Dora Bryan
Acting
- Born:
- 1923-02-07
- Died:
- 2014-07-23
- Place of birth:
- Parbold, Lancashire, England, UK
Biography
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.
Known For
Filmography
MirrorMask
Thora Hird Tribute
Doctors
Hippies
dinnerladies
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
Bed
Mother's Ruin
Frank Stubbs Promotes
Absolutely Fabulous
Virtual Murder
Heartbeat
Performance
Palmer
Apartment Zero
Casualty
Screamtime
An Audience with...
Last of the Summer Wine
Up the Front
Both Ends Meet
Hands of the Ripper
Two a Penny
Before the Fringe
The Sandwich Man
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
The Dream Machine
World in Action
A Taste of Honey
Happily Ever After
Alice Through the Looking Box
Hello London
The Night We Got the Bird
Follow That Horse!
Operation Bullshine
Desert Mice
Educating Archie
Carry On Sergeant
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
Small Hotel
Theatre Night
The Green Man
Child in the House
The Cockleshell Heroes
You Lucky People!
As Long As They're Happy
The Sooty Show
Harmony Lane
Mad About Men
The Crowded Day
The Young Lovers
Fast and Loose
You Know What Sailors Are
The Intruder
The Fake
Street Corner
Women of Twilight
The Real Thing
The Ringer
Miss Robin Hood
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire
Time, Gentlemen, Please!
Gift Horse
13 East Street
Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard
High Treason
Lady Godiva Rides Again
No Highway in the Sky
Scarlet Thread
Circle of Danger
The Quiet Woman
Traveller's Joy
No Trace
Something in the City
The Blue Lamp
The Cure for Love
The Interrupted Journey
Don't Ever Leave Me
Adam and Evelyne
Now Barabbas
The Perfect Woman
Once Upon a Dream
No Room at the Inn
The Fallen Idol
Odd Man Out
According To Dora