Dumont trained as an operatic singer and actress in her teens and began performing on stage in the US and Europe, at first under the name Daisy Dumont and later as Margaret (or Marguerite - French for Daisy) Dumont. Her theatrical debut was in
Sleeping Beauty and the Beast at the
Chestnut Theater in Philadelphia; in August 1902, two months before her 20th birthday, she appeared as a singer/comedian in a
vaudeville act in Atlantic City. The dark-haired
soubrette, described by a theater reviewer as a "statuesque beauty," attracted notice later that decade for her vocal and comedic talents in
The Girl Behind the Counter (1908),
The Belle of Brittany (1909), and
The Summer Widower (1910). In 1910, she married millionaire
sugar heir and industrialist John Moller Jr and retired from stage work, although she had a small uncredited role as an aristocrat in a 1917 film adaptation of
A Tale of Two Cities. The marriage was childless. After her husband's sudden death during the
1918 influenza pandemic, Dumont reluctantly returned to the Broadway stage, and soon gained a strong reputation in musical comedies. she had an uncredited role in the 1923 film
Enemies of Women.
With the Marx Brothers In 1925, theatrical producer
Sam H. Harris recommended Dumont to the Marx Brothers and writer
George S. Kaufman for the role of the stuffy rich widow Mrs. Potter in the Marxes' Broadway production of
The Cocoanuts. Groucho once said that because of their frequent movie appearances, many people believed they were married in real life. An exchange from
Duck Soup: :
Groucho: I suppose you'll think me a sentimental old fluff, but would you mind giving me a lock of your hair? :
Dumont: A lock of my hair? Why, I had no idea you ... :
Groucho: I'm letting you off easy. I was gonna ask for the whole wig. Dumont also endured dialogue about her characters' (and thus her own) stout build, as with these lines also from
Duck Soup: :
Dumont: I've sponsored your appointment because I feel you are the most able statesman in all Freedonia. :
Groucho: Well, that covers a lot of ground. Say, you cover a lot of ground yourself. You'd better beat it; I hear they're going to tear you down and put up an office building where you're standing. and: :
Groucho: Why don't you marry me? :
Dumont: Why, marry you? :
Groucho: You take me and I'll take a vacation. I'll need a vacation if we're going to get married. Married! I can see you right now in the kitchen, bending over a hot stove. ''But I can't see the stove.'' Or her age (in their last film pairing,
The Big Store): :
Dumont: ...I'm afraid after we're married awhile, a beautiful, young girl will come along and you'll forget all about me. :
Groucho: Don't be silly. I'll write you twice a week. Dumont's character would usually give a short, startled or confused reaction to these insults, but always appeared to forget them quickly. In his one-man show at New York's
Carnegie Hall in 1972, Groucho mentioned Dumont's name and got a burst of applause. He falsely informed the audience that she rarely understood the humor of their scenes and would ask him, "Why are they laughing, Julie?" ("Julie" being her nickname for Julius, Groucho's birth name). Dumont was so important to the success of the Marx Brothers films that she was one of the few people Groucho mentioned in his short acceptance speech for an honorary Oscar in 1974. (The others were
Harpo and
Chico, their mother Minnie, and Groucho's companion
Erin Fleming.
Zeppo and
Gummo Marx, who were both alive at the time, were not mentioned, though
Jack Lemmon, who introduced Groucho, mentioned all four brothers who appeared with Dumont on film.) In most of her interviews and press profiles, Dumont preserved the myth of her on-screen character: the wealthy, regal woman who never quite understood the jokes. However, in a 1942 interview with the World Wide Features press syndicate, Dumont said, "Scriptwriters build up to a laugh but they don't allow any pause for it. That's where I come in. I ad lib—it doesn't matter what I say—just to kill a few seconds so you can enjoy the gag. I have to sense when the big laughs will come and fill in, or the audience will drown out the next gag with its own laughter. ... I'm not a stooge, I'm a straight lady. There's an art to playing straight. You must build up your man, but never top him, never steal the laughs from him." For decades, film critics and historians have theorized that because Dumont never broke character or smiled at Groucho's jokes, she did not "get" the Marxes' humor. On the contrary, Dumont, a seasoned stage professional, maintained her "straight" appearance to enhance the Marxes' comedy. Writing about Dumont's importance as a comic foil in 1998, film critic
Andrew Sarris wrote "Groucho's confrontations with Miss Dumont seem much more the heart of the Marxian matter today than the rather loose rapport among the three brothers themselves." Dumont's acting style, especially in her early films, reflected the classic theatrical tradition of projecting to the back row (for example, trilling the "r" for emphasis). She had a classical operatic singing voice that screenwriters eagerly used to their advantage.
Other roles Dumont appeared in 57 films, including some minor silent work beginning with
A Tale of Two Cities (1917). Her first feature was the Marx Brothers'
The Cocoanuts (1929), in which she played Mrs. Potter, the role she played in the stage version from which the film was adapted. She also made some television appearances, including a guest-starring role with
Estelle Winwood on
The Donna Reed Show in the episode "Miss Lovelace Comes to Tea" (1959). Dumont, usually playing her dignified dowager character, appeared with other film comedians and actors, including
Wheeler and Woolsey and
George "Spanky" McFarland (
Kentucky Kernels, 1934);
Joe Penner (
Here, Prince 1932, and
The Life of the Party 1937);
Lupe Vélez (
High Flyers, 1937);
W.C. Fields (
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, 1941, and
Tales of Manhattan 1942);
Laurel and Hardy (
The Dancing Masters, 1943);
Red Skelton (
Bathing Beauty, 1944);
Danny Kaye (
Up in Arms, 1944);
Jack Benny (
The Horn Blows at Midnight, 1945);
George "Gabby" Hayes (
Sunset in El Dorado, 1945);
Abbott and Costello (
Little Giant, 1946); and
Tom Poston (
Zotz!, 1962). Turner Classic Movies’ website says of
High Flyers: "The surprise... is seeing [Dumont] play a somewhat daffy matron, more
Billie Burke than typical Margaret Dumont. As the lady who's into crystal gazing and dotes on her kleptomaniac bull terrier, she brings a discreetly screwball touch to the proceedings." She also appeared on television with
Martin and Lewis in
The Colgate Comedy Hour (December 1951). Dumont played dramatic parts in films including
Youth on Parole (1937),
Dramatic School (1938), ''
Stop, You're Killing Me (1952), Three for Bedroom C (1952), and Shake, Rattle & Rock!'' (1956). Her last film role was that of
Shirley MacLaine's mother, Mrs. Foster, in
What a Way to Go! (1964). On February 26, 1965, eight days before her death, Dumont made her final acting appearance on the television program
The Hollywood Palace, where she was reunited with Groucho, the week's guest host. They performed material from Captain Spaulding's introductory scene in
Animal Crackers, including the song "
Hooray for Captain Spaulding." The show was videotaped and broadcast by
ABC on April 17, 1965. ==Death==