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.
Acted in
MirrorMask
2005
as Aunt Nan
Doctors
2000
as Lily Anderson
Dinnerladies
1998
as Connie
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
1996
as Millie
Bed
1995
as Bosom Lady
Mother's Ruin
1994
Frank Stubbs Promotes
1993
as Molly Bramley
Absolutely Fabulous
1992
as Dolly
Virtual Murder
1992
Heartbeat
1992
as Jane Thompson
Performance
1991
as Bosom Lady
Palmer
1991
as Monica
On the Up
1990
Apartment Zero
1989
as Margaret McKinney
Casualty
1986
as Hester Blewett
Screamtime
1983
as Emma
Last of the Summer Wine
1973
as Roz
Last of the Summer Wine
1973
as Ros
Both Ends Meet
1972
as Dora Page
Up the Front
1972
as Cora Crumpington
Hands of the Ripper
1971
as Mrs. Golding
Two A Penny
1967
as Ruby Hopkins
Before The Fringe
1967
The Sandwich Man
1966
as Mrs. De Vere
The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery
1966
as Amber Spottiswood
A Taste of Honey
1961
as Helen
Alice Through the Looking Box
1960
Hello London
1960
as herself
The Night We Got the Bird
1960
as Julie Skidmore
Follow That Horse!
1960
Operation Bullshine
1959
as Pvt. Cox
Desert Mice
1959
as Gay Bennett
Carry On Sergeant
1958
as Norah
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
1958
as Telephonist
Small Hotel
1957
as (uncredited)
The Green Man
1956
as Lily
Child in the House
1956
as Cassie
The Cockleshell Heroes
1955
as Myrtie
As Long as They're Happy
1955
as May
The Sooty Show
1955
as Herself
You Lucky People
1955
as Hortense Tipp
Harmony Lane
1954
as Comedian
Mad About Men
1954
as Berengaria
The Crowded Day
1954
as Marge
The Young Lovers
1954
as Switchboard Operator (uncredited)
Fast and Loose
1954
as Mary Rawlings, the maid
You Know What Sailors Are
1954
The Intruder
1953
as Dora Bee
The Fake
1953
as Barmaid
Street Corner
1953
as Prostitute
Women of Twilight
1953
as Olga
The Real Thing
1953
as Dora
The Ringer
1952
as Mrs. Hackett
Miss Robin Hood
1952
as Pearl
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire
1952
as Tilly
Time, Gentlemen, Please!
1952
as Peggy Stebbins
Gift Horse
1952
as Glad Flanagan
13 East Street
1952
as Valerie
Whispering Smith Vs. Scotland Yard
1952
as Miss La Fosse
High Treason
1951
as Mrs. Bowers
Lady Godiva Rides Again
1951
as Movie Publicist
No Highway in the Sky
1951
Scarlet Thread
1951
as Maggie
Circle of Danger
1951
as Bubbles Fitzgerald
The Quiet Woman
1951
as Elsie Tripp
Traveller's Joy
1950
as Eva
No Trace
1950
as Maisie
Something in the City
1950
as Waitress
The Blue Lamp
1950
as Maisie
The Cure for Love
1949
as Jenny Jenkins
The Interrupted Journey
1949
as the waitress
Adam and Evelyne
1949
as Blonde Sales Assistant (uncredited)
Now Barabbas
1949
as Winnie
The Perfect Woman
1949
as Model in Shop
Once Upon a Dream
1949
as Barmaid
No Room at the Inn
1948
as The Girl
The Fallen Idol
1948
as Rose
Odd Man Out
1947
as Girl in Telephone Kiosk (uncredited)
