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Margaret Dumont

Film Actress / Stage Actress / Actress | * 10/20/1882 († 82, 03/06/1965) | Brooklyn, New York (United States of America (USA))
Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. She is best remembered as the comic foil to the Marx Brothers in seven of their films; Groucho Marx called her "practically the fifth Marx brother." ()

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).

Photo of Margaret Dumont
Most frequent genres for this person: Comedies | Music | Romance / Love

Known for these Movies & Shows

The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a v ...

Animal Crackers

G

1930 | 3.5/5 | 1h 37min
Comedy, Music
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Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale. ...

Duck Soup

Certification unknown

1933 | 3.7/5 | 1h 9min
Comedy, War
available on:
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The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating t ...

A Night at the Opera

NR

1935 | 3.7/5 | 1h 36min
Comedy, Music
available on:
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During the Florida land boom, the Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land and thwart a jewel robbery. ...

The Cocoanuts

NR

1929 | 3.3/5 | 1h 36min
Comedy, Music
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Watch now!
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Movies with Margaret Dumont as Actress(51)

as (archive footage)1982 The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell
as (archive footage)1979 The Hollywood Clowns
as (archive footage)1976 That's Entertainment, Part II
as Self (archive footage)1975 Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Mrs. Foster1964 What a Way to Go!
as Persephone Updike1962 Zotz!
as Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)1958 Auntie Mame
as Georgianna Fitzdingle1956 Shake, Rattle and Rock!
as Mrs. Whitelaw1952 Stop, You're Killing Me
as Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne1952 Three for Bedroom C
as Mrs. Hendrickson1946 Little Giant
as Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder1945 The Horn Blows at Midnight
as Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella1945 Sunset in El Dorado
as Mrs. Standish1945 Diamond Horseshoe
as Mrs. Croxton-Lynch1944 Seven Days Ashore
as Mrs. Willoughby1944 Up in Arms
as Mrs. Allenwood1944 Bathing Beauty
as Louise Harlan1943 The Dancing Masters
as Mme. Langehanke (uncredited)1942 Tales of Manhattan
as Mrs. Culpepper1942 About Face
as Flo Faulkner - Landlady1942 Sing Your Worries Away
as Ophelia MacDougal1942 Rhythm Parade
as Mrs. E. V. Lawson1942 Born to Sing
as Martha Phelps1941 The Big Store
as Mrs. Hemogloben1941 Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
as Mrs. Franklin Evans1941 For Beauty's Sake
as Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury1939 At the Circus
as Pantomime Teacher1938 Dramatic School
as Mrs. Abernathy1937 Youth on Parole
as Emily Upjohn1937 A Day at the Races
as Mrs. Bell-Rivington1937 Wise Girl
as Mrs. Penner1937 The Life of the Party
as Martha Arlington1937 High Flyers
as Mrs. Wentworth1936 Anything Goes
as Mrs. Whitney1936 Song and Dance Man
as Mrs. Claypool1935 A Night at the Opera
as Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)1935 Reckless
as Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)1935 After Office Hours
as Mrs. Van Updyke1935 Gypsy Sweetheart
as Sybilla Crum1934 Fifteen Wives
as Wedding Guest (uncredited)1934 We're Rich Again
as Mrs. Baxter1934 Kentucky Kernels
as Mrs. Fields1934 Gridiron Flash
as Gloria Teasdale1933 Duck Soup
as herself1933 Wonderland of California
as Duchess Sophie (uncredited)1933 Storm at Daybreak
as The Queen of Deleria (uncredited)1932 Here, Prince
as Blanche Ledyard1931 The Girl Habit
as Mrs. Rittenhouse1930 Animal Crackers
as Mrs. Potter1929 The Cocoanuts
as Aristocrat (uncredited)1917 A Tale of Two Cities

TV Shows/Series with Margaret Dumont as Actress(4)

1958 The Donna Reed Show
as herself1956 The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1951 Racket Squad
as herself1950 The Colgate Comedy Hour

Full Name: Margaret Dumont
Born: Friday, 10/20 1882 (October) in Brooklyn, New York (United States of America (USA))
Died: Saturday, 03/06 1965 (March) in Hollywood (aged: 82)
Zodiac sign: Libra (Chinese zodiac sign: Horse)
Languages: English (EN)
Other names for Margaret Dumont (nicknames, foreign languages etc.):
"Daisy Juliette Baker"
"Маргарет Дюмон"
Margaret Dumont frequently works together with these people:
Harpo Marx (11x, Actor)
Chico Marx (11x, Actor)
Groucho Marx (11x, Actor)
Bess Flowers (9x, Actress)
Cedric Gibbons (8x, Crew)
Harry Ruby (8x, Crew)
Douglas Shearer (7x, Crew)
Bert Kalmar (7x, Crew)
Edwin B. Willis (6x, Crew)
W.C. Fields (6x, Actor)
Gene Kelly (5x, Actor)
Tony Martin (3x, Actor)
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WatchPlayStream ID: PEOPLE:307433, Added: 08/13/2018, Last updated: 04/02/2024