Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthdate
1882-10-19
Day of Death
1965-03-06
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).
Filmography (57)
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
1999
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
1982
The Hollywood Clowns
1979
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
What a Way to Go!
1964
Zotz!
1962
Around the World with Nellie Bly
1960
Auntie Mame
1958
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
1956
Stop, You're Killing Me
1952
Three for Bedroom C
1952
Susie Steps Out
1946
