Margaret Dumont (born Daisy Juliette Baker; October 20, 1882 – March 6, 1965) was an American actress whose performances on stage and screen made her a familiar face in classic comedies. She is most widely remembered for the ostentatious society matrons she portrayed opposite the Marx Brothers, a partnership that shaped her public image for decades.

Overview

Dumont’s career began on the stage and expanded into films during Hollywood’s early sound era. She specialized in playing well-bred, wealthy women—often pompous, easily flustered, and delightfully oblivious to the insults hurled at them by comic antagonists. Critics and audiences frequently praised her timing and unflappable delivery, qualities that made her an ideal straight woman for broad, fast-paced comedic routines.

Career highlights

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Dumont moved from musical comedy and Broadway revues into motion pictures as studios sought actors who could handle dialogue and sophisticated comic rhythms. She appeared in seven feature films with the Marx Brothers and in other comedies of the era, often cast as the dignified dowager whose patience the comics test.

  • Frequent collaborator with major comedy teams of the 1920s–1940s
  • Noted film roles in ensemble and supporting parts
  • Worked across stage, film and occasional television

Representative screen titles and later appearances include roles in well-known Marx Brothers pictures as well as supporting parts in postwar films. In the 1960s she returned for character roles in movies such as "What a Way to Go!" and had a part in "Stop, You're Killing Me," demonstrating her continued presence in Hollywood into later life.

Later life and legacy

Dumont continued to work steadily until health issues curtailed her appearances. She died of a heart attack on March 6, 1965, in Hollywood, California. By the time of her death she had become closely associated with a particular screen persona: the unyielding straight woman whose decorum and dignity enhanced the comedians around her.

Her reputation endures not only in the films themselves but in the way later generations describe the role of the straight actor in comedy. Often affectionately referred to as the "fifth Marx Brother," Dumont’s work is studied as an example of how restraint and commitment can amplify absurdity, and her contributions remain a touchstone for performers and historians exploring comic partnership and the dynamics of early 20th-century American entertainment.