Biography

Prime character veteran Doris Packer has one of those placid, glowering veteran faces you know you've seen over and over again but just can't seem to place. Close your eyes, however, and that bosom-heavy voice of hers is absolutely unmistakable. Found quite comfortably amid plush settings, she usually was the possessor of the bluest blood in town.

A Michiganite, the delightfully austere "Mrs. Moneybags" was born on May 30, 1904, and was still quite young when her family relocated to Southern California. Doris enjoyed acting in plays in high school and studied at UCLA. Eventually she decided to move to New York and attended The Drama School under the guidance of Evelyn Thomas.

Doris graced such Broadway productions as "Back Fire" (debut, 1932), "Something More Important," "The Old Women," "Strip Girl" and "Elizabeth the Queen," while also meeting and marrying stage director Rowland G. Edwards. An avid radio performer in New York, she was a popular player on such shows as "Henry Aldrich" and "Mr. & Mrs. North."

In 1943, during World War II, Doris enlisted in the U.S. Army Women's Army Corps (WACs) and reached the rank of Technical Sergeant before her discharge. Following her husband's death in 1953, Doris relocated to the West Coast to try out film and TV. Though she never obtained a series of her own, she found a niche for herself as a haughty comedy foil, offering her inimitably huffy self to scores of sitcoms.

Doris found a recurring role on the popular comedy series, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950), but is even better remembered for her stern, by-the-book "Principal Rayburn" on Leave It to Beaver (1957) and as disdainful society snob "Mrs. Chatsworth Osborne, Sr." on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959). TV guest appearances would include the comedies "I Love Lucy," "The Andy Griffith Show, "The Beverly Hillbillies," "The Jack Benny Show," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "Pete and Gladys," "Green Acres," "The New Dick Van Dyke Show" and a final spot on "A Touch of Grace" in 1973. More dramatic appearances occurred on "City Detective," "State Trooper," "Maverick," "The Thin Man," "Perry Mason" and "The Twilight Zone."

A few minor movie roles came Doris' way, but not many. They included Meet Me at the Fair (1953), Teen-Age Crime Wave (1955), Anything Goes (1956), Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962), Walt Disney's Bon Voyage! (1962), Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966) and The Perils of Pauline (1967). Her last film was a small part in Shampoo (1975) starring Warren Beatty. Unforgettable no matter how small the part, 74-year-old Doris passed away on March 31, 1979, in Glendale, California, of natural causes.
- IMDb mini biography by: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net