Margaret Dumont
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1882-10-19
Day of Death
1965-03-06 (82 years old)
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York, USA
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).
Known For
Acting
(1999)
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
as Self (archiveFootage)
(1982)
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
as (archive footage)
(1979)
The Hollywood Clowns
as (archive footage)
(1976)
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
(1975)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
(1972)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
as Self (archive footage)
(1964)
What a Way to Go!
as Mrs. Foster
(1962)
Zotz!
as Persephone Updike
(1958)
Auntie Mame
as Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
(1956)
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
as Georgianna Fitzdingle
(1952)
Stop, You're Killing Me
as Mrs. Whitelaw
(1952)
Three for Bedroom C
as Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne
(1946)
Little Giant
as Mrs. Hendrickson
(1945)
The Horn Blows at Midnight
as Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
(1945)
Sunset in El Dorado
as Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella
(1945)
Diamond Horseshoe
as Mrs. Standish
(1944)
Bathing Beauty
as Mrs. Allenwood
(1944)
Up in Arms
as Mrs. Willoughby
(1944)
Seven Days Ashore
as Mrs. Croxton-Lynch
(1943)
The Dancing Masters
as Louise Harlan
(1942)
Tales of Manhattan
as Mme. Langehanke (uncredited)
(1942)
Sing Your Worries Away
as Flo Faulkner - Landlady
(1942)
Born to Sing
as Mrs. E. V. Lawson
(1942)
About Face
as Mrs. Culpepper
(1942)
Rhythm Parade
as Ophelia MacDougal
(1941)
The Big Store
as Martha Phelps
(1941)
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
as Mrs. Hemogloben
(1941)
For Beauty's Sake
as Mrs. Franklin Evans
(1939)
At the Circus
as Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury
(1938)
Dramatic School
as Pantomime Teacher
(1937)
A Day at the Races
as Emily Upjohn
(1937)
The Life of the Party
as Mrs. Penner
(1937)
Wise Girl
as Mrs. Bell-Rivington
(1937)
High Flyers
as Martha Arlington
(1937)
Youth on Parole
as Mrs. Abernathy
(1936)
Anything Goes
as Mrs. Wentworth
(1936)
Song and Dance Man
as Mrs. Whitney
(1936)
Arbor Day
as Woman Outside (uncredited)
(1935)
A Night at the Opera
as Mrs. Claypool
(1935)
Reckless
as Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)
(1935)
Rendezvous
as Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
(1935)
After Office Hours
as Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)
(1935)
Gypsy Sweetheart
as Mrs. Van Updyke
(1934)
Kentucky Kernels
as Mrs. Baxter
(1934)
Fifteen Wives
as Sybilla Crum
(1934)
Gridiron Flash
as Mrs. Fields
(1934)
We're Rich Again
as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
(1933)
Duck Soup
as Gloria Teasdale
(1933)
Storm at Daybreak
as Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
(1933)
Wonderland of California
as Self
(1932)
Here, Prince
as The Queen of Deleria (uncredited)
(1931)
The Girl Habit
as Blanche Ledyard
(1930)
Animal Crackers
as Mrs. Rittenhouse
(1929)
The Cocoanuts
as Mrs. Potter
(1923)
Enemies of Women
as French Beauty
(1917)
A Tale of Two Cities
as Aristocrat (uncredited)