Dorothy Granger was one of Thelma Todd's friends and costars at the Roach studio.
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| Dorothy Granger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Dorothy Karolyn Granger November 21, 1912 New London, Ohio U.S. |
| Died | January 4, 1995 (aged 82) Los Angeles, California U.S. |
| Years active | 1929-1961 |
| Spouse | John Hilder (? - ?) |
Dorothy Granger (November 21, 1912—January 4, 1995) was an American actress best known for her roles in short subject comedies in Hollywood.
Career
There is some confusion as to the year of Granger's birth. The Social Security Death Index lists it as 1911 as does her death certificate; most biographies say 1912, although at least one site lists the year as 1914. Nineteen twelve is the most likely. Granger, with her parents, two brothers, Richard and James, and their grandmother, Clara (Wilcox) Granger, moved to Los Angeles during the late 1920s.
Granger got her start in the entertainment industry when she won a beauty contest at the age of 13 at Silver Beach Summer Resort near Houston. Her budding figure and confident stage presence were perfect for studios that made comedy shorts. In 1930 her father took her to producer Hal Roach, who was then testing talent for his upcoming comedy series, The Boy Friends. Granger’s natural comedy timing got her the job immediately and she was placed under contract to Hal Roach Studios. She became a charter member of the two-reel-comedy community, appearing opposite many major comedians at Roach, Mack Sennett, Educational Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and RKO Radio Pictures. Among her famous credits are Hog Wild with Laurel & Hardy, The Dentist with W.C. Fields, Punch Drunks and Termites of 1938 with The Three Stooges. Granger also appeared with Andy Clyde, Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy, Harry Langdon, Gus Schilling & Richard Lane, and Joe DeRita, as well as on live television with Abbott & Costello. Granger is best remembered as the sarcastic, suspicious wife in Leon Errol’s series of two-reelers for RKO.
Granger also appeared in occasional feature films, including North to the Klondike, Sunset in El Dorado, and Dick Tracy vs. Cueball.
Later years
Granger worked on a variety of television shows through the 1950s, including The Abbott and Costello Show, I Married Joan, Father Knows Best, Topper, Lassie, Death Valley Days and Wells Fargo. Her last television performance was a live show on Face The Facts in 1961. Granger left show business in 1963, calling it an “ulcer factory.”
Granger made her last public appearance in 1993 for the Screen Actors Guild’s 60th anniversary celebration. She was an honored guest at the celebration because she was one of SAG’s first members. In later years she helped her husband run an upholstery shop in Los Angeles.
Death
Granger died of cancer on January 4, 1995 in Los Angeles, California.
Partial filmography
- Hog Wild (1930)
- Honeymoon Trio (1931)
- One Good Turn (1931)
- One Quiet Night (1931)
- Temptation's Workshop (1932)
- Keep Laughing (1932)
- The Dentist (1932)
- Punch Drunks (1934)
- Chip Off the Old Block (1944)
- Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More (1944)
- Two Years Before the Mast (1946)
- Dangers of the Canadian Mounted (1948)
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dorothy Granger |
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When Dorothy Granger was interviewed by Leonard Maltin, she had this to say about Thelma Todd: "She had a terriffic sense of humor, she always laughing, always breaking up. The only time I did get the giggles, I was doing a picture with Charley Chase called LOOSER THAN LOOSE with Dell Henderson, Thelma, and myself. Something tickled Thelma and me; we started laughing and we couldn't stop. She and Zasu used to look at each other and start to laugh. They'd have to do fifteen, twenty takes."
Thelma Todd and Dorothy Granger
Dorothy Granger and Charley Chase
Christmas
Dorothy Granger as jungle girl "Tarkana" in THROUGH THIN AND THICKET, OR WHO'S ZOO IN AFRICA
Dorothy Granger gives the Tarkana call!
How to get through thin and thicket, or perhaps other places.
Bye-bye!
Filmography
Actress (256 titles)
1957The Jack Benny Program (TV series)
Reunion Guest
Reunion Guest
– Mary Has May Co. Reunion(1957)… Reunion Guest
1953The Abbott and Costello Show (TV series)
Arguing Wife / Bit / Miss Smith--Nurse / …
Arguing Wife / Bit / Miss Smith--Nurse / …
– Little Old Lady(1953)… Woman
– Bingo(1953)… Bit
– The Wrestling Match(1953)… Arguing Wife
– Life Insurance(1953)… Miss Smith--Nurse
Soundtrack (3 titles)
Self (2 titles)
1974Omnibus (TV series documentary)
Herself
Herself
– Cuckoo: A Celebration of Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy(1974)… Herself
Archive Footage (7 titles)
Alternate Names:
Dorothy GraingerHeight:
5' 4" (1.63 m)Did You Know?
Trivia:
She won a beauty contest in Texas at age 13.She played the wife of Leon Errol in a long-running two-reeler series for RKO.
Her last public appearance was in 1993 when the Screen Actors Guild honored its character members who had been issued SAG cards when SAG was founded sixty years earlier.
Once considered for the role of Belle Watling in "Gone With the Wind" by then-director George Cukor, but Cukor was replaced and the part went to actress Ona Munson
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