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Margaret Dumont

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Occupation
  
Actress


Name
  
Margaret Dumont

Role
  
Film actress

Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont Another Nice Mess The Films from the

Full Name
  
Daisy Juliette Baker

Born
  
October 20, 1882 (
1882-10-20
)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

Died
  
March 6, 1965, Hollywood, California, United States

Spouse
  
John Moller, Jr. (m. 1910–1918)

Parents
  
Harriet Anna Harong, William Baker

Movies
  
Duck Soup, A Night at the Opera, Animal Crackers, A Day at the Races, The Cocoanuts

Similar People
  
Sam Wood, Morrie Ryskind, Leo McCarey, Victor Heerman, George S Kaufman

Years active
  
1902-1910, 1917-1965

Hollywood palace 2 28 groucho marx host animal crackers with margaret dumont melinda marx


Margaret Dumont (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."

Contents

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Groucho talks about irving thalberg margaret dumont


Early life and career

Margaret Dumont Margaret Dumont 1889 1965 Find A Grave Memorial

She was born Daisy Juliette Baker in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of William and Harriet Anna (née Harvey) Baker. Dumont trained as an operatic singer and actress in her teens, and began performing on stage in both the U.S. and in Europe, at first under the name Daisy Dumont and later as Margaret (or Marguerite) Dumont. Her theatrical debut was in Sleeping Beauty and the Beast at the Chestnut Theater in Philadelphia, and in August 1902, two months before her 20th birthday, she appeared as a singer/comedian in a vaudeville act in Atlantic City. The dark-haired soubrette, described by a theater reviewer as a "statuesque beauty", attracted notice later that decade for her vocal and comedic talents in The Girl Behind the Counter (1908), The Belle of Brittany (1909), and The Summer Widower (1910).

In 1910, she married millionaire sugar heir and industrialist John Moller Jr., and retired from stage work, although she had a small uncredited role as an aristocrat in a 1917 film adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities. The marriage was childless. After her husband's sudden death during the 1918 influenza pandemic, she returned reluctantly to the Broadway stage, and soon gained a strong reputation in musical comedy productions. She never remarried.

Margaret Dumont Stars of Vaudeville 833 Margaret Dumont Travalanche

Her Broadway career included roles in the musical comedies and plays The Fan (1921), Go Easy, Mabel (1922), The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly (1923/24), and The Fourflusher (1925), and she had an uncredited role in the 1923 film Enemies of Women.

Performances with the Marx Brothers

Dumont then came to the attention of writer George S. Kaufman, who hired her to play the dowager Mrs. Potter alongside the four Marx Brothers in their Broadway production of The Cocoanuts in 1925. In October 1928, the Marxes' next Broadway show, Animal Crackers, opened, and Dumont was again cast as the foil and straight woman, Mrs. Rittenhouse, the wealthy society dowager. In 1929, she appeared with the Marxes in the screen version of The Cocoanuts.

Performing with the Marx Brothers, Dumont played wealthy, high-society widows whom Groucho alternately insulted and romanced for their money. The roles were Mrs. Potter in The Cocoanuts (1929), Mrs. Rittenhouse in Animal Crackers (1930), Mrs. Gloria Teasdale in Duck Soup (1933), Mrs. Claypool in A Night at the Opera (1935), Mrs. Emily Upjohn in A Day at the Races (1937), Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury in At the Circus (1939), and as Martha Phelps in The Big Store (1941). Her work in A Day at the Races earned her a Best Supporting Actress Award from the Screen Actors Guild, and film critic Cecilia Ager suggesting that a monument be erected in honor of her courage and steadfastness in the face of the Marx Brothers' antics. Groucho once said that because of their frequent movie appearances together, many people believed that he and Dumont were married in real life.

An exchange from Duck Soup:

Groucho: I suppose you'll think me a sentimental old fluff, but would you mind giving me a lock of your hair?Dumont (smitten): A lock of my hair? Why, I had no idea you ...Groucho: I'm letting you off easy. I was gonna ask for the whole wig.

Dumont also endured dialogue about her characters' (and thus her own) stoutish build, as with these lines, also from Duck Soup:

Dumont: I've sponsored your appointment because I feel you are the most able statesman in all Freedonia.Groucho: Well, that covers a lot of ground. Say, you cover a lot of ground yourself. You'd better beat it; I hear they're going to tear you down and put up an office building where you're standing.

and:

Groucho: Why don't you marry me?Dumont: Why, marry you?Groucho: You take me, and I'll take a vacation. I'll need a vacation if we're going to get married. Married! I can see you right now in the kitchen, bending over a hot stove. But I can't see the stove.

Or her age (in their last film pairing, The Big Store):

Dumont (kittenish): You make me think of my youth.Groucho: Really? He must be a big boy by now.

Dumont's character would often give a short, startled or confused reaction to such insults, but would not otherwise respond and appeared to forget the insult quickly.

Dumont's presumed ladylike innocence, in contrast to Groucho's perpetual leer, was fodder for Groucho's oft-stated comment that the brothers had to explain jokes like this to her:

Groucho (to the other brothers, during a battle sequence in Duck Soup): Remember, you're fighting for this woman's honor, which is probably more than she ever did.

and this, from A Night at the Opera:

Dumont: Are you sure you have everything, Otis?Groucho: I've never had any complaints yet.

Decades later in his one-man show at New York's Carnegie Hall, Groucho mentioned Dumont's name and got a burst of applause. He falsely informed the audience that she rarely understood the humor of their scenes together and would ask him, "Why are they laughing, Julie?" ("Julie" was her nickname for Julius, Groucho's birth name). Dumont was so important to the success of the Marx Brothers films, she is one of the few people mentioned by Groucho in his short acceptance speech for an honorary Oscar in 1974. (The other four were Harpo, Chico, his mother, and his companion Erin Fleming. Zeppo Marx and Gummo Marx, both alive at the time, were not mentioned.)

In most of her interviews and press profiles, Dumont preserved the myth of her on-screen character: the wealthy, regal woman who never quite understood the jokes. However, in a 1942 interview with the World Wide Features press syndicate, Dumont said, "Scriptwriters build up to a laugh, but they don't allow any pause for it. That's where I come in. I ad lib—it doesn't matter what I say—just to kill a few seconds so you can enjoy the gag. I have to sense when the big laughs will come and fill in, or the audience will drown out the next gag with its own laughter. ... I'm not a stooge, I'm a straight lady. There's an art to playing straight. You must build up your man, but never top him, never steal the laughs from him."

Perpetuating Groucho's public remarks on the subject, film critics and historians have incorrectly stated for decades that because Dumont never broke character or cracked a smile at Groucho's jokes, she did not "get" the Marx Brothers' type of humor. However, she knew the jokes were funny indeed, but, as a seasoned actress and a professional, kept a straight face no matter what. In the early Marx brothers films, especially when Groucho levels an insult at her, she can be seen giving an appropriate and fleeting "shocked" response as part of her characterization. In a recreation of Hooray for Captain Spaulding from Animal Crackers staged on The Hollywood Palace in 1965 shortly before her death she can be seen laughing at Groucho's adlibs, proving she got the jokes.

Dumont's acting style, especially in her early films, provided a window into the old-fashioned theatrical style of projecting to the back row, such as trilling the "r" for emphasis. She had a classical operatic singing voice which screenwriters eagerly used to their advantage.

Other roles and later life

Over the course of her career Dumont appeared in 57 films, including some minor silent work that began with A Tale of Two Cities (1917). Her first feature film was the Marx Brothers film The Cocoanuts (1929), in which she played Mrs. Potter, the same role she played in the stage version from which the film was adapted. She also made some television appearances, including a guest-starring role with Estelle Winwood on ABC's The Donna Reed Show in the episode "Miss Lovelace Comes to Tea" (1959).

She played the same dignified, poised dowager in several other movies, with such comedians as W.C. Fields (Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, 1941) and (Tales of Manhattan, 1942), Abbott and Costello (Little Giant, 1946), Laurel and Hardy (The Dancing Masters, 1943), Red Skelton (Bathing Beauty, 1944), Jack Benny (The Horn Blows at Midnight, 1945), Wheeler and Woolsey and George "Spanky" McFarland (Kentucky Kernels, 1934, and High Flyers, 1937, with Lupe Vélez thrown in for good measure), radio comedian Joe Penner (The Life of the Party, 1937), and (Here, Prince, 1932), George "Gabby" Hayes (Sunset in El Dorado), Tom Poston (Zotz!, 1962), and Danny Kaye (Up in Arms, 1944), and on television with Martin and Lewis (The Colgate Comedy Hour, December 1951). Turner Classic Movies’ website says of High Flyers—one of her lesser-known outings: "The surprise…is seeing her play a somewhat daffy matron, more Billie Burke than typical Margaret Dumont. As the lady who's into crystal gazing and dotes on her kleptomaniac bull terrier, she brings a discreetly screwball touch to the proceedings." Dumont also played some dramatic parts, such as Youth on Parole (1937) and Dramatic School (1938). She also appeared in Stop, You're Killing Me (1952), Three for Bedroom C (1952), and Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956). Her last movie was What a Way to Go! (1964), in which she played Shirley MacLaine's mother, Mrs. Foster.

Eight days before her death she made her final acting appearance on the television program The Hollywood Palace on February 26, 1965, where she was reunited onstage with Groucho—that week's guest host—one final time. They performed material adapted from Captain Spaulding's introductory scene in Animal Crackers. The taped show was aired on April 17, several weeks after her death.

Death

After her death from a heart attack on March 6, 1965, Dumont was cremated, her ashes stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. She was 82 years of age, although many obituaries mistakenly gave her age as 75.

Filmography

Actress
1964
What a Way to Go! as
Mrs. Foster
1962
Zotz! as
Persephone Updike
1960
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (TV Series) as
Dowager no. 1
- Around the World with Nellie Bly (1960) - Dowager no. 1
1959
The Donna Reed Show (TV Series) as
Mrs. Westcott Trilling
- Miss Lovelace Comes to Tea (1959) - Mrs. Westcott Trilling
1958
Auntie Mame as
Noblewoman in Play (uncredited)
1958
Schlitz Playhouse (TV Series)
- Penny Wise (1958)
1956
Shake, Rattle & Rock! as
Georgianna Fitzdingle
1956
Studio 57 (TV Series) as
Mrs. Sabine
- Palm Springs Incident (1956) - Mrs. Sabine
1956
The Bob Hope Show (TV Series) as
Lady Fabian
- The Awful Truth (1956) - Lady Fabian
1953
My Friend Irma (TV Series) as
Mrs. Richard Rhinelander Jr
- Irma Plays_Cupid (1953) - Mrs. Richard Rhinelander Jr
1953
Hollywood Opening Night (TV Series)
- Uncle Fred Flits By (1953)
1952
Stop, You're Killing Me as
Mrs. Harriet Whitelaw
1952
Three for Bedroom C as
Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne
1951
The Stu Erwin Show (TV Series) as
Mrs. Selkirk
- The Business (1952)
- It's Just Money (1951) - Mrs. Selkirk
- The Great Debate (1951) - Mrs. Selkirk
1952
Chevron Theatre (TV Series)
- That's My Pop (1952)
1946
Susie Steps Out as
Mrs. Starr
1946
Little Giant as
Mrs. Hendrickson
1945
Sunset in El Dorado as
Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella
1945
Diamond Horseshoe as
Mrs. Standish
1945
The Horn Blows at Midnight as
Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder
1944
Bathing Beauty as
Mrs. Allenwood
1944
Seven Days Ashore as
Mrs. Croxton-Lynch
1944
Up in Arms as
Mrs. Willoughby
1943
The Dancing Masters as
Louise Harlan
1942
Rhythm Parade as
Ophelia MacDougal
1942
Tales of Manhattan as
Mme. Langehanke (Fields sequence) (uncredited)
1942
About Face (Short) as
Mrs. Culpepper
1942
Sing Your Worries Away as
Flo Faulkner - Landlady
1942
Born to Sing as
Mrs. E. V. Lawson
1941
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break as
Mrs. Hemogloben
1941
The Big Store as
Martha Phelps
1941
For Beauty's Sake as
Mrs. Franklin Evans
1939
At the Circus as
Mrs. Dukesbury
1939
The Women as
Mrs. Wagstaff (scenes deleted)
1938
Dramatic School as
Pantomimic Teacher
1937
Wise Girl as
Mrs. Bell-Rivington
1937
High Flyers as
Martha Arlington
1937
Youth on Parole as
Mrs. Abernathy
1937
The Life of the Party as
Mrs. Penner
1937
A Day at the Races as
Mrs. Emily Upjohn
1936
Arbor Day (Short) as
Woman talking to the midgets outside
1936
Song and Dance Man as
Mrs. Whitney
1936
Anything Goes as
Mrs. Wentworth
1935
A Night at the Opera as
Mrs. Claypool
1935
Rendezvous as
Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited)
1935
Orchids to You as
Mrs. Belknap (uncredited)
1935
Reckless as
Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited)
1935
Gypsy Sweetheart (Short) as
Mrs. Van Updyke
1935
After Office Hours as
Mrs. Murchison (uncredited)
1934
Kentucky Kernels as
Mrs. Baxter
1934
Gridiron Flash as
Mrs. Fields
1934
Fifteen Wives as
Sybilla Crum
1934
We're Rich Again as
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
1933
Duck Soup as
Gloria Teasdale
1933
Storm at Daybreak as
Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
1932
Here, Prince (Short) 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 (uncredited)
1917
A Tale of Two Cities as
Aristocrat (uncredited)
Soundtrack
1944
Seven Days Ashore (performer: "Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves)" (1887) - uncredited)
1933
Duck Soup (performer: "His Excellency Is Due" (1933), "These Are the Laws of My Administration" (1933) - uncredited)
1930
Animal Crackers (performer: "Hello, I Must Be Going" (1930), "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" (1928) - uncredited)
Self
1965
The Hollywood Palace (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #2.28 (1965) - Self
1954
The Bob Hope Show (TV Series) as
Self - Rosemary's Mother
- Jack Benny and Rosemary Clooney (1954) - Self - Rosemary's Mother
1951
The Colgate Comedy Hour (TV Series) as
Self
- Hosts: Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis; Guests: Eve Young, Ray Malone, Danny Arnold, Margaret Dumont, Mike Mazurki, Dick Stabile & his Orchestra (1951) - Self
1933
Wonderland of California (Documentary short) as
Self (uncredited)
Archive Footage
2008
Morir de humor (TV Movie)
2006
¿De qué te ríes? (TV Movie)
2005
Irving Thalberg: Prince of Hollywood (TV Movie documentary)
2004
On Your Marx, Get Set, Go! (Video documentary short) as
Emily Upjohn
2004
Remarks on Marx (Video short) as
Mrs. Claypool
2003
Inside the Marx Brothers (Video documentary) as
Mrs. Rittenhouse (clip from Animal Crackers (1930))
1999
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
1993
The Unknown Marx Brothers (TV Movie documentary) as
Various Roles
1992
Funny Business (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Visual Comedy (1992) - Self
1986
Classic Comedy Teams (Video documentary) as
Mrs. Claypool / Mrs. Dukesbury / Martha Phelps (segment "Marx Brothers")
1982
The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (TV Movie documentary)
1982
Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (TV Movie documentary) as
Actress - 'A Night at the Opera' (uncredited)
1979
The Hollywood Clowns (Video documentary)
1976
That's Entertainment, Part II (Documentary) as
Clips from 'A Night at the Opera' & 'A Day at the Races'
1975
Brother Can You Spare a Dime (Documentary)
1972
Hollywood: The Dream Factory (TV Movie documentary) as
Self - film clips (uncredited)
1971
The Dick Cavett Show (TV Series) as
Mrs. Claypool from film A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
- Gov. Ronald Reagan/Bob Newhart/James Wong Howe (1971) - Mrs. Claypool from film A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
1962
Buster Keaton in Wildwest
1954
The Ed Sullivan Show (TV Series) as
Mrs. Claypool in 'A Night at the Opera'
- MGM's 30th Anniversary Tribute (1954) - Mrs. Claypool in 'A Night at the Opera'

References

Margaret Dumont Wikipedia


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