profile image

Margaret Dumont

Oct 19, 1882 - Mar 06, 1965 (82 years old) in Brooklyn, New York, USA

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

poster
The Donna Reed Show
poster
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
poster
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
poster
Racket Squad
poster
What a Way to Go!
Mrs. Foster
poster
Bathing Beauty
Mrs. Allenwood
poster
Auntie Mame
Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
poster
Duck Soup
Gloria Teasdale
poster
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
poster
A Day at the Races
Emily Upjohn

Credits

Images

image
image
image
image