Doro Merande
Doro Merande was an American actress who appeared in film, theater, and television.
Early years
Born in Columbia, Kansas, as Dora Matthews, she was the daughter of a minister. At age 18, while living with her family in Kansas City, Missouri, she worked as a music teacher. She later went to New York City to become an actress.
Stage actress
Merande found her first part in a small summer company in Massachusetts. She coveted Broadway parts during the Great Depression. Her career began with the Jules Levanthal Company.
She appeared on Broadway using her birth name in That Ferguson Family and Montmartreas. Her first Broadway appearance as Doro Merande was as "Sophie Tuttle" in Loose Moments in 1935. Soon she was cast in One Good Year, Red Harvest, and Angel Island. Her first major stage role was playing the gossip in Our Town by Thornton Wilder repeating her performance in the 1940 film. Merande later appeared with Leo G. Carroll in Lo and Behold, The Rat Race with Betty Field, and in The Silver Whistle, with Jose Ferrer. She performed with Clifton Webb, Walter Huston, and Franchot Tone.
Her final Broadway appearance was in the 1969 revival of The Front Page, in which she portrayed the cleaning woman, as she later also did in the 1970 television and the 1974 film version. The 1974 film version was her final appearance; she was directed by Billy Wilder, with whom she had previously worked in the films The Seven Year Itch and Kiss Me, Stupid.
Filmography
Merande appeared onscreen in bit parts starting in the early 1930s and had her first substantial role in 1940, reprising her role as the gossip in the film adaptation of Our Town.
Films
Interference - Deborah's Maid Personal Maid - Mrs. Wurtz's Maid Wayward - Maid State Fair - Mrs. Metcalfe's Acquaintance at Food Contest Bondage - Boarding House Matron Zoo in Budapest - Miss Fennock, Orphanage Assistant Moonlight and Pretzels - Hymn-singing Lady Navy Wife - Nurse Sharpe Bad Boy - Mrs. Jackson The Star Maker - Gerry Society WomanOur Town - Mrs. SoamesThe Snake Pit - Inmate, First Lady of the Land Cover Up - HildaMr. Belvedere Rings the Bell - Mrs. HammerThe Whistle at Eaton Falls - Miss PringleThe Seven Year Itch - Waitress at Vegetarian Restaurant The Man with the Golden Arm - ViThe Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker - Miss Haskins The Gazebo - MatildaThe Cardinal - Woman PicketKiss Me, Stupid - Mrs. PettiboneThe Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming - Muriel EverettHurry Sundown - Ada HemmingsSkidoo - The MayorChange of Habit - RoseMaking It - LibrarianThe Front Page - Jennie
Television
Valiant Lady - Ivy Harper Kraft Television Theater The United States Steel Hour - FeliceSteve Canyon - Mrs. TurtinAlfred Hitchcock Presents - Mrs. HermanThe Phil Silvers Show - Assistant USO Hostess / Mrs. WhitcombPlayhouse 90 - Miss Hammer / Mrs. AdolphNew Comedy Showcase - Aunt JuliaBringing Up Buddy - Aunt Iris Flower Thriller - Melba PennaroydThe Defenders - Augusta MillsSam Benedict - Elizabeth CampbellThe Twilight Zone - SadieThat Was the Week That Was The Jackie Gleason Show - Emma Beauregard
Death
Merande was scheduled to play the mother-in-law of Jackie Gleason's character Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners 25th anniversary television special. On November 1, 1975, she died of a stroke at the age of 83 at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. Templeton Fox took over the role.