the Looking Box 1960
as Queen
- Hello London
Hello London 1960
as herself
The Night We Got the Bird 1960
as Julie Skidmore
- Follow That Horse!
Follow That Horse! 1960
Actor
Operation Bullshine 1959
as Pvt. Cox
Desert Mice 1959
as Gay Bennett
Carry On Sergeant 1958
as Norah
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk 1958
as Telephonist
Small Hotel 1957
as (uncredited)
The Green Man 1956
as Lily
Child in the House 1956
as Cassie
The Cockleshell Heroes 1955
as Myrtie
You Lucky People! 1955
as Hortense Tipp
As Long As They're Happy 1955
as May
Harmony Lane 1954
as Comedian
Mad About Men 1954
as Berengaria
The Crowded Day 1954
as Marge
The Young Lovers 1954
as Switchboard Operator (uncredited)
Fast and Loose 1954
as Mary Rawlings, the maid
You Know What Sailors Are 1954
Actor
The Intruder 1953
as Dora Bee
The Fake 1953
as Barmaid
Street Corner 1953
as Prostitute
Women of Twilight 1953
as Olga
- The Real Thing
The Real Thing 1953
as Dora
The Ringer 1952
as Mrs. Hackett
Miss Robin Hood 1952
as Pearl
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire 1952
as Tilly
Time, Gentlemen, Please! 1952
as Peggy Stebbins
Gift Horse 1952
as Glad Flanagan
13 East Street 1952
as Valerie
Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard 1952
as Miss La Fosse
High Treason 1951
as Mrs. Bowers
Lady Godiva Rides Again 1951
as Movie Publicist
No Highway in the Sky 1951
Actor
Scarlet Thread 1951
as Maggie
Circle of Danger 1951
as Bubbles Fitzgerald
The Quiet Woman 1951
as Elsie Tripp
Traveller's Joy 1950
as Eva
No Trace 1950
as Maisie
Something in the City 1950
as Waitress
The Blue Lamp 1950
as Maisie
The Cure for Love 1949
as Jenny Jenkins
The Interrupted Journey 1949
as the waitress
Don't Ever Leave Me 1949
as Talkative Hairdresser (uncredited)
Adam and Evelyne 1949
as Blonde Sales Assistant (uncredited)
Now Barabbas 1949
as Winnie
The Perfect Woman 1949
as Model in Shop
Once Upon a Dream 1949
as Barmaid
No Room at the Inn 1948
as The Girl
The Fallen Idol 1948
as Rose
Odd Man Out 1947
as Girl in Telephone Kiosk (uncredited)
Credits from TMDB.