Doris Grau

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Doris Grau
Born(1924-10-12)October 12, 1924
Los Angeles, California
, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • script supervisor

Doris Grau (October 12, 1924 – December 30, 1995) was an American actress and script supervisor from Brooklyn. After moving to Hollywood in 1940, she began her career supervising film and television scripts. She continued to do this until the 1990s and worked on films such as Point Blank and King Kong and television shows such as Cheers and The Tracey Ullman Show. Grau did some acting in her later years, playing live-action and animated roles. On the sitcom The Simpsons, she worked as a script supervisor and provided the voice of Lunchlady Doris and other minor characters.

Early life

Grau was born on October 12, 1924, in

Los Angeles, California, as a teenager in 1940.[1][2] There she was soon hired as a script supervisor for the production company Columbia Pictures.[1][2]

Career

Grau supervised the script of the 1967

In 1986, Grau played a role in the television series All Is Forgiven.

chain-smoking character Doris Grossman, who is the make-up artist for the main character of the show.[9][10]

In 1992, Grau appeared in the supporting role of Hattie Rifkin in the film The Distinguished Gentleman.[11] According to Philip Wuntch, film critic for The Dallas Morning News, Grau "has only a few lines as a senior citizen with old-time political savvy, but she makes every vocal inflection count."[12] The Patriot-News's Sharon Johnson called her "a delight as the feisty senior citizens' lobbyist who first recognizes Johnson as a winner."[13]

Grau worked as a script supervisor on the sitcom

hitman against his will.[14]

Death

On December 30, 1995, aged 71, Grau died from respiratory failure at a hospital in Hollywood.[1] "Team Homer", an episode of the seventh season of The Simpsons that aired on January 7, 1996, was dedicated to her memory.[8] Because some episodes of The Simpsons are produced long before they air, Grau's last appearance on the show was in the season 9 episode "Lisa's Sax" (an episode originally produced for season 7) that aired on October 19, 1997. Her character, Lunchlady Doris on The Simpsons was retired out of respect (similar to the retirement of Phil Hartman's characters). However, the character returned to the show after a decade-long absence in 2006 (voiced by Tress MacNeille and renamed Lunchlady Dora.)[15]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1992 The Distinguished Gentleman Hattie Rifkin
1995 Coldblooded Rose
1995 Babe Country Woman (voice) Final role

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1986-1987
Cheers
Corinne 3 episodes
1988-1990 DuckTales Additional Voices (voice) 15 episodes
1991-1997 The Simpsons Lunchlady Doris, Various (voice) 22 episodes
1994 The George Carlin Show Mom Episode: "George Loses His Thermos"
1994-1995 The Critic Doris Grossman (voice) 23 episodes
1994 Phenom Mrs. Mackie Episode: "It's a Wonderful Mid-Life Crisis"
1994 Monty Elsa Episode: "Eggheads"

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ a b "Voice of 'Simpson' character dies". Daily Breeze. January 8, 1996. p. B2.
  3. .
  4. .
  5. ^ a b c d "Doris Grau - Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  6. .
  7. ^ a b Cuprisin, Tim (January 9, 1996). "'Gold rush' victory - Packers score big ratings for WITI Nielsen ratings show that much of the region was tuned in". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 3.
  8. ^ a b Robinson, Dean (January 8, 1996). "TBS premieres 'Survivors of the Holocaust'". The Journal Gazette. p. 4D.
  9. ^ Willistein, Paul (August 14, 1994). "'The Critic' moves to Fox". The Morning Call. p. T01.
  10. Daily News of Los Angeles
    . p. L38.
  11. ^ Cameron-Wilson, James (1993). Film Review. St. Martin's Press. p. 36.
  12. ^ Wuntch, Philip (December 4, 1992). "The Distinguished Gentleman - Not quite distinguished, but quite likable". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1C.
  13. ^ Johnson, Sharon (December 4, 1992). "The Distinguished Gentleman". The Patriot-News. p. C1.
  14. .
  15. ^ "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer". The Simpsons. Season 18. Episode 01. September 10, 2006.

External links