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.
66 movies · 20 shows
MirrorMask
2005·6.4
Thora Hird Tribute
2003·0.0
Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
1996·7.3
Bed
1995·7.0
Palmer
1991·4.0
Apartment Zero
1989·6.7
Screamtime
1983·4.0
Up the Front
1972·4.4
Hands of the Ripper
1971·6.2
Two a Penny
1967·3.5
The Sandwich Man
1966·6.5
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
1966·6.2
The Dream Machine
1964·7.0
A Taste of Honey
1961·7.1
Alice Through the Looking Box
1960·0.0
Hello London
1960·7.0
The Night We Got the Bird
1960·6.3
Follow That Horse!
1960·10.0
Operation Bullshine
1959·5.5
Desert Mice
1959·6.2
Carry On Sergeant
1958·6.4
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
1958·6.3
Small Hotel
1957·7.0
The Green Man
1956·7.0
Child in the House
1956·6.6
The Cockleshell Heroes
1955·5.9
You Lucky People!
1955·5.4
As Long as They're Happy
1955·7.5
Harmony Lane
1954·0.0
Mad About Men
1954·6.5
The Crowded Day
1954·5.8
The Young Lovers
1954·6.1
Fast and Loose
1954·6.6
You Know What Sailors Are
1954·5.2
The Intruder
1953·7.6
The Fake
1953·5.9
Street Corner
1953·5.5
Women of Twilight
1953·6.0
The Real Thing
1953·0.0
The Ringer
1952·6.0
Miss Robin Hood
1952·8.1
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire
1952·4.3
Time, Gentlemen, Please!
1952·8.0
Gift Horse
1952·6.6
13 East Street
1952·6.0
Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard
1952·6.2
High Treason
1951·5.7
Lady Godiva Rides Again
1951·5.9
No Highway in the Sky
1951·7.0
Scarlet Thread
1951·5.2
Circle of Danger
1951·6.5
The Quiet Woman
1951·6.2
Traveller's Joy
1950·6.3
No Trace
1950·7.2
Something in the City
1950·6.0
The Blue Lamp
1950·6.6
The Cure for Love
1949·7.0
The Interrupted Journey
1949·5.8
Don't Ever Leave Me
1949·7.7
Adam and Evelyne
1949·7.0
Now Barabbas
1949·6.5
The Perfect Woman
1949·6.4
Once Upon a Dream
1949·6.8
No Room at the Inn
1948·8.5
The Fallen Idol
1948·7.2
Odd Man Out
1947·7.3