Barbara Pepper
Biography
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.
Known For
Perry Mason
1957
Perry Mason
1957
Perry Mason
1957
Perry Mason
1957
Petticoat Junction
1963
Petticoat Junction
1963
The Fugitive
1963
Wagon Train
1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Studio One
1948
My Three Sons
1960
Four Star Playhouse
1952
Filmography
Perry Mason
as Martha Dale · 1957
Perry Mason
as Mrs. Diamond · 1957
Perry Mason
as Mrs. Dwyer - Fat Woman · 1957
Perry Mason
as Mrs. Williamson · 1957
Petticoat Junction
as Ruth Ziffel · 1963
Petticoat Junction
as Doris Ziffel · 1963
The Fugitive
as Matty · 1963
Wagon Train
as Mrs. Maybelle Gifford · 1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
· 1957
Studio One
as Ellie · 1948
My Three Sons
· 1960
Four Star Playhouse
as Clara · 1952
Daniel Boone
as Mrs. Shanks · 1964
The Untouchables
as Mrs. Littlesmith · 1959
The Untouchables
as Landlady · 1959
I Love Lucy
as Nurse · 1951
I Love Lucy
as Neighbor · 1951
I Love Lucy
as Woman On Bus · 1951
I Love Lucy
as Woman Shopper · 1951
I Love Lucy
as Showgirl #2 · 1951
Green Acres
as Doris Ziffel · 1965
Burke's Law
as Cleaning Woman · 1963
Father Knows Best
as Shopper · 1954
The Texan
· 1958
M Squad
as Landlady · 1957
Mister Ed
· 1961
The Millionaire
as Fat Woman · 1955
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
as Mrs. Brody · 1957
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
as Clara Chase · 1957
Tales of Wells Fargo
as Boxcar Annie · 1957
Mayberry R.F.D.
as Emma · 1968
Laredo
· 1965
Shirley Temple's Storybook
as First Choir Lady · 1958
The Greatest Show on Earth
· 1963
The Walter Winchell File
· 1957
A Star Is Born
as Esther's Neighbor (uncredited) · 1954
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Miss Buell · 1951
After the Thin Man
as Party Guest (uncredited) · 1936
Foreign Correspondent
as Dorine · 1940
The Music Man
as Mrs. Hawkes · 1962
Of Mice and Men
as Second Girl (uncredited) · 1939
No Way Out
as Woman (uncredited) · 1950
Auntie Mame
as Mrs. Krantz (uncredited) · 1958
The Lady Eve
as Lady Wrestler Type on Ship (uncredited) · 1941
The Women
as Tough Girl (uncredited) · 1939
A Child Is Waiting
as Miss Brown (uncredited) · 1963
Who's Minding the Store?
as Customer at Bargain Sale (uncredited) · 1963
The Return of Frank James
as Nellie Blane · 1940
Kiss Me, Stupid
as Big Bertha · 1964
The Inspector General
as Buxom Villager (uncredited) · 1949
The Best Man
as Delegate (uncredited) · 1964
The Naughty Nineties
as Gilded Cage Hostess (uncredited) · 1945
Out of the Fog
· 1941
The Snake Pit
as Asylum Patient (uncredited) · 1948
Castle on the Hudson
as Goldie · 1940
Our Daily Bread
as Sally · 1934
They Made Me a Criminal
as Budgie Massey · 1939
Bachelor Mother
as Dance-Hall Hostess (uncredited) · 1939
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
as Annie · 1945
It's Only Money
as Fisherwoman · 1962
The Amazing Mr. Williams
as Muriel - Wedding Guest (uncredited) · 1939
The Crooked Way
· 1949
Forgotten Girls
as Eve Abbott · 1940
Once Upon a Time
as Cabbie (uncredited) · 1944
Inferno
as Waitress (uncredited) · 1953
Show Boat
· 1936
The Fuller Brush Girl
as Wife Watching TV (uncredited) · 1950
Sex Kittens Go to College
as Circe · 1960
Army Girl
as Riki · 1938
Carry Harry
as Edith, Harry's Girl Friend · 1942
Trouble Chasers
as Goldie · 1945
Roman Scandals
as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) · 1933
So This Is Love
as Fat Girl with Sailor in Nightclub (uncredited) · 1953
Manpower
as Polly · 1941
Music for Madame
as Blonde on Bus (Uncredited) · 1937
Dark Meeting
as Clara · 1956
Birth of the Blues
as Maizie · 1941
Waterfront Lady
as Gloria Vance · 1935
Three Sons o' Guns
as Francie LaRue · 1941
A Maid Made Mad
as Blonde · 1943
I Love Lucy: The Movie
as Party Guest (archive footage) · 1953
The Lady in the Morgue
as Kay Renshaw · 1938
Hollywood Stadium Mystery
as Althea Ames · 1938
The D.I.
as Woman Customer · 1957
Winterset
as Girl · 1936
Let 'em Have It
as Milly Adams · 1935
Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid
as Miss LaRue ("Wild Rose") · 1944
My Favorite Spy
as Speedy · 1942
What Becomes of the Children?
as Elsie Ford · 1936
The Westland Case
as Agatha Hogan · 1937
Forty Naughty Girls
as Alice · 1937
Murder, He Says
as Bonnie Fleagle · 1945
My Blue Heaven
as Susan (uncredited) · 1950
Let's Face It
as Daisy (uncredited) · 1943
The Bramble Bush
as Polly Welk · 1960
So This Is Washington
as Betty - Taxi Driver (uncredited) · 1943
The Eddie Cantor Story
as Beer Garden Patron · 1953
The Strange Case of Dr. Meade
as Mattie · 1938
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
as Blonde Saloon Lady (uncredited) · 1937
Too Many Wives
as Angela Brown · 1937
The Girl Downstairs
as Woman at bar (uncredited) · 1938
You Can't Buy Luck
as Store Clerk · 1937
Forced Landing
as Nancy 'Dusty' Rhodes · 1935
Sailor's Lady
as Maude · 1940
Mummy's Boys
as Mary Browning · 1936
Flight at Midnight
as Mildred · 1939
Girls in Chains
as Barbara Pepper · 1943
Off the Record
as Flossie - Telephone Operator (uncredited) · 1939
Wanted: Jane Turner
as Marge Sanders · 1936
The Chaser
as Mabel, Drunken Girl · 1938
South of Tahiti
as Julie · 1941
Taming the Wild
as Hazel White · 1936
The Big Game
as Lois · 1936
Unmasked
as Mrs. Schmidt · 1950
One Thrilling Night
as Lettie · 1942
Aerial Gunner
as Blonde at Shooting Gallery (uncredited) · 1943
Many Unhappy Returns
as Sophie - Cigar Store Counter Girl · 1937
Portia on Trial
as Evelyn · 1937
Ghost Buster
as Mrs. Nolan · 1952
Framed
as Goldie Green · 1940
The Singing Vagabond
as Honey · 1935
Three Sons
as Viola · 1939
Wide Open Faces
as Belle · 1938
Strictly Dynamite
as Party Girl (uncredited) · 1934
The Rogues' Tavern
as Marjorie Burns · 1936
The Big Shot
as Mamie · 1937
M'Liss
as Clytie Morpher · 1936
Colorado Sunset
as Ginger Bixby · 1939
Blonde and Groom
as Rex's Fiancée · 1943
The Sagebrush Troubadour
as Joan Martin · 1935
Terror Trail
as Karen Kemp, the Louisville Lady · 1946
Frisco Waterfront
as The Blonde Stranger · 1935
Sappy Pappy
as Female Customer · 1942