Barbara Pepper (born Marion 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''.

Early life and career

Marion 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 The Goldwyn Girls were a musical stock company of female dancers employed by Samuel Goldwyn. Famous actresses, dancers, and models whose career included a stint in the Goldwyn Girls include Lucille Ball, Virginia Bruce, Claire Dodd, Paulette Go ...

, a musical stock company where she met Lucille Ball, with whom she would remain friends, during production of Eddie Cantor's ''

Roman Scandals ''Roman Scandals'' is a 1933 American black-and-white pre-Code musical film starring Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart, Edward Arnold and David Manners. It was directed by Frank Tuttle. The film features a number of intricate production ...

'' in 1933. Barbara Pepper in The Rogue's Tavern cropped

From 1937 to 1943, Pepper was a prolific actress, appearing in 43 movies, mostly in supporting roles or in minor films, with exceptions being main characters in '' The Rogues' Tavern'' and '' Mummy's Boys'', both feature films released in 1936. Among her later film parts were small roles in ''

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer with a story and screenplay by William Rose and Tania Rose. The film, starring Spencer Tracy with an all-star cast of comedians, is a ...

'' (1963) and ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...

'' (1964). 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 ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and ...

'', and ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

''. She made four appearances on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'', including the role of Martha Dale, mother of the title character, in the 1957 episode "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen". In 1957, she guest-starred in the episode "The Diet" of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

situation comedy '' Mr. Adams and Eve'', credited as "Fat Woman." In 1958, she appeared as "Boxcar Annie" on the television

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

'' Tales of Wells Fargo'' in the episode titled "Butch Cassidy". A long-time friend of Lucille Ball, Pepper was first considered for the role of Ethel Mertz on ''I Love Lucy'', but was passed over, purportedly due to the fact that she had a drinking problem.

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy ser ...

("Fred Mertz") did, likewise, and had already been cast. It was felt that having two drinkers in the cast might eventually cause difficulties so another actress was sought. Pepper may be best remembered as the first Doris Ziffel on ''

'' in 1964, although her character's name on the "Genghis Keane" episode of ''

'' was Ruth Ziffel. Her role as Doris Ziffel continued on '' Green Acres'' from 1965 to 1968, until health ailments finally forced her to leave that weekly series. Actress Fran Ryan replaced her on ''Green Acres'', which would continue to run for another three years. Pepper's final performance was in '' Hook, Line & Sinker'' (1969), in which she played Jerry Lewis's secretary.

Death

Barbara Pepper died of a

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...

at age 54 on July 18, 1969, in Panorama City, California. She is buried at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angel ...

in Los Angeles.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1933) - Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) *''

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...

'' (1934) - Show Girl (uncredited) *'' Bottoms Up'' (1934) - Chorine (uncredited) *'' Strictly Dynamite'' (1934) - Performer (uncredited) *'' Our Daily Bread'' (1934) - Sally *'' Kid Millions'' (1934) - Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) *'' Let 'Em Have It'' (1935) - Milly *''

Dante's Inferno ''Inferno'' (; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem ''Divine Comedy''. It is followed by ''Purgatorio'' and '' Paradiso''. The ''Inferno'' describes Dante's journey through Hell, gui ...

'' (1935) - Drunk at Ship's Cafe (uncredited) *''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writt ...

'' (1935) - Party Girl (uncredited) *'' Waterfront Lady'' (1935) - Gloria Vance *'' The Sagebrush Troubadour'' (1935) - Joan Martin *'' Forced Landing'' (1935) - Nancy 'Dusty' Rhodes *'' Frisco Waterfront'' (1935) - The Blonde Stranger *'' The Fighting Coward'' (1935) - Marie's Friend (uncredited) *'' The Singing Vagabond'' (1935) - Honey *'' Taming the Wild'' (1936) - Hazel White *''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'' (1936) - New Year's Eve Cutie (uncredited) *'' The Rogues Tavern'' (1936) - Marjorie Burns *'' M'Liss'' (1936) - Clytie Morpher *'' Mummy's Boys'' (1936) - Mary Browning *'' The Big Game'' (1936 film) - Lois - the Drunk's Girl (uncredited) *'' Wanted! Jane Turner'' (1936) - Marge Sanders - Posing as Jane Turner *'' Winterset'' (1936) - Girl *'' What Becomes of the Children?'' (1936) - Elsie Ford *'' Sea Devils'' (1937) - Spanked Blonde (uncredited) *''

Too Many Wives ''Too Many Wives'' is a 1937 comedy film directed by Ben Holmes and starring Anne Shirley. It lost $35,000. Plot To gain a job as a newspaper reporter, desperate dog walker Barry Trent lies that he is married with children and needs the employme ...

'' (1937) - Angela Brown *''

The Outcasts of Poker Flat "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (1869) is a short story written by writer of the American West Bret Harte. An example of naturalism and local color of California during the first half of the nineteenth century. The story was first published in Janua ...

'' (1937) - Blonde Saloon Floozie *'' You Can't Buy Luck'' (1937) - Store Clerk *''

You Can't Beat Love ''You Can't Beat Love'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Christy Cabanne and written by Maxwell Shane and David Silverstein. The film stars Preston Foster, Joan Fontaine, Herbert Mundin, William Brisbane and Alan Bruce. The film was r ...

'' (1937) - May 'Bubbles' Smith *'' The Big Shot'' (1937) - Mamie *''

Forty Naughty Girls ''Forty Naughty Girls'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by John Grey. The film stars James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Marjorie Lord, George Shelley and Joan Woodbury. It is the sixth and final entry in RKO Pict ...

'' (1937) - Alice *''

Music for Madame ''Music for Madame'' is a 1937 American musical comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and written by Gertrude Purcell and Robert Harari. The film was released on October 8, 1937 by RKO Pictures. Plot Singer Nino Maretti comes into Hollywood a ...

'' (1937) - Blonde on Bus (uncredited) *'' The Westland Case'' (1937) - Agatha Hogan *'' Portia on Trial'' (1937) - Evelyn *'' Hollywood Stadium Mystery'' (1938) - Althea Ames *''

Wide Open Faces ''Wide Open Faces'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Kurt Neumann and starring Joe E. Brown, Jane Wyman and Alison Skipworth.Quinlan p.72 The screenplay concerns a man who tries to prevent mobsters getting their hands on loot that th ...

'' (1938) - Belle *'' The Lady in the Morgue'' (1938) - Kay Renshaw *'' The Chaser'' (1938) - Mabel the Drunken Girl (uncredited) *''

Army Girl ''Army Girl'' (also released as ''The Last of the Cavalry'') is a 1938 American comedy film directed by George Nicholls Jr. and starring Madge Evans and Preston Foster. It was a high budget film by Republic Pictures. Plot Captain Dike Conger, ...

'' (1938) - Riki Thomas * ''

The Strange Case of Dr. Meade ''The Strange Case of Dr. Meade'' is a 1938 American adventure film directed by Lewis D. Collins and starring Jack Holt, Beverly Roberts and Noah Beery Jr.Darby p.65 Cast * Jack Holt as Dr. Meade * Beverly Roberts as Bonnie * Noah Beery Jr ...

'' (1938) - Mattie *'' Sweethearts'' (1938) - Telephone Operator (uncredited) *'' The Girl Downstairs'' (1938) - Woman at the Bar (uncredited) *''

They Made Me a Criminal ''They Made Me a Criminal'' is a 1939 American crime drama film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, and The Dead End Kids. It is a remake of the film '' The Life of Jimmy Dolan'' (1933). The film was later featu ...

'' (1939) - Budgie *'' Off the Record'' (1939) - Flossie - Telephone Operator (uncredited) *'' Bachelor Mother'' (1939) - Dance-Hall Hostess (uncredited) *''

The Magnificent Fraud ''The Magnificent Fraud'' is a 1939 American crime film directed by Robert Florey and starring Akim Tamiroff, Lloyd Nolan, Mary Boland and Patricia Morison. Plot Akim Tamiroff plays an actor performing in a nameless Latin American country w ...

'' (1939) - June (uncredited) *'' Colorado Sunset'' (1939) - Ginger Bixby *'' Flight at Midnight'' (1939) - Mildred *'' The Women'' (1939) - Tough Girl (uncredited) *'' Three Sons'' (1939) - Viola * ''

Scandal Sheet Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism (usually dramatized and sometimes unverifiable or even blatantly false), which takes its name from the tabloid newspaper format: a small-sized newspaper also known as ...

'' (1939) - Rena *'' The Amazing Mr. Williams'' (1939) - Muriel - Wedding Guest (uncredited) *''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

'' (1939) - Second Girl (uncredited) *'' Castle on the Hudson'' (1940) - Goldie *'' Framed'' (1940) - Goldie Green *'' Forgotten Girls'' (1940) - Eve Abbott *''

Women in War ''Women in War'' is a 1940 American war film about the nurses of the British Voluntary Aid Detachment during the Battle of France. Directed by John H. Auer and starring Wendy Barrie, Elsie Janis and Patric Knowles, it was nominated for an Osc ...

'' (1940) - Millie, Irish Nurse *''

Sailor's Lady ''Sailor's Lady'', also known as ''Sweetheart of Turret One'', is a 1940 film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Nancy Kelly and Jon Hall. The supporting cast includes Joan Davis, Dana Andrews, and Buster Crabbe. Football player Amby Schindle ...

'' (1940) - Maude *''

The Return of Frank James ''The Return of Frank James'' is a 1940 Western film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney. It is a sequel to Henry King's 1939 film ''Jesse James''. Written by Sam Hellman, the film loosely follows the life of Fran ...

'' (1940) - Nellie Blane *'' Foreign Correspondent'' (1940) - Dorine *'' Ride, Kelly, Ride'' (1941) - Trudy (uncredited) *'' The Cowboy and the Blonde'' (1941) - Chorine in Dressing Room (uncredited) *'' Out of the Fog'' (1941) - Cuban Room Cigarette Girl (uncredited) *'' Three Sons o' Guns'' (1941) - Francie *'' Manpower'' (1941) - Polly *'' We Go Fast'' (1941) - Southern Belle with Traffic Fine (uncredited) *'' Man at Large'' (1941) - Myrtle, Hotel Guest *''

South of Tahiti ''South of Tahiti'' is a 1941 American south seas adventure film directed by George Waggner and starring Brian Donlevy. It helped launch Maria Montez as a pin-up star. She played a leading role; response was such that Universal then cast her in ...

'' (1941) - Julie (uncredited) *'' Birth of the Blues'' (1941) - Maizie *'' My Favorite Spy'' (1942) - Speedy (uncredited) *'' One Thrilling Night'' (1942) - Lettie *'' Star Spangled Rhythm'' (1942) - Blonde Who Bruises Too Easy (uncredited) *''

Girls in Chains ''Girls in Chains'' is a 1943 American women in prison film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and starring Arline Judge. Plot Johnny Moon is a mob boss who controls everything from politicians to a profitable women's penitentiary he runs. He has ru ...

'' (1943) - Ruth *'' Let's Face It'' (1943) - Daisy (uncredited) *'' So This Is Washington'' (1943) - Betty - Taxi Driver (uncredited) *''

Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a maga ...

'' (1944) - Chorus Girl (uncredited) *''

Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid ''Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Hugh Bennett and written by Muriel Roy Bolton and Val Burton. The film stars Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Diana Lynn and Vaughan Glaser. The film ...

'' (1944) - Wild Rose (uncredited) *'' Once Upon a Time'' (1944) - Taxi Girl (uncredited) *''

Since You Went Away ''Since You Went Away'' is a 1944 American epic drama film directed by John Cromwell for Selznick International Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It is an epic about the American home front during World War II that was adapted and p ...

'' (1944) - Bowling Alley Pin Girl (uncredited) *'' I Love a Soldier'' (1944) - Blonde (uncredited) *'' An American Romance'' (1944) - Streetwalker (uncredited) *'' Can't Help Singing'' (1944) - Saloon Girl (uncredited) *'' Brewster's Millions'' (1945) - Cab Driver (uncredited) *''

Trouble Chasers ''Trouble Chasers'' is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Lew Landers and starring Billy Gilbert and Shemp Howard."Abbott and Costello Comedy Comes to the Keith Memorial: 'Bedside Manner' 'Teen-Age Girls'" ''The Christian Science Monitor'' 12 ...

'' (1945) - Goldie *'' The Naughty Nineties'' (1945) - Gilded Cage Hostess (uncredited) *''

Murder, He Says ''Murder, He Says'' is a 1945 American black comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Fred MacMurray about a murderous rural family and the hapless pollster who becomes entangled in their hunt for a cache of money. It was filmed in ...

'' (1945) - Bonnie Fleagle *''

The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry ''The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry'' is a 1945 American film noir drama film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring George Sanders as an aging bachelor who looks after his two sisters, one of whom tries to sabotage his romance with his co-worker ...

'' (1945) - Annie (uncredited) *''Prison Ship'' (1945) - Winnie De Voe (uncredited) *'' The Hoodlum Saint'' (1946) - Dance Contestant #1 (uncredited) * '' Terror Trail'' (1946) - Karen Kemp, the Louisville Lady *'' The Millerson Case'' (1947) - Eadie Rookstool (uncredited) *''

The Snake Pit ''The Snake Pit'' is a 1948 American psychological drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick. Based on Mary Jane Ward's 1946 semi-autobiogra ...

'' (1948) - Patient (uncredited) *'' The Crooked Way'' (1949) - Shooting Gallery Proprietress (uncredited) *'' The Inspector General'' (1949) - Buxom Villager (uncredited) *'' Unmasked'' (1950) - Mrs. Schmidt *'' No Way Out'' (1950) - Woman (uncredited) *''

The Fuller Brush Girl ''The Fuller Brush Girl'' is a 1950 slapstick comedy starring Lucille Ball and directed by Lloyd Bacon. Animator Frank Tashlin wrote the script. Ball plays a quirky door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman for the Fuller Brush Company. The film also sta ...

'' (1950) - Wife Watching TV (uncredited) *'' My Blue Heaven'' (1950) - Susan (uncredited) *'' Thunderbirds'' (1952) - Mrs. Louise Braggart *'' So This Is Love'' (1953) - Fat Girl with Sailor in Nightclub (uncredited) *''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

'' (1953) - Waitress (uncredited) *'' The Eddie Cantor Story'' (1953) - Patron (uncredited) *'' A Star Is Born'' (1954) - Esther's Neighbor (uncredited) *'' Young at Heart'' (1954) - Wife (uncredited) *'' The D.I.'' (1957) - Woman Customer *''

Rock-A-Bye Baby "Rock-a-bye baby in the tree top" (sometimes "Hush-a-bye baby in the tree top") is a nursery rhyme and lullaby. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2768. Words First publication The rhyme is believed to have first appeared in print in ...

'' (1958) - Mrs. Oberholt (uncredited) *'' Auntie Mame'' (1958) - Mrs. Krantz (uncredited) *'' The Bramble Bush'' (1960) - Polly Welk (uncredited) *'' Sex Kittens Go to College'' (1960) - Circe - Big Woman with Ripped Dress (uncredited) *'' The Music Man'' (1962) - Feril Hawkes - Snapping Beans (uncredited) *''

It's Only Money ''It's Only Money'' is a 1962 American comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Jerry Lewis and was released by Paramount Pictures. It was the final film of Zachary Scott. Plot Lester March is a 25-year-old orphan who is an electroni ...

'' (1962) - Fisherwoman *'' A Child Is Waiting'' (1963) - Miss Brown (uncredited) *''

'' (1963) - Woman on Phone at Garage (uncredited) *'' Who's Minding the Store?'' (1963) - Customer at Bargain Sale (uncredited) *'' The Patsy'' (1964) - Bowler (uncredited) *''

'' (1964) - Doolittle's Dance Partner (uncredited) *'' Kiss Me, Stupid'' (1964) - Big Bertha *'' Hook, Line & Sinker'' (1969) - Peter's Secretary (uncredited) (final film role)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pepper, Barbara 1915 births 1969 deaths Actresses from New York City American film actresses American radio actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Deaths from coronary thrombosis 20th-century American actresses