Margaret Dumont
Biography
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).
Also Known As
Movie Appearances
Duck Soup
as Gloria Teasdale
1933
The Cocoanuts
as Mrs. Potter
1929
At the Circus
as Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury
1939
A Day at the Races
as Emily Upjohn
1937
The Big Store
as Martha Phelps
1941
The Hollywood Clowns
as (archive footage)
1979
Animal Crackers
as Mrs. Rittenhouse
1930
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
as Mrs. Hemogloben
1941
Little Giant
as Mrs. Hendrickson
1946
Bathing Beauty
as Mrs. Allenwood
1944
A Night at the Opera
as Mrs. Claypool
1935
The Horn Blows at Midnight
as Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
1945
The Dancing Masters
as Louise Harlan
1943
Stop, You're Killing Me
as Mrs. Whitelaw
1952
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
as (archive footage)
1982
Rendezvous
as Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
1935
Diamond Horseshoe
as Mrs. Standish
1945
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
as Self (archive footage)
1972
About Face
as Mrs. Culpepper
1942
Up in Arms
as Mrs. Willoughby
1944
