Dorothy Granger

Dorothy Karolyn Granger (November 21, 1911[1] – January 4, 1995) was an American actress best known for her roles in short subject comedies in Hollywood.

Dorothy Granger
Granger, 1934
Born(1911-11-21)November 21, 1911
New London, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJanuary 4, 1995(1995-01-04) (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active1929–1961
Spouse(s)
John Hilder
​
(m. 1947)​
ChildrenAnthony J. Hilder (step-son)

Career

Granger, with her parents, two brothers, Richard and James, and their grandmother, Clara (Wilcox) Granger, moved to Los Angeles during the late 1920s.

Granger got her start in the entertainment industry when she won a beauty contest at the age of 13 at Silver Beach Summer Resort near Houston. Her budding figure and confident stage presence were perfect for studios that made comedy shorts. In 1930 her father took her to producer Hal Roach, who was then testing talent for his upcoming comedy series, The Boy Friends. Granger’s natural comedy timing got her the job immediately and she was placed under contract to Hal Roach Studios. She became a charter member of the two-reel-comedy community, appearing opposite many major comedians at Roach, Mack Sennett, Educational Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and RKO Radio Pictures. Among her famous credits are Hog Wild with Laurel & Hardy, The Dentist with W.C. Fields, Punch Drunks and Termites of 1938 with The Three Stooges. Granger also appeared with Andy Clyde, Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy, Harry Langdon, Gus Schilling & Richard Lane, and Joe DeRita, as well as on live television with Abbott & Costello. Granger is best remembered as the sarcastic, suspicious wife in Leon Errol’s series of two-reelers for RKO.

For her body of work in two-reelers, Granger was known as the "Queen of the Short Subject Films".[2] However, she also appeared in about 100 feature films,[2] including Frisco Jenny, Sunset in El Dorado, Kentucky Kernels, Dick Tracy vs. Cueball, Diamond Jim, and Show Boat.

Later years

Granger worked on a variety of television shows through the 1950s, including The Abbott and Costello Show, I Married Joan, Father Knows Best, Topper, Lassie, Death Valley Days and Wells Fargo. Her last television performance was a live show on Face The Facts in 1961. Granger left show business in 1963, calling it an “ulcer factory.”

Granger made her last public appearance in 1993 for the Screen Actors Guild’s 60th anniversary celebration. She was an honored guest at the celebration because she was one of SAG’s first members. In later years she helped her husband run an upholstery shop in Los Angeles.

She was the stepmother of film maker and former record producer Anthony J. Hilder.

Death

Granger died of cancer on January 4, 1995 in Los Angeles, California.

Selected filmography

References
  1. There is some confusion as to the year of Granger's birth. Legal documents including the Social Security Death Index lists it as 1911 as does her death certificate and the Ohio Birth Index, which gives the certificate number as 1911085869. Most biographies say 1912, although at least one source lists the year as 1914.
  2. Staff (January 20, 1995). "Dorothy Granger; Actress in Many Movies, Short Comedy Films". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 30. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading
  • Maltin, Leonard (2015) [First published 1969]. "Dorothy Granger". The Real Stars : Profiles and Interviews of Hollywood's Unsung Featured Players (softcover) (Sixth / eBook ed.). Great Britain: CreateSpace Independent. pp. 122–144. ISBN 978-1-5116-4485-3.
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