Dora Bryan
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Series
Casualty
Hester Blewett
1986
Series
Doctors
Lily Anderson
2000
Series
Heartbeat
Jane Thompson
1992
Series
Last of the Summer Wine
Roz
1973
Series
World in Action
1963
Series
Absolutely Fabulous
Dolly
1992
Series
The Sooty Show
Herself
1955
Series
An Audience with...
Self
1978
Series
Performance
Bosom Lady
1991
Series
dinnerladies
Connie
1998
Series
Theatre Night
Julie Skidmore
1957
Series
Frank Stubbs Promotes
Molly Bramley
1993
Before the Fringe
1967
Series
Virtual Murder
Mrs Mim
1992
Series
Hippies
Dame Nelly Fletcher
1999
Both Ends Meet
Dora Page
1972
Film
MirrorMask
Aunt Nan
2005
Film
No Highway in the Sky
1951
Educating Archie
1958
Film
Scarlet Thread
Maggie
1951
Film
The Cockleshell Heroes
Myrtie
1955
Film
Carry On Sergeant
Norah
1958
Film
Odd Man Out
Girl in Telephone Kiosk (uncredited)
1947
Film
A Taste of Honey
Helen
1961
Happily Ever After
Dora Morgan
1961
Film
The Fallen Idol
Rose
1948
Film
Hands of the Ripper
Mrs. Golding
1971
Film
The Green Man
Lily
1956
Film
The Blue Lamp
Maisie
1950
Film
Gift Horse
Glad Flanagan
1952
Film
Lady Godiva Rides Again
Movie Publicist
1951
Mother's Ruin
1994
Film
Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard
Miss La Fosse
1952
Film
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
Amber Spottiswood
1966
Film
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire
Tilly
1952
Film
High Treason
Mrs. Bowers
1951
Film
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
Millie
1996
Film
The Sandwich Man
Mrs. De Vere
1966
Film
As Long As They're Happy
May
1955
Film
Something in the City
Waitress
1950
Film
Miss Robin Hood
Pearl
1952
Film
Apartment Zero
Margaret McKinney
1989
Film
Once Upon a Dream
Barmaid
1949
Film
Time, Gentlemen, Please!
Peggy Stebbins
1952
Film
Adam and Evelyne
Blonde Sales Assistant (uncredited)
1949
Film
Circle of Danger
Bubbles Fitzgerald
1951
Film
Up the Front
Auntie Cora Crumpington
1972
Film
Bed
Bosom Lady
1995
Film
Desert Mice
Gay Bennett
1959
Film
Street Corner
Prostitute
1953
Film
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
Telephonist
1958
Film
The Night We Got the Bird
Julie Skidmore
1960
Film
The Ringer
Mrs. Hackett
1952
Film
No Room at the Inn
The Girl
1948
The Dream Machine
Self
1964
Film
Child in the House
Cassie
1956
Film
The Young Lovers
Switchboard Operator (uncredited)
1954
Film
The Perfect Woman
Model in Shop
1949
Film
The Interrupted Journey
the waitress
1949
Film
The Intruder
Dora Bee
1953
Film
You Know What Sailors Are
1954
Film
Mad About Men
Berengaria
1954
Film
Two a Penny
Ruby Hopkins
1967
Film
Screamtime
Emma
1983
Hello London
herself
1960
Film
Alice Through the Looking Box
Queen
1960
Film
The Cure for Love
Jenny Jenkins
1949
Film
Now Barabbas
Winnie
1949
Film
Operation Bullshine
Pvt. Cox
1959
Film
Women of Twilight
Olga
1953
Film
Small Hotel
(uncredited)
1957
Film
No Trace
Maisie
1950
Film
The Fake
Barmaid
1953
Film
The Crowded Day
Marge
1954
Film
Fast and Loose
Mary Rawlings, the maid
1954
Film
Traveller's Joy
Eva
1950
Film
Palmer
Monica
1991
Film
Don't Ever Leave Me
Talkative Hairdresser (uncredited)
1949
Film
Thora Hird Tribute
Self (archive footage, uncredited)
2003
Film
The Quiet Woman
Elsie Tripp
1951
Film
You Lucky People!
Hortense Tipp
1955
According To Dora
Film
Harmony Lane
Comedian
1954
Film
13 East Street
Valerie
1952
Follow That Horse!
1960
The Real Thing
Dora
1953