Plain, angular Doro Merande was one of those delightful character actresses you couldn't take your eyes off of, no matter how minuscule the part. She excelled at playing older than she was -- doting aunts, inveterate gossips, curt secretaries and small-minded townspeople -- all topped with an amusing warble in her voice and bristly eccentric edge. Too bad then that she wasn't used more in films, but she preferred live theater and based herself for the most part on the East Coast. She was born Dora Matthews in Kansas in 1892 and orphaned as a child. Growing up in boarding schools, she headed to New York and pursued an acting career immediately after finishing her education. She appeared long and hard on the stock stage before making it on Broadway at age 43. She settled there sparking over 25 Broadway plays in her lifetime, including a scene-stealing turn in the classic Thorton Wilder play "Our Town" which brought her to Hollywood to preserve the role on film. On and off she remained a delightful film and TV cameo player with roles in The Gazebo (1959), The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966), and The Front Page (1974). She and star Enid Markey (Jane of the "Tarzan" film silents) starred together as pampering aunts in the sitcom Bringing Up Buddy (1960), but, despite promising ratings, the two veteran actresses did not get along and the series folded after only a season. Ms. Merande was also a recurring presence for Jackie Gleason on his variety show. She died, in fact, of a stroke while there in Miami to film an episode.
Plain, angular Doro Merande was one of those delightful character actresses you couldn't take your eyes off of, no matter how minuscule the part. She excelled at playing older than she was -- doting aunts, inveterate gossips, curt secretaries and small-minded townspeople -- all topped with an amusing warble in her voice and bristly eccentric edge. Too bad then that she wasn't used more in films, but she preferred live theater and based herself for the most part on the East Coast. She was born Dora Matthews in Kansas in 1892 and orphaned as a child. Growing up in boarding schools, she headed to New York and pursued an acting career immediately after finishing her education. She appeared long and hard on the stock stage before making it on Broadway at age 43. She settled there sparking over 25 Broadway plays in her lifetime, including a scene-stealing turn in the classic Thorton Wilder play "Our Town" which brought her to Hollywood to preserve the role on film. On and off she remained a delightful film and TV cameo player with roles in The Gazebo (1959), The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966), and The Front Page (1974). She and star Enid Markey (Jane of the "Tarzan" film silents) starred together as pampering aunts in the sitcom Bringing Up Buddy (1960), but, despite promising ratings, the two veteran actresses did not get along and the series folded after only a season. Ms. Merande was also a recurring presence for Jackie Gleason on his variety show. She died, in fact, of a stroke while there in Miami to film an episode.
Date of Birth 31 March 1892, Columbia, Kansas
Date of Death 1 November 1975, New York City, New York (stroke)
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0580109
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5298146
Facebook: No data
Instagram: No data
X: No data
Filmography (Movies)
The Front Page
Character:Jennie
Release Date:01/11/1974
Making It
Character:Librarian
Release Date:21/03/1971
Change of Habit
Character:Rose
Release Date:10/11/1969
Skidoo
Character:The Mayor
Release Date:19/12/1968
Hurry Sundown
Character:Ada Hemmings
Release Date:09/02/1967
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
Character:Muriel Everett
Release Date:25/05/1966
Kiss Me, Stupid
Character:Mrs. Pettibone
Release Date:22/12/1964
The Cardinal
Character:Picket
Release Date:12/12/1963
The Gazebo
Character:Matilda
Release Date:15/01/1960
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
Character:Miss Haskins
Release Date:20/02/1959
If You Knew Elizabeth
Character:Mrs. Adolph
Release Date:11/04/1957
The Man with the Golden Arm
Character:Vi
Release Date:26/12/1955
The Seven Year Itch
Character:Waitress at Vegetarian Restaurant (uncredited)
Release Date:03/06/1955
The Whistle at Eaton Falls
Character:Miss Pringle
Release Date:02/08/1951
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
Character:Mrs. Hammer
Release Date:01/08/1951
Cover Up
Character:Hilda
Release Date:25/02/1949
The Snake Pit
Character:Asylum Patient (uncredited)
Release Date:04/11/1948
Our Town
Character:Mrs. Soames
Release Date:24/05/1940
Bad Boy
Character:Mrs. Jackson
Release Date:25/10/1935
Navy Wife
Character:Nurse Sharpe
Release Date:17/09/1935
Moonlight and Pretzels
Character:
Release Date:01/08/1933
Zoo in Budapest
Character:Miss Fennock (uncredited)
Release Date:28/04/1933
Bondage
Character:Boarding House Matron (uncredited)
Release Date:22/04/1933
Strictly Personal
Character:Club Member
Release Date:17/03/1933
State Fair
Character:Mrs. Metcalfe's Acquaintance at Food Contest (Uncredited)
Release Date:10/02/1933
Wayward
Character:Maid (uncredited)
Release Date:19/02/1932
Personal Maid
Character:Mrs. Wurtz's Maid (uncredited)
Release Date:12/09/1931
Television Appearances
Images
