Quick Facts
Biography
Dorothy Peterson (December 25, 1897 – October 3, 1979) was an American film and television actress.
Biography
Peterson was born in Hector, Minnesota of Swedish immigrant ancestry. She made her screen debut in Mothers Cry (1930), a domestic drama that required the 29-year-old actress to age nearly three decades in the course of the film.
Mothers Cry instantly typecast Peterson in careworn maternal roles, which she continued to assay for the rest of her career. Most of her subsequent film assignments were supporting roles like Mrs. Hawkins in Treasure Island (1934). In 1942, she briefly replaced Olive Blakeney as Mrs. Aldrich in the comedy series entry Henry Aldrich for President.
Her last screen appearance was as the mother of Shirley Temple in That Hagen Girl (1947). Peterson remained active on the New York TV and theatrical scene until the early 1960s. She appeared in 83 films, and made several television appearances between 1930 and 1964.
She died in New York City, aged 81.
Partial filmography
- Mothers Cry (1930) - Mary Williams
- Up for Murder (1931) - Mrs. Marshall
- Party Husband (1931) - Kate
- Traveling Husbands (1931) - Martha Hall
- The Reckless Hour (1931) - Mrs. Susie Jennison
- Bought! (1931) - Mrs. Dale
- Penrod and Sam (1931) - Mrs. Schofield
- Skyline (1931) - Rose Breen
- Way Back Home (1931) - Rose Clark
- Rich Man's Folly (1931) - Katherine Trumbull
- Emma (1932) - Mrs. Winthrop (uncredited)
- Forbidden (1932) - Helen
- The Beast of the City (1932) - Mary Fitzpatrick
- She Wanted a Millionaire (1932) - Mrs. Miller
- Business and Pleasure (1932) - Mrs. Jane Olsen Tinker
- So Big! (1932) - Maartje Pool
- When a Feller Needs a Friend (1932) - Mrs. Margaret Randall
- Night World (1932) - Edith Blair
- Attorney for the Defense (1932) - Mrs. Wallace
- Thrill of Youth (1932) - Seena Sherwood
- Life Begins (1932) - A Patient
- The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) - Lilly Blake
- Payment Deferred (1932) - Annie Marble
- Call Her Savage (1932) - Silas' Wife
- The Billion Dollar Scandal (1933) - Mrs. Jackson (scenes deleted)
- Reform Girl (1933) - Mrs. Putnam
- Hold Me Tight (1933) - Mary Shane (uncredited)
- The Mayor of Hell (1933) - Mrs. Smith
- I'm No Angel (1933) - Thelma
- Big Executive (1933) - Mrs. Sarah Conway
- Beloved (1934) - Baroness Irene von Hausmann
- As the Earth Turns (1934) - Mil
- Men in White (1934) - Nurse Mary (uncredited)
- Uncertain Lady (1934) - Cicily Prentiss
- Side Streets (1934) - Mrs. Richards
- Treasure Island (1934) - Mrs. Hawkins
- Peck's Bad Boy (1934) - Aunt Lily Clay
- Society Doctor (1935) - Mrs. Harrigan
- Sweepstake Annie (1935) - Mrs. Henry Foster
- Laddie (1935) - Mrs. Stanton
- Pursuit (1935) - Mrs. McCoy
- Freckles (1935) - Mrs. Duncan
- Man of Iron (1935) - Bessie Bennett
- The Country Doctor (1936) - Nurse Katherine Kennedy
- The Devil Is a Sissy (1936) - Mrs. Jennie Stevens (uncredited)
- Reunion (1936) - Katherine Kennedy
- Under Cover of Night (1937) - Susan Nash
- Her Husband Lies (1937) - Dorothy Powell
- Girl Loves Boy (1937) - Mrs. McCarthy
- Confession (1937) - Mrs. Koslov
- 52nd Street (1937) - Adela Rondell
- Hunted Men (1938) - Mary Harris
- Breaking the Ice (1938) - Annie Decker
- Girls on Probation (1938) - Jane Lennox
- The Flying Irishman (1939) - Mrs. Edith Corrigan - Doug's Mother (uncredited)
- Dark Victory (1939) - Miss Wainwright
- Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1939) - Mrs. Pepper
- Two Bright Boys (1939) - Kathleen O'Donnell
- Sabotage (1939) - Edith Grayson
- Five Little Peppers at Home (1940) - Mrs. Pepper
- Too Many Husbands (1940) - Gertrude Houlihan
- Lillian Russell (1940) - Cynthia Leonard
- Women in War (1940) - Sister Frances
- Out West with the Peppers (1940) - Mrs. Pepper
- Five Little Peppers in Trouble (1940) - Mrs. Pepper
- Ride, Kelly, Ride (1941) - Mrs. Martin
- Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) - Mrs. Bishop
- Henry Aldrich for President (1941) - Mrs. Aldrich
- Uncle Joe (1941) - Margaret Day
- Saboteur (1942) - Mrs. Mason
- The Man in the Trunk (1942) - Lola DeWinters
- Air Force (1943) - Mrs. Chester (uncredited)
- The Moon Is Down (1943) - Mother (uncredited)
- This Is the Army (1943) - Mrs. Nelson
- This Is the Life (1944) - Aunt Betsy
- Mr. Skeffington (1944) - Manby
- When the Lights Go on Again (1944) - Mrs. Clara Benson
- The Woman in the Window (1944) - Mrs. Wanley
- Faces in the Fog (1944) - Mrs. Mason
- Canyon Passage (1946) - Mrs. Dance (uncredited)
- Sister Kenny (1946) - Agnes
- That Hagen Girl (1947) - Minta Hagen
- Escala en Hi-Fi (1963)