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
Gloria Teasdale
Duck Soup
Mrs. Potter
The Cocoanuts
Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury
At the Circus
Emily Upjohn
A Day at the Races
Martha Phelps
The Big Store
(archive footage)
The Hollywood Clowns
Mrs. Rittenhouse
Animal Crackers
Mrs. Hemogloben
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
Mrs. Hendrickson
Little Giant
Mrs. Allenwood
Bathing Beauty
Mrs. Claypool
A Night at the Opera
Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
The Horn Blows at Midnight
Louise Harlan
The Dancing Masters
Mrs. Whitelaw
Stop, You're Killing Me
(archive footage)
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
Rendezvous
Mrs. Standish
Diamond Horseshoe
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Mrs. Culpepper
About Face
Mrs. Willoughby
Up in Arms
Mrs. Bell-Rivington
Wise Girl
Mrs. Wentworth
Anything Goes
Pantomime Teacher
Dramatic School
Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne
Three for Bedroom C
Mrs. Abernathy
Youth on Parole
Mrs. Fields
Gridiron Flash
Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)
Reckless
Sybilla Crum
Fifteen Wives
Flo Faulkner - Landlady
Sing Your Worries Away
Martha Arlington
High Flyers
Mrs. Croxton-Lynch
Seven Days Ashore
Mrs. Penner
The Life of the Party
Mrs. E. V. Lawson
Born to Sing
Mrs. Foster
What a Way to Go!
Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
Storm at Daybreak
Persephone Updike
Zotz!
Georgianna Fitzdingle
Shake, Rattle and Rock!
Self
Wonderland of California
Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)
After Office Hours
Mrs. Whitney
Song and Dance Man
Mrs. Baxter
Kentucky Kernels
Ophelia MacDougal
Rhythm Parade
The Queen of Deleria (uncredited)
Here, Prince
(archive footage)
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults
Mrs. Van Updyke
Gypsy Sweetheart
Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella
Sunset in El Dorado
Mme. Langehanke (uncredited)
Tales of Manhattan
Self (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Aristocrat (uncredited)
A Tale of Two Cities
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Mrs. Franklin Evans
For Beauty's Sake
Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
Auntie Mame
Blanche Ledyard
The Girl Habit
Woman Outside (uncredited)
Arbor Day
French Beauty
Enemies of Women
Dowager #1
Around the World with Nellie Bly
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
56
Gender
Female
Birthday
1882-10-19
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Also Known As
Daisy Juliette Baker