Doro Merande
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)
Acting
TV
The Twilight Zone
as Sadie
1959
Movie
The Seven Year Itch
as Waitress at Vegetarian Restaurant (uncredited)
1955
Movie
The Front Page
as Jennie
1974
Movie
The Man with the Golden Arm
as Vi
1955
TV
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Mrs. Herman
1955
Movie
Kiss Me, Stupid
as Mrs. Pettibone
1964
Movie
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
as Muriel Everett
1966
Movie
The Snake Pit
as Asylum Patient (uncredited)
1948
Movie
The Cardinal
as Picket
1963
Movie
Hurry Sundown
as Ada Hemmings
1967
Movie
The Gazebo
as Matilda
1959
Movie
Our Town
as Mrs. Soames
1940
Movie
Change of Habit
as Rose
1969
Movie
State Fair
as Mrs. Metcalfe's Acquaintance at Food Contest (Uncredited)
1933
Movie
Cover Up
as Hilda
1949
Movie
Skidoo
as The Mayor
1968
TV
Thriller
as Melba Pennaroyd
1960
Movie
Zoo in Budapest
as Miss Fennock (uncredited)
1933
Movie
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
as Mrs. Hammer
1951
Movie
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
as Miss Haskins
1959
TV
Tales of Tomorrow
1951
Movie
The Whistle at Eaton Falls
as Miss Pringle
1951
Movie
Making It
as Librarian
1971
Movie
Wayward
as Maid (uncredited)
1932