Dora Bryan
Acting
1923-02-07 · Parbold, Lancashire, England, UK
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.
Filmography
MirrorMask
2005 · Movie
Thora Hird Tribute
2003 · Movie
Doctors
2000 · Series
Hippies
1999 · Series
dinnerladies
1998 · Series
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
1996 · Movie
Bed
1995 · Movie
Mother's Ruin
1994 · Series
Frank Stubbs Promotes
1993 · Series
Absolutely Fabulous
1992 · Series
Virtual Murder
1992 · Series
Heartbeat
1992 · Series
Performance
1991 · Series
Palmer
1991 · Movie
On the Up
1990 · Series
Apartment Zero
1989 · Movie
Casualty
1986 · Series
Screamtime
1983 · Movie
An Audience with...
1978 · Series
Last of the Summer Wine
1973 · Series
Up the Front
1972 · Movie
Both Ends Meet
1972 · Series
Hands of the Ripper
1971 · Movie
Two a Penny
1967 · Movie
Before The Fringe
1967 · Series
The Sandwich Man
1966 · Movie
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
1966 · Movie
The Dream Machine
1964 · Movie
World in Action
1963 · Series
A Taste of Honey
1961 · Movie
Happily Ever After
1961 · Series
Alice Through the Looking Box
1960 · Movie
Hello London
1960 · Movie
The Night We Got the Bird
1960 · Movie
Follow That Horse!
1960 · Movie
Operation Bullshine
1959 · Movie
Desert Mice
1959 · Movie
Educating Archie
1958 · Series
Carry On Sergeant
1958 · Movie
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
1958 · Movie
Small Hotel
1957 · Movie
Theatre Night
1957 · Series
The Green Man
1956 · Movie
Child in the House
1956 · Movie
The Cockleshell Heroes
1955 · Movie
You Lucky People!
1955 · Movie
As Long as They're Happy
1955 · Movie
The Sooty Show
1955 · Series
Harmony Lane
1954 · Movie
Mad About Men
1954 · Movie
The Crowded Day
1954 · Movie
The Young Lovers
1954 · Movie
Fast and Loose
1954 · Movie
You Know What Sailors Are
1954 · Movie
The Intruder
1953 · Movie
The Fake
1953 · Movie
Street Corner
1953 · Movie
Women of Twilight
1953 · Movie
The Real Thing
1953 · Movie
The Ringer
1952 · Movie
Miss Robin Hood
1952 · Movie
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire
1952 · Movie
Time, Gentlemen, Please!
1952 · Movie
Gift Horse
1952 · Movie
13 East Street
1952 · Movie
Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard
1952 · Movie
High Treason
1951 · Movie
Lady Godiva Rides Again
1951 · Movie
No Highway in the Sky
1951 · Movie
Scarlet Thread
1951 · Movie
Circle of Danger
1951 · Movie
The Quiet Woman
1951 · Movie
Traveller's Joy
1950 · Movie
No Trace
1950 · Movie
Something in the City
1950 · Movie
The Blue Lamp
1950 · Movie
The Cure for Love
1949 · Movie
The Interrupted Journey
1949 · Movie
Don't Ever Leave Me
1949 · Movie
Adam and Evelyne
1949 · Movie
Now Barabbas
1949 · Movie
The Perfect Woman
1949 · Movie
Once Upon a Dream
1949 · Movie
No Room at the Inn
1948 · Movie
The Fallen Idol
1948 · Movie
Odd Man Out
1947 · Movie
According To Dora
Series