
Dora Bryan
Department: Acting
Biography
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.
Known For

Apartment Zero
1989

A Taste of Honey
1961

Carry On Sergeant
1958

The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
1966

MirrorMask
2005

The Cockleshell Heroes
1955

Up the Front
1972

No Trace
1950

Hands of the Ripper
1971

The Blue Lamp
1950

The Sandwich Man
1966

The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
1958

The Fake
1953

Mad About Men
1954

Now Barabbas
1949

Fast and Loose
1954

You Lucky People!
1955

Two a Penny
1967

Miss Robin Hood
1952

Bed
1995

The Night We Got the Bird
1960

Traveller's Joy
1950

Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout
1996

The Ringer
1952

Operation Bullshine
1959

You Know What Sailors Are
1954

The Interrupted Journey
1949

High Treason
1951

Once Upon a Dream
1949

Desert Mice
1959

Scarlet Thread
1951

Mother Riley Meets the Vampire
1952

Something in the City
1950

The Real Thing
1953

Alice Through the Looking Box
1960

Follow That Horse!
1960

The Quiet Woman
1951

Gift Horse
1952

Palmer
1991

Child in the House
1956

13 East Street
1952

Hello London
1960

Street Corner
1953

The Green Man
1956

Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard
1952

Women of Twilight
1953

Harmony Lane
1954

The Young Lovers
1954

Lady Godiva Rides Again
1951

The Intruder
1953

The Fallen Idol
1948

Screamtime
1983

Circle of Danger
1951

The Cure for Love
1949

Time, Gentlemen, Please!
1952

The Crowded Day
1954

As Long as They're Happy
1955

No Highway in the Sky
1951

No Room at the Inn
1948

Small Hotel
1957

Odd Man Out
1947

Adam and Evelyne
1949

The Perfect Woman
1949

Don't Ever Leave Me
1949

The Dream Machine
1964

Thora Hird Tribute
2003

On the Up
1990

Heartbeat
1992

Last of the Summer Wine
1973

Virtual Murder
1992

dinnerladies
1998

Before The Fringe
1967

According To Dora
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Performance
1991

Casualty
1986

An Audience with...
1978

The Sooty Show
1955

Mother's Ruin
1994

Frank Stubbs Promotes
1993

Doctors
2000

Both Ends Meet
1972

Educating Archie
1958

Happily Ever After
1961

Theatre Night
1957

Hippies
1999

Absolutely Fabulous
1992

World in Action
1963