Biography
Doro Merande, born Dora Matthews, was an American actress who worked in theatre, film and television. She made her Broadway debut under her birth name in the 1920s and adopted the stage name Doro Merande for her first credited appearance in Loose Moments (1935). She appeared in more than twenty-five Broadway productions over the course of her career.
Her breakthrough came with the role of Mrs. Soames in the original 1938 Broadway production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, which she reprised in the 1940 film adaptation. She returned to the role for the 1944 revival. Later stage credits included The Front Page (1969 Broadway revival), in which she played Jennie; she repeated the part in the 1974 film version. Merande also appeared in films such as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), The Seven Year Itch (1955), The Cardinal (1963) and The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), as well as numerous television episodes including recurring appearances on Jackie Gleason programmes.
She was born on 31 March 1892 in Columbus, Kansas, and died on 1 November 1975 in Miami, Florida.
