Barbara Pepper
Barbara Pepper | |
---|---|
| |
Born |
Marion Pepper May 31, 1915 New York City |
Died |
July 18, 1969 54) Panorama City, California | (aged
Other names | Barbara P. Enfield (married name) |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1931–1969 |
Spouse(s) |
Craig Reynolds (1943–1949; his death; 2 sons) |
Barbara Pepper (born Marion B. Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969)[1] was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first "Doris Ziffel" on the sitcom Green Acres.
Early life and career
Pepper was born in New York City, the daughter of actor David Mitchell "Dave" Pepper, and his wife, Harrietta S. Pepper.[2] At age 16 she started life in show business with Goldwyn Girls, a musical stock company where she met lifelong friend Lucille Ball.
Pepper began making movies. Among her later film parts were small roles in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and My Fair Lady (1964). She also performed radio parts. In 1943, she married actor Craig Reynolds (né Harold Hugh Enfield), and the couple later had two sons. After Reynolds died in 1949 in a California motorcycle accident, Pepper was left to raise their children alone.[3] She never remarried.
After gaining weight, her roles were mostly confined to small character parts on television, including several appearances on I Love Lucy, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Petticoat Junction, and The Jack Benny Program. She made four appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Martha Dale, mother of the title character, in the 1957 episode "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen".
A long-time friend of Lucille Ball, Barbara was considered for the role of Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy, but was passed over due to the fact that she was reportedly a drinker. William Frawley ("Fred Mertz") was, likewise, reportedly, a drinker and was already cast. It was felt that having two drinkers in the cast might eventually cause difficulties so they auditioned and found Vivian Vance to play Ethel instead.
She may be best remembered as the first Doris Ziffel on Petticoat Junction in 1964, although her character's name on the "Genghis Keane" episode of Petticoat Junction was Ruth Ziffel. Her role as Doris Ziffel continued on Green Acres from 1965 to 1968, until heart ailments finally forced her to leave that weekly series. Veteran actress Fran Ryan replaced her on Green Acres, which would continue to run for another three years. Her final performance was in Hook, Line & Sinker (1969), in which she played Jerry Lewis's secretary.
Death
Barbara Pepper died of a coronary thrombosis at age 54 on July 18, 1969, in Panorama City, California. She was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.[4]
Partial filmography
- Roman Scandals (1933) (uncredited)
- Our Daily Bread (1934)
- Kid Millions (1934) (uncredited)
- Let 'Em Have It (1935)
- Anna Karenina (1935) (uncredited)
- Waterfront Lady (1935)
- The Sagebrush Troubadour (1935)
- Forced Landing (1935)
- The Singing Vagabond (1935)
- Taming the Wild (1936)
- Show Boat (1936) (uncredited)
- The Rogues Tavern (1936)
- M'Liss (1936)
- Mummy's Boys (1936)
- Wanted! Jane Turner (1936)
- Winterset (1936)
- Too Many Wives (1937)
- The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1937)
- You Can't Beat Love (1937)
- The Big Shot (1937)
- Forty Naughty Girls (1937)
- The Westland Case (1937)
- Hollywood Stadium Mystery (1938)
- Wide Open Faces (1938)
- Army Girl (1938)
- They Made Me a Criminal (1939)
- Bachelor Mother (1939) (uncredited)
- The Women (1939)
- The Magnificent Fraud (1939)
- Colorado Sunset (1939)
- Flight at Midnight (1939)
- The Women (1939) (uncredited)
- Of Mice and Men (1939) (uncredited)
- Castle on the Hudson (1940)
- Forgotten Girls (1940)
- Women in War (1940)
- The Return of Frank James (1940)
- Foreign Correspondent (1940)
- Manpower (1941)
- Man at Large (1941)
- Three Sons o' Guns (1941)
- Birth of the Blues (1941)
- One Thrilling Night (1942)
- Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) (uncredited)
- Girls in Chains (1943)
- The Inspector General (1949) (uncredited)
- Unmasked (1950)
- Thunderbirds (1952)
- The Eddie Cantor Story (1953) (uncredited)
- Inferno (1953) (uncredited)
- A Star Is Born (1954) (uncredited)
- Young at Heart (1954) (uncredited)
- Auntie Mame (1958) (uncredited)
- The Music Man (1962) - Feril Hawkes - Snapping Beans (uncredited)
- It's Only Money (1962) - Fisherwoman
- A Child Is Waiting (1963) - Miss Brown (uncredited)
- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) - Woman on Phone at Garage (uncredited)
- Who's Minding the Store? (1963) - Customer at Bargain Sale (uncredited)
- The Patsy (1964) - Bowler (uncredited)
- My Fair Lady (1964) - Doolittle's Dance Partner (uncredited)
- Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) - Big Bertha
- Hook, Line & Sinker (1969) - Peter's Secretary (uncredited) (final film appearance)
References
- ↑ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 144. ISBN 9780786450190. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ↑ "New York, New York Birth Index: 1910-1965 [database on-line] (CERTIFICATE #29526). Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry Library Edition, Operations Inc". Search.ancestrylibrary.com. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ↑ Johnson, Erskine (April 29, 1967). "A Colorful and Tragic Real Life". The Kingston Daily Freeman. New York, Kingston. p. 25. Retrieved April 26, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Barbara Pepper on IMDb
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barbara Pepper. |