![Doro Merande](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w185/nvrmUwbUJRgTh2UdiP060Mbk1fR.jpg)
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)
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 7.927 |
Birthday | 1892-03-29 |
Place of Birth | Columbus, Kansas, USA |
Also Known As | Dora Matthews, |
![The Gazebo](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/8k8SLQdqO1ZFopHHEAXHbZ3UcxE.jpg)
1960
![The Gazebo](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/8k8SLQdqO1ZFopHHEAXHbZ3UcxE.jpg)
The Gazebo
6.9/30
TV writer Elliott Nash buries a blackmailer under the new gazebo in his suburban backyard. But the nervous man can't let the body rest there.
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The Gazebo
![Our Town](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nRuwYjCm1aPUY9SDp5P6URFqvvd.jpg)
1940
![Our Town](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nRuwYjCm1aPUY9SDp5P6URFqvvd.jpg)
Our Town
5.717/29
Change comes slowly to a small New Hampshire town in the early 20th century. We see birth, life and death in this small community.
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Our Town
![Skidoo](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/eFikHvYdVWnAnMoEXjcFSnlCM8j.jpg)
1968
![Skidoo](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/eFikHvYdVWnAnMoEXjcFSnlCM8j.jpg)
Skidoo
4.9/20
Ex-gangster Tony Banks is called out of retirement by mob kingpin God to carry out a hit on fellow mobster "Blue Chips" Packard. When Banks demurs, Go...
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Skidoo
![Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/d8RpurEclg24QWId0QEkAyaWmaa.jpg)
1951
![Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/d8RpurEclg24QWId0QEkAyaWmaa.jpg)
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
6.6/7
Posing as a man over 70, a lecturer (Clifton Webb) enters an old-folks home to prove age is a state of mind.
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Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
![Hurry Sundown](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lpZNG4WmNnKe451GR0wl8nRDqfn.jpg)
1967
![Hurry Sundown](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lpZNG4WmNnKe451GR0wl8nRDqfn.jpg)
Hurry Sundown
6.518/28
Following the Second World War, a northern cannery combine negotiates for the purchase of a large tract of uncultivated Georgia farmland. The major po...
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Hurry Sundown
![State Fair](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/tx3h4QTmPlrdgvFBBDtKzqm4gif.jpg)
1933
![State Fair](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/tx3h4QTmPlrdgvFBBDtKzqm4gif.jpg)
State Fair
6.2/18
The children of Iowa farmers find love, with mixed results, at the state fair.
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State Fair
![Kiss Me, Stupid](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/sbMILWDfzwQI8ZBIn42zGNU4xqg.jpg)
1964
![Kiss Me, Stupid](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/sbMILWDfzwQI8ZBIn42zGNU4xqg.jpg)
Kiss Me, Stupid
7.068/184
While traveling home from Vegas, an amorous lounge singer named Dino gets conned by a local mechanic/songwriter into staying in town for the night. Th...
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Kiss Me, Stupid
![The Cardinal](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/alXyPH1AZEdNP9vlbcCo3rlOJhq.jpg)
1963
![The Cardinal](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/alXyPH1AZEdNP9vlbcCo3rlOJhq.jpg)
The Cardinal
6.5/41
A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.
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The Cardinal
![Strictly Personal](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/2wOSskik9tlw7xBrCRw96eIyViH.jpg)
1933
![Strictly Personal](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/2wOSskik9tlw7xBrCRw96eIyViH.jpg)
Strictly Personal
5/1
Soapy Gibson (Edward Ellis) and his wife Annie (Marjorie Rambeau) run a lonely hearts club in a small town. Even during the Depression years these wer...
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Strictly Personal
![The Front Page](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/3kUbSnIq5k28eobX9HxSVldmJub.jpg)
1974
![The Front Page](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/3kUbSnIq5k28eobX9HxSVldmJub.jpg)
The Front Page
7.2/332
A journalist suffering from burn-out wants to finally say goodbye to his office – but his boss doesn’t like the idea one bit.
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The Front Page
![Cover Up](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/l7jVest5c2UEitcBNofBAV2gSRm.jpg)
1949
![Cover Up](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/l7jVest5c2UEitcBNofBAV2gSRm.jpg)
Cover Up
6.7/21
Insurance investigator Sam Donovan is looking into the apparent suicide of a man in a small Midwestern town. All clues leads him into suspecting murde...
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Cover Up
![The Snake Pit](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/7NkGhyPfLoPHiFzXVUXU91nMeLb.jpg)
1948
![The Snake Pit](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/7NkGhyPfLoPHiFzXVUXU91nMeLb.jpg)
The Snake Pit
7.036/97
Virginia Cunningham is confused upon finding herself in a mental hospital, with no memory of her arrival at the institution. Tormented by delusions an...
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The Snake Pit
![The Seven Year Itch](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/4oLqx0QbjWFzWtkxRmDLGH47CUJ.jpg)
1955
![The Seven Year Itch](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/4oLqx0QbjWFzWtkxRmDLGH47CUJ.jpg)
The Seven Year Itch
7.069/865
With his family away for their annual summer holiday, a publishing executive decides to live a bachelor's life. The beautiful but ditzy blonde from th...
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The Seven Year Itch
![Wayward](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/a0B8azM1TJo25DO7SzxeUy8h3aM.jpg)
1932
![Wayward](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/a0B8azM1TJo25DO7SzxeUy8h3aM.jpg)
Wayward
6/1
Story of a mother's antagonism to her son's wife. Based on the novel "Wild Beauty" by Mateel Howe Farnham.
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Wayward
![Bad Boy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/iVUGxjga745TAQEdZo33AIsFfej.jpg)
1935
![Bad Boy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/iVUGxjga745TAQEdZo33AIsFfej.jpg)
Bad Boy
5/1
An unemployed loafer who spends his time playing pool decides he's ready to look for a job so he can secure his girlfriend's parents' approval for the...
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Bad Boy
![Making It](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/mEBrwSvydFEZwh4FnNi09Qj91C1.jpg)
1971
![Making It](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/mEBrwSvydFEZwh4FnNi09Qj91C1.jpg)
Making It
4.5/2
In this coming of age comedy, a cocky high school student thinks nothing of using the people around him to satisfy his self-centered needs, until some...
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Making It
![Navy Wife](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nj8dhFfts7BoQqfnUSzJWdHdRLG.jpg)
1935
![Navy Wife](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nj8dhFfts7BoQqfnUSzJWdHdRLG.jpg)
Navy Wife
5/1
A Hawaiian naval nurse weds a widowed officer partly because he has a crippled daughter.
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Navy Wife
![The Whistle at Eaton Falls](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lij8hWs0G703CfFRhpKZr5zrkdx.jpg)
1951
![The Whistle at Eaton Falls](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lij8hWs0G703CfFRhpKZr5zrkdx.jpg)
The Whistle at Eaton Falls
6.2/4
A newly promoted plant supervisor finds himself in the position of having to announce a layoff of his fellow workers.
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The Whistle at Eaton Falls
![The Man with the Golden Arm](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/3TUOhZhM5GCYIbxwFO3chpZ0DHx.jpg)
1955
![The Man with the Golden Arm](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/3TUOhZhM5GCYIbxwFO3chpZ0DHx.jpg)
The Man with the Golden Arm
7.1/215
A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
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The Man with the Golden Arm
![The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/3Zerhh8zQc7CimKdQMI1HnppRY2.jpg)
1966
![The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/3Zerhh8zQc7CimKdQMI1HnppRY2.jpg)
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
6.321/106
When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov,...
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The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
![Personal Maid](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/hFu58G2oKLghVcIl7u7RG8UzoQl.jpg)
1931
![Personal Maid](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/hFu58G2oKLghVcIl7u7RG8UzoQl.jpg)
Personal Maid
3/1
Nora Ryan, a poor Irish girl, living in New York decides to change her life by working as a personal maid for the wealthy, Gary family.
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Personal Maid
![Change of Habit](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/bZx6oDV3LnhaDImYJj2tkgEtqI0.jpg)
1969
![Change of Habit](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/bZx6oDV3LnhaDImYJj2tkgEtqI0.jpg)
Change of Habit
5.604/24
Dr. John Carpenter takes the job of running a health center in a low-income district. He enlists three women to help out who — unbeknownst to him — ar...
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Change of Habit
![Bondage](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/ukkqUZKJfSbF9sfq28UwgULnm81.jpg)
1933
![Bondage](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/ukkqUZKJfSbF9sfq28UwgULnm81.jpg)
Bondage
0/0
Judy Peters is about to be sentenced after she has pled guilty to her third offense of prostitution, when Dr. Nelson interrupts and tells her story to...
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Bondage
![Moonlight and Pretzels](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/t7M6zduvXw6Iup71Plt9O7AmCWv.jpg)
1933
![Moonlight and Pretzels](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/t7M6zduvXw6Iup71Plt9O7AmCWv.jpg)
Moonlight and Pretzels
0/0
A song plugger is stranded in a small town. There he meets a girl who later helps him to put on a show on Broadway.
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