---
name: "Doro Merande"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/doro-merande"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "29 March 1892"
died: "1 November 1975"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 67
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-20T04:36:09.739330+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Doro Merande

Actor. Born 29 March 1892 in Columbus, Kansas, USA. Died 1 November 1975.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 29 March 1892, Columbus, Kansas, USA
- **Died:** 1 November 1975
- **Active:** 1940–1974
- **Also known as:** Dora Matthews
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 4: 3 acting, 1 other
- **Average Fi1m score:** 67, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 74 (2), 1960s 70 (1), 1970s 60 (1)
- **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 1 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Comedy 2, Drama 1, Romance 1, War 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $37m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doro_Merande, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5298146, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0580109/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/19097

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Our Town*](https://film.one/film/our-town.md) (72)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## 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.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, ibdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

### Performed in (3) — the average rests on these

- *The Front Page* (1974), Fi1m 60, as Jennie — [page](https://film.one/film/the-front-page.md)
- *The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!* (1966), Fi1m 70, as Muriel Everett — [page](https://film.one/film/the-russians-are-coming-the-russians-are-coming.md)
- *Our Town* (1940), Fi1m 72, as Mrs. Soames — [page](https://film.one/film/our-town.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *The Snake Pit* (1948), Fi1m 76, as Asylum Patient (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-snake-pit.md)

## Complete filmography (34)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Front Page* (1974), as Jennie — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/the-front-page.md)
- *Making It* (1971), as Librarian
- *Change of Habit* (1969), as Rose
- *Skidoo* (1968), as The Mayor
- *Hurry Sundown* (1967), as Ada Hemmings
- *The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!* (1966), as Muriel Everett — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/the-russians-are-coming-the-russians-are-coming.md)
- *Kiss Me, Stupid* (1964), as Mrs. Pettibone
- *The Cardinal* (1963), as Picket
- *Sam Benedict* (1962), series, Actor
- *The New Breed* (1961), series, as Miss Stewart
- *Bringing Up Buddy* (1960), series, as Aunt Iris Flower
- *Thriller* (1960), series, as Melba Pennaroyd
- *The Gazebo* (1959), as Matilda
- *The Twilight Zone* (1959), series, as Sadie — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md)
- *The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker* (1959), as Miss Haskins
- *If You Knew Elizabeth* (1957), as Mrs. Adolph
- *The Man with the Golden Arm* (1955), as Vi
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Mrs. Herman
- *The Seven Year Itch* (1955), as Waitress at Vegetarian Restaurant (uncredited)
- *Tales of Tomorrow* (1951), series, Actor
- *The Whistle at Eaton Falls* (1951), as Miss Pringle
- *Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell* (1951), as Mrs. Hammer
- *Cover Up* (1949), as Hilda
- *The Snake Pit* (1948), as Asylum Patient (uncredited) — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/the-snake-pit.md)
- *Our Town* (1940), as Mrs. Soames — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/our-town.md)
- *Bad Boy* (1935), as Mrs. Jackson
- *Navy Wife* (1935), as Nurse Sharpe
- *Moonlight and Pretzels* (1933), Actor
- *Zoo in Budapest* (1933), as Miss Fennock (uncredited)
- *Bondage* (1933), as Boarding House Matron (uncredited)
- *Strictly Personal* (1933), as Club Member
- *State Fair* (1933), as Mrs. Metcalfe's Acquaintance at Food Contest (Uncredited)
- *Wayward* (1932), as Maid (uncredited)
- *Personal Maid* (1931), as Mrs. Wurtz's Maid (uncredited)

## Gallery

- ![Actress Dora Matthews, later known as Doro Merande.](https://film.one/media/person/1225263/gallery-5424a4df8532.jpg) Actress Dora Matthews, later known as Doro Merande. — Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Dora_Matthews_%28Doro_Murande%29%2C_circa_1920.jpg/1280px-Dora_Matthews_%28Doro_Murande%29%2C_circa_1920.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Doro Merande](https://film.one/media/person/1225263/gallery-594322b430fa.jpg) Doro Merande — unknown (CBS TV), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Bringing_Up_Buddy_Cast.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Doro Merande in Our Town (cropped screenshot) (1940)](https://film.one/media/person/1225263/gallery-64a7f247971c.jpg) Doro Merande in Our Town (cropped screenshot) (1940) — Film screenshot (United Artists), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Doro_Merande_in_Our_Town_%281940%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Doro Merande in The Whistle at Eaton Falls - trailer (cropped screenshot) (1951)](https://film.one/media/person/1225263/gallery-f1ecd3845027.jpg) Doro Merande in The Whistle at Eaton Falls - trailer (cropped screenshot) (1951) — Film trailer screenshot (Columbia Pictures), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Doro_Merande_in_The_Whistle_at_Eaton_Falls.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Evelyn Brent (lef) & Doro Merande in Interference (cropped screenshot) (1928)](https://film.one/media/person/1225263/gallery-74c4ba83a61f.jpg) Evelyn Brent (lef) & Doro Merande in Interference (cropped screenshot) (1928) — Film screenshot (Universal Pictures), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Evelyn_Brent-Doro_Merande_in_Interference.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/doro-merande