Acting · New York City, New York, USA · Born May 31, 1915
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Barbara Pepper (born Marion B. Pepper; May 31, 1915 – July 18, 1969) was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first "Doris Ziffel" on the sitcom Green Acres. Pepper was born in New York City, the daughter of actor David Mitchell "Dave" Pepper, and his wife, Harrietta S. Pepper. At age 16 she started life in show business with Goldwyn Girls, a musical stock company where she met lifelong friend Lucille Ball. Pepper began making movies. Among her later film parts were small roles in My Fair Lady and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. She also performed radio parts. In 1943, she married actor Craig Reynolds (né Harold Hugh Enfield), and the couple later had two sons. After Reynolds died in 1949 in a California motorcycle accident, Pepper was left to raise their children alone. She never remarried. After gaining weight, her roles were mostly confined to small character parts on television, including several appearances on I Love Lucy, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Petticoat Junction, and The Jack Benny Program. She made four appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Martha Dale, mother of the title character, in the 1957 episode "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen". A long-time friend of Lucille Ball, Barbara was considered for the role of Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy," but was passed over due to the fact that she was reportedly a drinker. William Frawley ("Fred Mertz") was, likewise, reportedly, a drinker and was already cast. It was felt that having two drinkers in the cast might eventually cause difficulties so they auditioned and found Vivian Vance to play Ethel instead. She may be best remembered as the first Doris Ziffel on Petticoat Junction in 1964, although her character's name on the "Genghis Keane" episode of Petticoat Junction was Ruth Ziffel. Her role as Doris Ziffel continued on Green Acres from 1965 to 1968, until heart ailments finally forced her to leave that weekly series. Veteran actress Fran Ryan replaced her on Green Acres, which would continue to run for another three years. Her final performance was in the 1969 film Hook, Line & Sinker, in which she played Jerry Lewis's secretary.
TVMayberry R.F.D.
1968
as Emma
TVLaredo
1965
TVGreen Acres
1965
as Doris Ziffel
MovieKiss Me, Stupid
1964
as Big Bertha
TVDaniel Boone
1964
as Mrs. Shanks
MovieWho's Minding the Store?
1963
as Customer at Bargain Sale (uncredited)
TVPetticoat Junction
1963
as Ruth Ziffel
TVBurke's Law
1963
as Cleaning Woman
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
TVThe Fugitive
1963
as Matty
MovieA Child Is Waiting
1963
as Miss Brown (uncredited)
MovieIt's Only Money
1962
as Fisherwoman
MovieThe Music Man
1962
as Mrs. Hawkes
TVMister Ed
1961
TVMy Three Sons
1960
MovieSex Kittens Go to College
1960
as Circe
MovieThe Bramble Bush
1960
as Polly Welk
TVThe Untouchables
1959
as Mrs. Littlesmith
MovieAuntie Mame
1958
as Mrs. Krantz (uncredited)
TVThe Texan
1958
TVShirley Temple's Storybook
1958
as First Choir Lady
TVThe Walter Winchell File
1957
TVPerry Mason
1957
as Martha Dale
TVM Squad
1957
as Landlady
TVWagon Train
1957
as Mrs. Maybelle Gifford
TVHave Gun, Will Travel
1957
TVRichard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
as Mrs. Brody
MovieThe D.I.
1957
as Woman Customer
TVTales of Wells Fargo
1957
as Boxcar Annie
MovieDark Meeting
1956
as Clara
TVThe Millionaire
1955
as Fat Woman
TVFather Knows Best
1954
as Shopper
MovieA Star Is Born
1954
as Esther's Neighbor (uncredited)
MovieThe Eddie Cantor Story
1953
as Beer Garden Patron
MovieInferno
1953
as Waitress (uncredited)
MovieSo This Is Love
1953
as Fat Girl with Sailor in Nightclub (uncredited)
MovieI Love Lucy: The Movie
1953
as Party Guest (archive footage)
TVFour Star Playhouse
1952
as Clara
MovieGhost Buster
1952
as Mrs. Nolan
TVI Love Lucy
1951
as Nurse
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Miss Buell
MovieThe Fuller Brush Girl
1950
as Wife Watching TV (uncredited)
MovieMy Blue Heaven
1950
as Susan (uncredited)
MovieNo Way Out
1950
as Woman (uncredited)
MovieUnmasked
1950
as Mrs. Schmidt
MovieThe Inspector General
1949
as Buxom Villager (uncredited)
MovieThe Crooked Way
1949
TVStudio One
1948
as Ellie
MovieThe Snake Pit
1948
as Asylum Patient (uncredited)
MovieTerror Trail
1946
as Karen Kemp, the Louisville Lady
MovieThe Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
1945
as Annie
MovieMurder, He Says
1945
as Bonnie Fleagle
MovieThe Naughty Nineties
1945
as Gilded Cage Hostess (uncredited)
MovieTrouble Chasers
1945
as Goldie
MovieOnce Upon a Time
1944
as Cabbie (uncredited)
MovieHenry Aldrich Plays Cupid
1944
as Miss LaRue ("Wild Rose")
MovieLet's Face It
1943
as Daisy (uncredited)
MovieSo This Is Washington
1943
as Betty - Taxi Driver (uncredited)
MovieGirls in Chains
1943
as Barbara Pepper
Blonde and Groom
1943
as Rex's Fiancée
MovieAerial Gunner
1943
as Blonde at Shooting Gallery (uncredited)
MovieA Maid Made Mad
1943
as Blonde
MovieSappy Pappy
1942
as Female Customer
Carry Harry
1942
as Edith, Harry's Girl Friend
MovieMy Favorite Spy
1942
as Speedy
MovieOne Thrilling Night
1942
as Lettie
MovieBirth of the Blues
1941
as Maizie
MovieSouth of Tahiti
1941
as Julie
MovieManpower
1941
as Polly
MovieThree Sons o' Guns
1941
as Francie LaRue
MovieOut of the Fog
1941
MovieThe Lady Eve
1941
as Lady Wrestler Type on Ship (uncredited)
MovieForeign Correspondent
1940
as Dorine
MovieThe Return of Frank James
1940
as Nellie Blane
MovieSailor's Lady
1940
as Maude
MovieForgotten Girls
1940
as Eve Abbott
MovieFramed
1940
as Goldie Green
MovieCastle on the Hudson
1940
as Goldie
MovieOf Mice and Men
1939
as Second Girl (uncredited)
MovieThe Amazing Mr. Williams
1939
as Muriel - Wedding Guest (uncredited)
MovieThree Sons
1939
as Viola
MovieThe Women
1939
as Tough Girl (uncredited)
MovieFlight at Midnight
1939
as Mildred
MovieColorado Sunset
1939
as Ginger Bixby
MovieBachelor Mother
1939
as Dance-Hall Hostess (uncredited)
MovieThey Made Me a Criminal
1939
as Budgie Massey
MovieOff the Record
1939
as Flossie - Telephone Operator (uncredited)
MovieThe Girl Downstairs
1938
as Woman at bar (uncredited)
MovieThe Strange Case of Dr. Meade
1938
as Mattie
MovieArmy Girl
1938
as Riki
MovieThe Chaser
1938
as Mabel, Drunken Girl
MovieThe Lady in the Morgue
1938
as Kay Renshaw
MovieWide Open Faces
1938
as Belle
MovieHollywood Stadium Mystery
1938
as Althea Ames
MoviePortia on Trial
1937
as Evelyn
MovieThe Westland Case
1937
as Agatha Hogan
MovieMany Unhappy Returns
1937
as Sophie - Cigar Store Counter Girl
MovieMusic for Madame
1937
as Blonde on Bus (Uncredited)
MovieForty Naughty Girls
1937
as Alice
MovieThe Big Shot
1937
as Mamie
MovieYou Can't Buy Luck
1937
as Store Clerk
MovieThe Outcasts of Poker Flat
1937
as Blonde Saloon Lady (uncredited)
MovieToo Many Wives
1937
as Angela Brown
MovieAfter the Thin Man
1936
as Party Guest (uncredited)
MovieWhat Becomes of the Children?
1936
as Elsie Ford
MovieWanted: Jane Turner
1936
as Marge Sanders
MovieWinterset
1936
as Girl
MovieThe Big Game
1936
as Lois
MovieMummy's Boys
1936
as Mary Browning
MovieM'Liss
1936
as Clytie Morpher
MovieThe Rogues' Tavern
1936
as Marjorie Burns
MovieShow Boat
1936
MovieTaming the Wild
1936
as Hazel White
MovieThe Singing Vagabond
1935
as Honey
MovieFrisco Waterfront
1935
as The Blonde Stranger
MovieThe Sagebrush Troubadour
1935
as Joan Martin
MovieForced Landing
1935
as Nancy 'Dusty' Rhodes
MovieWaterfront Lady
1935
as Gloria Vance
MovieLet 'em Have It
1935
as Milly Adams
MovieOur Daily Bread
1934
as Sally
MovieStrictly Dynamite
1934
as Party Girl (uncredited)
MovieRoman Scandals
1933
as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)
