{{Short description|American actress (1915–1969)}} {{Use American English|date=April 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Barbara Pepper | image = Barbara Pepper in Girls in Chains (1943).jpg | caption = Pepper in ''Girls in Chains'' (1943) | birth_name = Marion Pepper | birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|05|31|mf=yes}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1969|07|18|1915|05|31|mf=yes}} | death_place = Panorama City, Los Angeles, U.S. | resting_place = | other_names = Barbara P. Enfield (married name) | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1931–1969 | spouse = {{marriage|Craig Reynolds|1943|1949|reason=died}} }}
'''Barbara Pepper''' (born '''Marion Pepper'''; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969)<ref name="clac">{{cite book|last1=Ellenberger|first1=Allan R.|title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory|date=2001|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786450190|page=144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZraJCgAAQBAJ&q=%22Barbara+Pepper%22+actress&pg=PA144|access-date=April 27, 2017}}</ref> was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best remembered as the original 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=vgG5&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-c&new=1&rank=1&gsfn=Marion+B&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Pepper&gsln_x=0&msbdy=1915&msbpn__ftp=New+York&MSAV=1&uidh=57k&pcat=34&h=1253492&dbid=61457&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1|website=Search.ancestrylibrary.com|accessdate=April 10, 2018|title=New York, New York Birth Index: 1910-1965 [database on-line] (CERTIFICATE #29526). Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry Library Edition, Operations Inc.}}</ref> At age 16, she started life in show business with Goldwyn Girls, a musical stock company, where she met Lucille Ball, with whom she would remain friends, during production of Eddie Cantor's ''Roman Scandals'' in 1933.<ref name="TCM bio">{{cite web |title=Barbara Pepper |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/150159%7C17819/Barbara-Pepper/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115190945/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/150159%7C17819/Barbara-Pepper/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 15, 2011 |website=Turner Classic Movies |publisher=WarnerMedia |access-date=11 March 2019 |location=TCM Archive Materials}}</ref>
thumb|right|upright|Pepper in ''The Rogues' Tavern'' 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.<ref name="TCM bio" /> Among her later film parts were small roles in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963) and ''My Fair Lady'' (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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Erskine|title=A Colorful and Tragic Real Life|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10572073/the_kingston_daily_freeman|work=The Kingston Daily Freeman|date=April 29, 1967|location=New York, Kingston|page=25|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=April 26, 2017}} {{Open access}}</ref> She never remarried.{{Citation needed |date=April 2024}}
After a substantial weight gain during the 1950s, Pepper's roles were mostly confined to small character parts on television,{{Citation needed |date=April 2024}} 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". In 1957, she guest-starred in the episode "The Diet" of the sitcom ''Mr. Adams and Eve'', credited as "Fat Woman". In 1958, she appeared as "Boxcar Annie" on the television Western ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' in the episode titled "Butch Cassidy". In 1959, she appeared on the TV series ''The Texan'' as Mary Devlin in the episode "The Telegraph Story".
A long-time friend of Lucille Ball's, Pepper was considered for the role of Ethel Mertz on ''I Love Lucy'' (after Bea Benaderet), but was passed over, purportedly because she had an alcohol addiction. Ironically, William Frawley ("Fred Mertz") also was an alcoholic, but he had already been chosen for the Mertz role. At that time, the casting directors were concerned that two alcoholics in the upcoming cast might eventually cause difficulties, so another actress was sought.<ref name=lucyshow>{{cite web|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71122/20-fun-facts-about-i-love-lucy|title=20 Things You Might Not Have Known About I Love Lucy|publisher=Mental Floss|access-date=August 27, 2022|date=August 25, 2018|author=Kara Kovalchik}}</ref>
Pepper 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 health ailments finally forced her to leave that weekly series. Actress Fran Ryan replaced Pepper on ''Green Acres'', which ran until 1971. Pepper's final performance was in ''Hook, Line & Sinker'' (1969), in which she played Jerry Lewis's secretary.<ref name=last>{{cite web|url=https://friendsofalbanyhistory.wordpress.com/2018/11/17/a-glamour-girl-and-her-pig/|title=A Glamour Girl and Her Pig|author=albanymuskrat|publisher=The Friends of Albany History|date=November 17, 2018|access-date=August 27, 2022}}</ref>
==Death== Pepper died of a coronary thrombosis at age 54 on July 18, 1969, in Panorama City, California. <ref name="death">{{cite web|url=https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/what-happened-to-the-cast-of-green-acres-the-cast-then-and-now/|title=Whatever Happened to the Cast of 'Green Acres'? |author=Ed Gross|date=Aug 27, 2020|accessdate=Sep 25, 2020|publisher=Closer Weekly}}</ref>
==Selected filmography== {{Portal|Biography | 3 = Radio | 4 = Film | 5 = Television | 6 = Theater | 7 = }} {{div col|colwidth=24em}} *''Roman Scandals'' (1933) - Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) *''Moulin Rouge'' (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'' (1935) - Drunk at Ship's Cafe (uncredited) *''Anna Karenina'' (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'' (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'' (1937) - Angela Brown *''The Outcasts of Poker Flat'' (1937) - Blonde Saloon Floozie *''You Can't Buy Luck'' (1937) - Store Clerk *''You Can't Beat Love'' (1937) - May 'Bubbles' Smith *''The Big Shot'' (1937) - Mamie *''Forty Naughty Girls'' (1937) - Alice *''Music for Madame'' (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'' (1938) - Belle *''The Lady in the Morgue'' (1938) - Kay Renshaw *''The Chaser'' (1938) - Mabel the Drunken Girl (uncredited) *''Army Girl'' (1938) - Riki Thomas * ''The Strange Case of Dr. Meade'' (1938) - Mattie *''Sweethearts'' (1938) - Telephone Operator (uncredited) *''The Girl Downstairs'' (1938) - Woman at the Bar (uncredited) *''They Made Me a Criminal'' (1939) - Budgie *''Off the Record'' (1939) - Flossie - Telephone Operator (uncredited) *''Bachelor Mother'' (1939) - Dance-Hall Hostess (uncredited) *''The Magnificent Fraud'' (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'' (1939) - Rena *''The Amazing Mr. Williams'' (1939) - Muriel - Wedding Guest (uncredited) *''Of Mice and Men'' (1939) - Second Girl (uncredited) *''Castle on the Hudson'' (1940) - Goldie *''Framed'' (1940) - Goldie Green *''Forgotten Girls'' (1940) - Eve Abbott *''Women in War'' (1940) - Millie, Irish Nurse *''Sailor's Lady'' (1940) - Maude *''The Return of Frank James'' (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'' (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'' (1943) - Ruth *''Let's Face It'' (1943) - Daisy (uncredited) *''So This Is Washington'' (1943) - Betty - Taxi Driver (uncredited) *''Cover Girl'' (1944) - Chorus Girl (uncredited) *''Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid'' (1944) - Wild Rose (uncredited) *''Once Upon a Time'' (1944) - Taxi Girl (uncredited) *''Since You Went Away'' (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'' (1945) - Goldie *''The Naughty Nineties'' (1945) - Gilded Cage Hostess (uncredited) *''Murder, He Says'' (1945) - Bonnie Fleagle *''The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry'' (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'' (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'' (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'' (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'' (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'' (1962) - Fisherwoman *''A Child Is Waiting'' (1963) - Miss Brown (uncredited) *''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963) - Woman on Phone at Garage (uncredited) *''Who's Minding the Store?'' (1963) - Customer at Bargain Sale (uncredited) *''The Patsy'' (1964) - Bowler (uncredited) *''My Fair Lady'' (1964) - Doolittle's Dance Partner (uncredited) *''Kiss Me, Stupid'' (1964) - Big Bertha *''Hook, Line & Sinker'' (1969) - Peter's Secretary (uncredited) {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Barbara Pepper}} *{{IMDb name|0672571}} *{{IBDB name}} *{{Find a Grave|5499}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepper, Barbara}} Category:1915 births Category:1969 deaths Category:Actresses from New York City Category:American film actresses Category:American radio actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:Deaths from coronary thrombosis Category:20th-century American actresses