Barbara Pepper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barbara Pepper (born Marion B. Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969) was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first "Doris Ziffel" on the sitcom Green Acres. Pepper was born in New York City, the daughter of actor David Mitchell "Dave" Pepper, and his wife, Harrietta S. Pepper. At age 16 she started life in show business with Goldwyn Girls, a musical stock company where she met lifelong friend Lucille Ball.
Pepper began making movies. Among her later film parts were small roles in My Fair Lady and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. She also performed radio parts. In 1943, she married actor Craig Reynolds (né Harold Hugh Enfield), and the couple later had two sons. After Reynolds died in 1949 in a California motorcycle accident, Pepper was left to raise their children alone. She never remarried.
After gaining weight, her roles were mostly confined to small character parts on television, including several appearances on I Love Lucy, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Petticoat Junction, and The Jack Benny Program. She made four appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Martha Dale, mother of the title character, in the 1957 episode "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen".
A long-time friend of Lucille Ball, Barbara was considered for the role of Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy," but was passed over due to the fact that she was reportedly a drinker. William Frawley ("Fred Mertz") was, likewise, reportedly, a drinker and was already cast. It was felt that having two drinkers in the cast might eventually cause difficulties so they auditioned and found Vivian Vance to play Ethel instead.
She may be best remembered as the first Doris Ziffel on Petticoat Junction in 1964, although her character's name on the "Genghis Keane" episode of Petticoat Junction was Ruth Ziffel. Her role as Doris Ziffel continued on Green Acres from 1965 to 1968, until heart ailments finally forced her to leave that weekly series. Veteran actress Fran Ryan replaced her on Green Acres, which would continue to run for another three years. Her final performance was in the 1969 film Hook, Line & Sinker, in which she played Jerry Lewis's secretary.
Acted in
Mayberry R.F.D.
1968
as Emma
Laredo
1965
Green Acres
1965
as Doris Ziffel
Kiss Me, Stupid
1964
as Big Bertha
Daniel Boone
1964
as Mrs. Shanks
Who's Minding the Store?
1963
as Customer at Bargain Sale (uncredited)
Petticoat Junction
1963
as Ruth Ziffel
Petticoat Junction
1963
as Doris Ziffel
Burke's Law
1963
as Cleaning Woman
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
The Fugitive
1963
as Matty
A Child Is Waiting
1963
as Miss Brown (uncredited)
It's Only Money
1962
as Fisherwoman
The Music Man
1962
as Mrs. Hawkes
Mister Ed
1961
My Three Sons
1960
Sex Kittens Go to College
1960
as Circe
The Bramble Bush
1960
as Polly Welk
Auntie Mame
1958
as Mrs. Krantz (uncredited)
The Texan
1958
The Walter Winchell File
1957
Perry Mason
1957
as Martha Dale
Perry Mason
1957
as Mrs. Diamond
Perry Mason
1957
as Mrs. Dwyer - Fat Woman
Perry Mason
1957
as Mrs. Williamson
M Squad
1957
as Landlady
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
as Mrs. Brody
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
as Clara Chase
The D.I.
1957
as Woman Customer
Tales of Wells Fargo
1957
as Boxcar Annie
Dark Meeting
1956
as Clara
The Millionaire
1955
as Fat Woman
Father Knows Best
1954
as Shopper
A Star Is Born
1954
as Esther's Neighbor (uncredited)
The Eddie Cantor Story
1953
as Beer Garden Patron
Inferno
1953
as Waitress (uncredited)
So This Is Love
1953
as Fat Girl with Sailor in Nightclub (uncredited)
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Clara
Ghost Buster
1952
as Mrs. Nolan
I Love Lucy
1951
as Nurse
I Love Lucy
1951
as Woman On Bus
I Love Lucy
1951
as Neighbor
I Love Lucy
1951
as Woman Shopper
I Love Lucy
1951
as Showgirl #2
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Miss Buell
The Fuller Brush Girl
1950
as Wife Watching TV (uncredited)
My Blue Heaven
1950
as Susan (uncredited)
No Way Out
1950
as Woman (uncredited)
Unmasked
1950
as Mrs. Schmidt
The Inspector General
1949
as Buxom Villager (uncredited)
The Crooked Way
1949
Studio One
1948
as Ellie
The Snake Pit
1948
as Asylum Patient (uncredited)
Terror Trail
1946
as Karen Kemp, the Louisville Lady
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
1945
as Annie
Murder, He Says
1945
as Bonnie Fleagle
The Naughty Nineties
1945
as Gilded Cage Hostess (uncredited)
Trouble Chasers
1945
as Goldie
Once Upon a Time
1944
as Cabbie (uncredited)
Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid
1944
as Miss LaRue ("Wild Rose")
Let's Face It
1943
as Daisy (uncredited)
So This Is Washington
1943
as Betty - Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Girls in Chains
1943
as Barbara Pepper
Blonde and Groom
1943
as Rex's Fiancée
Aerial Gunner
1943
as Blonde at Shooting Gallery (uncredited)
A Maid Made Mad
1943
as Blonde
Sappy Pappy
1942
as Female Customer
Carry Harry
1942
as Edith, Harry's Girl Friend
My Favorite Spy
1942
as Speedy
One Thrilling Night
1942
as Lettie
Birth of the Blues
1941
as Maizie
South of Tahiti
1941
as Julie
Manpower
1941
as Polly
Three Sons o' Guns
1941
as Francie LaRue
Out of the Fog
1941
The Lady Eve
1941
as Lady Wrestler Type on Ship (uncredited)
Foreign Correspondent
1940
as Dorine
The Return of Frank James
1940
as Nellie Blane
Sailor's Lady
1940
as Maude
Forgotten Girls
1940
as Eve Abbott
Framed
1940
as Goldie Green
Castle on the Hudson
1940
as Goldie
Of Mice and Men
1939
as Second Girl (uncredited)
The Amazing Mr. Williams
1939
as Muriel - Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Three Sons
1939
as Viola
The Women
1939
as Tough Girl (uncredited)
Flight at Midnight
1939
as Mildred
Colorado Sunset
1939
as Ginger Bixby
Bachelor Mother
1939
as Dance-Hall Hostess (uncredited)
They Made Me a Criminal
1939
as Budgie Massey
Off the Record
1939
as Flossie - Telephone Operator (uncredited)
The Girl Downstairs
1938
as Woman at bar (uncredited)
The Strange Case of Dr. Meade
1938
as Mattie
Army Girl
1938
as Riki
The Chaser
1938
as Mabel, Drunken Girl
The Lady in the Morgue
1938
as Kay Renshaw
Wide Open Faces
1938
as Belle
Hollywood Stadium Mystery
1938
as Althea Ames
Portia on Trial
1937
as Evelyn
The Westland Case
1937
as Agatha Hogan
Many Unhappy Returns
1937
as Sophie - Cigar Store Counter Girl
Music for Madame
1937
as Blonde on Bus (Uncredited)
Forty Naughty Girls
1937
as Alice
The Big Shot
1937
as Mamie
You Can't Buy Luck
1937
as Store Clerk
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
1937
as Blonde Saloon Lady (uncredited)
Too Many Wives
1937
as Angela Brown
What Becomes of the Children?
1936
as Elsie Ford
Wanted: Jane Turner
1936
as Marge Sanders
Winterset
1936
as Girl
The Big Game
1936
as Lois
Mummy's Boys
1936
as Mary Browning
M'Liss
1936
as Clytie Morpher
The Rogues' Tavern
1936
as Marjorie Burns
Show Boat
1936
Taming the Wild
1936
as Hazel White
The Singing Vagabond
1935
as Honey
Frisco Waterfront
1935
as The Blonde Stranger
The Sagebrush Troubadour
1935
as Joan Martin
Forced Landing
1935
as Nancy 'Dusty' Rhodes
Waterfront Lady
1935
as Gloria Vance
Let 'em Have It
1935
as Milly Adams
Our Daily Bread
1934
as Sally
Strictly Dynamite
1934
as Party Girl (uncredited)
Roman Scandals
1933
as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)