Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Margaret Dumont
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).
| Movie | Cast | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Duck Soup | Gloria Teasdale | 1933 |
| The Cocoanuts | Mrs. Potter | 1929 |
| At the Circus | Mrs. Suzanna Dukesbury | 1939 |
| A Day at the Races | Emily Upjohn | 1937 |
| The Big Store | Martha Phelps | 1941 |
| The Hollywood Clowns | (archive footage) | 1979 |
| Animal Crackers | Mrs. Rittenhouse | 1930 |
| Never Give a Sucker an Even Break | Mrs. Hemogloben | 1941 |
| Little Giant | Mrs. Hendrickson | 1946 |
| Bathing Beauty | Mrs. Allenwood | 1944 |
| A Night at the Opera | Mrs. Claypool | 1935 |
| The Horn Blows at Midnight | Mme. Traviata / Miss Rodholder | 1945 |
| The Dancing Masters | Louise Harlan | 1943 |
| Stop, You're Killing Me | Mrs. Whitelaw | 1952 |
| The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell | (archive footage) | 1982 |
| Rendezvous | Mrs. Hendricks (uncredited) | 1935 |
| Diamond Horseshoe | Mrs. Standish | 1945 |
| Hollywood: The Dream Factory | Self (archive footage) | 1972 |
| About Face | Mrs. Culpepper | 1942 |
| Up in Arms | Mrs. Willoughby | 1944 |
| Wise Girl | Mrs. Bell-Rivington | 1937 |
| Anything Goes | Mrs. Wentworth | 1936 |
| Dramatic School | Pantomime Teacher | 1938 |
| Three for Bedroom C | Mrs. Agnes Hawthorne | 1952 |
| Youth on Parole | Mrs. Abernathy | 1937 |
| Gridiron Flash | Mrs. Fields | 1934 |
| Reckless | Woman in Audience Yelling 'Get Off the Stage' (uncredited) | 1935 |
| Fifteen Wives | Sybilla Crum | 1934 |
| Sing Your Worries Away | Flo Faulkner - Landlady | 1942 |
| High Flyers | Martha Arlington | 1937 |
| Seven Days Ashore | Mrs. Croxton-Lynch | 1944 |
| The Life of the Party | Mrs. Penner | 1937 |
| Born to Sing | Mrs. E. V. Lawson | 1942 |
| What a Way to Go! | Mrs. Foster | 1964 |
| Storm at Daybreak | Duchess Sophie (uncredited) | 1933 |
| Zotz! | Persephone Updike | 1962 |
| Shake, Rattle and Rock! | Georgianna Fitzdingle | 1956 |
| Wonderland of California | Self | 1933 |
| After Office Hours | Mrs. Murchison (uncredited) | 1935 |
| Song and Dance Man | Mrs. Whitney | 1936 |
| Kentucky Kernels | Mrs. Baxter | 1934 |
| Rhythm Parade | Ophelia MacDougal | 1942 |
| Here, Prince | The Queen of Deleria (uncredited) | 1932 |
| Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults | Self (archiveFootage) | 2002 |
| We're Rich Again | Wedding Guest (uncredited) | 1934 |
| Gypsy Sweetheart | Mrs. Van Updyke | 1935 |
| Sunset in El Dorado | Aunt Dolly / Aunt Arabella | 1945 |
| Tales of Manhattan | Mme. Langehanke (uncredited) | 1942 |
| Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) | 1975 |
| A Tale of Two Cities | Aristocrat (uncredited) | 1917 |
| That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976 |
| For Beauty's Sake | Mrs. Franklin Evans | 1941 |
| Auntie Mame | Noblewoman in Play (uncredited) | 1958 |
| The Girl Habit | Blanche Ledyard | 1931 |
| Arbor Day | Woman talking to the midgets outside | 1936 | Series | Cast | Year |
| The Colgate Comedy Hour | Self | 1950 |
| The Donna Reed Show | 1958 | |
| The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | Self | 1956 |
| Racket Squad | 1951 |
