Dora Bryan
Dora May Bryan OBE was an English actress of stage, film and television. Born Dora May Broadbent, her career began in pantomime as a child actor. In World War II she joined the ENSA in Italy to entertain British troops. After having established herself as a versatile stage actress, covering everything from drama and comedy to musicals, she started to appear in film in the late 1940s, and in 1968 she even had her own TV series, "According to Dora". At one point in her career she was Britain's highest-paid star. She was active on stage until the mid 1990s and continued to work in film and television until 2005, when she finally had to give up the acting profession as she could no longer remember her lines. Her autobiography According To Dora was published in 1987. In 1996, she was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to acting and the same year she was also awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for her role in the West End production of the Harold Pinter play "The Birthday Party". She was married to British cricket player Bill Lawton from 1954 to his death in 2008. She lived in a nursing home in Hove, outside Brighton, until her death in 2014.
Known For
Credits
- 2005 · MirrorMask as Aunt Nan
- 2000 · Doctors as Lily Anderson
- 1998 · Dinnerladies as Connie
- 1996 · Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout as Millie
- 1995 · Bed as Bosom Lady
- 1994 · Mother's Ruin as
- 1993 · Frank Stubbs Promotes as Molly Bramley
- 1992 · Absolutely Fabulous as Dolly
- 1992 · Virtual Murder as
- 1992 · Heartbeat as Jane Thompson
- 1991 · Performance as Bosom Lady
- 1991 · Palmer as Monica
- 1990 · On the Up as
- 1989 · Apartment Zero as Margaret McKinney
- 1986 · Casualty as Hester Blewett
- 1983 · Screamtime as Emma
- 1978 · An Audience with... as Self
- 1973 · Last of the Summer Wine as Roz
- 1973 · Last of the Summer Wine as Ros
- 1972 · Both Ends Meet as Dora Page
- 1972 · Up the Front as Cora Crumpington
- 1971 · Hands of the Ripper as Mrs. Golding
- 1967 · Two A Penny as Ruby Hopkins
- 1967 · Before The Fringe as
- 1966 · The Sandwich Man as Mrs. De Vere
- 1966 · The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery as Amber Spottiswood
- 1961 · A Taste of Honey as Helen
- 1960 · Alice Through the Looking Box as
- 1960 · Hello London as herself
- 1960 · The Night We Got the Bird as Julie Skidmore
- 1960 · Follow That Horse! as
- 1959 · Operation Bullshine as Pvt. Cox
- 1959 · Desert Mice as Gay Bennett
- 1958 · Carry On Sergeant as Norah
- 1958 · The Man Who Wouldn't Talk as Telephonist
- 1957 · Small Hotel as (uncredited)
- 1956 · The Green Man as Lily
- 1956 · Child in the House as Cassie
- 1955 · The Cockleshell Heroes as Myrtie
- 1955 · As Long as They're Happy as May
- 1955 · The Sooty Show as Herself
- 1955 · You Lucky People! as Hortense Tipp
- 1954 · Harmony Lane as Comedian
- 1954 · Mad About Men as Berengaria
- 1954 · The Crowded Day as Marge
- 1954 · The Young Lovers as Switchboard Operator (uncredited)
- 1954 · Fast and Loose as Mary Rawlings, the maid
- 1954 · You Know What Sailors Are as
- 1953 · The Intruder as Dora Bee
- 1953 · The Fake as Barmaid
- 1953 · Street Corner as Prostitute
- 1953 · Women of Twilight as Olga
- 1953 · The Real Thing as Dora
- 1952 · The Ringer as Mrs. Hackett
- 1952 · Miss Robin Hood as Pearl
- 1952 · Mother Riley Meets the Vampire as Tilly
- 1952 · Time, Gentlemen, Please! as Peggy Stebbins
- 1952 · Gift Horse as Glad Flanagan
- 1952 · 13 East Street as Valerie
- 1952 · Whispering Smith Vs. Scotland Yard as Miss La Fosse
- 1951 · High Treason as Mrs. Bowers
- 1951 · Lady Godiva Rides Again as Movie Publicist
- 1951 · No Highway in the Sky as
- 1951 · Scarlet Thread as Maggie
- 1951 · Circle of Danger as Bubbles Fitzgerald
- 1951 · The Quiet Woman as Elsie Tripp
- 1950 · Traveller's Joy as Eva
- 1950 · No Trace as Maisie
- 1950 · Something in the City as Waitress
- 1950 · The Blue Lamp as Maisie
- 1949 · The Cure for Love as Jenny Jenkins
- 1949 · The Interrupted Journey as the waitress
- 1949 · Don't Ever Leave Me as Talkative Hairdresser (uncredited)
- 1949 · Adam and Evelyne as Blonde Sales Assistant (uncredited)
- 1949 · Now Barabbas as Winnie
- 1949 · The Perfect Woman as Model in Shop
- 1949 · Once Upon a Dream as Barmaid
- 1948 · No Room at the Inn as The Girl
- 1948 · The Fallen Idol as Rose
- 1947 · Odd Man Out as Girl in Telephone Kiosk (uncredited)
- Future · According To Dora as