Doro Merande

Orphaned as a child, Kansan Doro Merande grew up in boarding schools. She was in her early twenties when she impulsively decided to become a New York actress. Her skinny frame and wavering voice making her ideal for rural character roles, Doro went on to appear in 25 Broadway plays, most famously as the old lady who "loved weddings" in the original 1938 production of Our Town. This was the part that brought her to Hollywood in 1940. Though she preferred to remain in New York, Doro was seen in dozens of Hollywood-based TV and movie character roles, including the loudmouthed housekeeper in The Gazebo (1959) and the strident "victim" of Soviet "invaders" in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966). In 1960, Doro was one of the stars of the TV sitcom Bringing up Buddy; reportedly, all chances for this series' success were sabotaged by the fact that Ms. Merande and her co-star, silent film veteran Enid Markey, openly despised one another. In her last professional years, Doro Merande was a frequent guest star of The Jackie Gleason Show.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide