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IMDbPro

Dorothy Meyer(1924-1987)

  • Actress
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
A comedic mainstay on several sitcoms of the 1970s, she is best remembered for making a career out of playing wisecracking maids, neighbors, friends, nurses, and church ladies. The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, her childhood was spent on the Bible Belt where she appeared singing and acting in several religious themed productions. During World War II, she worked as a typist and secretary in a steel factory while appearing in amateur theatre by nights and weekends. In the late 1950s, she moved to California and worked as a TV commercial and magazine model appearing in several advertisements for well known brand names.

In the early 1970s, she finally got her big break and made her film debut in an episode of The Bill Cosby Show. Quickly she became a regular supporting player on several well known TV shows of the 1970s and 1980s while squeezing in an occasional film appearance or two. In 1987, she passed away from undisclosed causes and two films she was making at the time, Moving and Wildfire, were released posthumously. She was 62 years old.
BornNovember 6, 1924
DiedSeptember 24, 1987(62)
BornNovember 6, 1924
DiedSeptember 24, 1987(62)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels

Known for

Sylvester Stallone in Cobra (1986)
Cobra
5.8
  • Nurse #1
  • 1986
Linda Blair and Jim Bray in Roller Boogie (1979)
Roller Boogie
4.7
  • Ada
  • 1979
Muhammad Ali in The Greatest (1977)
The Greatest
5.9
  • Odessa Clay
  • 1977
Robert Clohessy, Michael Warren, and Bruce Weitz in Hill Street Blues (1981)
Hill Street Blues
8.2
TV Series
  • Witness
  • Cook

Credits

IMDbPro

Actress



  • Linda Fiorentino and Steven Bauer in Wildfire (1988)
    Wildfire
    4.6
    • Esther
    • 1988
  • Richard Pryor in Moving (1988)
    Moving
    6.1
    • Grandma
    • 1988
  • Marla Gibbs, Regina King, Curtis Baldwin, Kia Goodwin, Alaina Reed-Hall, Jackée Harry, Helen Martin, and Hal Williams in 227 (1985)
    227
    6.8
    TV Series
    • Ruby Jenkins
    • 1987
  • Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote (1984)
    Murder, She Wrote
    7.3
    TV Series
    • Nurse O'Hanlon
    • 1986
  • Sylvester Stallone in Cobra (1986)
    Cobra
    5.8
    • Nurse #1
    • 1986
  • Suzanne Pleshette and Nicolas Surovy in Bridges to Cross (1986)
    Bridges to Cross
    5.4
    TV Series
    • 1986
  • Hollywood Vice Squad (1986)
    Hollywood Vice Squad
    4.9
    • Heavyset Woman
    • 1986
  • Richard Kiley and Joanne Woodward in Do You Remember Love (1985)
    Do You Remember Love
    7.3
    TV Movie
    • Social Director
    • 1985
  • Robert Clohessy, Michael Warren, and Bruce Weitz in Hill Street Blues (1981)
    Hill Street Blues
    8.2
    TV Series
    • Witness
    • Cook
    • 1983–1985
  • Nell Carter in Gimme a Break! (1981)
    Gimme a Break!
    6.5
    TV Series
    • Sarah Banks
    • 1984
  • Ryan's Four (1983)
    Ryan's Four
    6.2
    TV Series
    • 1983
  • Newhart (1982)
    Newhart
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Nurse
    • 1983
  • King's Crossing (1982)
    King's Crossing
    6.3
    TV Series
    • Willa Bristol
    • 1982
  • Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)
    Whose Life Is It Anyway?
    7.3
    • 2nd Nurse
    • 1981
  • Michael J. Fox, Bill Duke, and Beeson Carroll in Palmerstown, U.S.A. (1980)
    Palmerstown, U.S.A.
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Violetta
    • 1980–1981

Personal details

  • Height
    • 5′ 6½″ (1.69 m)
  • Born
    • November 6, 1924
    • Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
  • Died
    • September 24, 1987
    • Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Children
    • No Children

Did you know

  • Trivia
    She was very active as an African American Rights Activist and spoke several times on civil liberties in low income communities and was supportive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
  • Nickname
    • Dottie

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