Doro Merande | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Dora Matthews March 31, 1892 Columbus, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | November 1, 1975 (aged 83) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1921–1974 |
Doro Merande (born Dora Matthews, March 31, 1892 – November 1, 1975) was an American actress who appeared in film, theater, and television.
Born in Columbus, 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 headed to New York City to become an 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.[citation needed]
She appeared on Broadway using her birth name in That Ferguson Family (1928) and Montmartreas (1922).[1] 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.[1] 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 (in Mr. Belvedere Rings The Bell), Walter Huston (in Apple of His Eye), and Franchot Tone (in Hope for Your Best).
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 (1955) and Kiss Me, Stupid (1964).
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.
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.[3][4]
