
Barbara Pepper
Born May 31, 1915 · New York City, New York, USA
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.
Notable Appearances
Movies

A Star Is Born

The Music Man

A Child Is Waiting

Of Mice and Men

After the Thin Man

Foreign Correspondent

The Women

The Return of Frank James

The Lady Eve

The Best Man

Who's Minding the Store?

Auntie Mame

No Way Out

The Fuller Brush Girl

They Made Me a Criminal

Kiss Me, Stupid

Sex Kittens Go to College

The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry

Out of the Fog

So This Is Love

The Snake Pit
TV Shows

Four Star Playhouse

The Untouchables

Studio One

My Three Sons

Petticoat Junction

Daniel Boone

Burke's Law

I Love Lucy

Green Acres

Father Knows Best

The Texan

Laredo

Tales of Wells Fargo

M Squad

The Millionaire

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

Mister Ed

Mayberry R.F.D.

Shirley Temple's Storybook

The Walter Winchell File

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
More Movies

The Inspector General

Once Upon a Time

Bachelor Mother

Castle on the Hudson

Forgotten Girls

Let's Face It

Our Daily Bread

The Amazing Mr. Williams

Show Boat

It's Only Money

The Crooked Way

The Eddie Cantor Story

The Naughty Nineties

Roman Scandals

The Lady in the Morgue

The D.I.

What Becomes of the Children?

So This Is Washington

Let 'em Have It

Inferno

Manpower

Birth of the Blues

My Blue Heaven

Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid

Three Sons o' Guns

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

Trouble Chasers

I Love Lucy: The Movie

Music for Madame

You Can't Buy Luck

The Bramble Bush

The Strange Case of Dr. Meade

Carry Harry

Winterset

Army Girl

Murder, He Says

The Westland Case

Sailor's Lady

My Favorite Spy

Wanted: Jane Turner

Hollywood Stadium Mystery

Mummy's Boys

Dark Meeting

Girls in Chains

Off the Record

A Maid Made Mad

Waterfront Lady

Wide Open Faces

The Big Game

The Girl Downstairs

Flight at Midnight

Colorado Sunset

Unmasked

One Thrilling Night

The Chaser

Too Many Wives

Aerial Gunner

Forty Naughty Girls

Portia on Trial

South of Tahiti

The Big Shot

Forced Landing

Taming the Wild

Strictly Dynamite

Framed

Three Sons

The Singing Vagabond

M'Liss

Frisco Waterfront

The Rogues' Tavern

Many Unhappy Returns

The Sagebrush Troubadour

Sappy Pappy

Ghost Buster




