About
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...
Known for
The Twilight ZoneSeries • 1959
ThrillerSeries • 1960
Alfred Hitchcock PresentsSeries • 1955
Tales of TomorrowSeries • 1951
Sam BenedictSeries • 1962
The New BreedSeries • 1961
The Seven Year ItchMovie • 1955
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!Movie • 1966
The Man with the Golden ArmMovie • 1955
The Front PageMovie • 1974
The CardinalMovie • 1963
The GazeboMovie • 1959
Hurry SundownMovie • 1967
Kiss Me, StupidMovie • 1964
Cover UpMovie • 1949
The Snake PitMovie • 1948
Change of HabitMovie • 1969
SkidooMovie • 1968
Our TownMovie • 1940
State FairMovie • 1933