Actress. Born Dora Matthews, she appeared in 25 Broadway plays, most famously in the original 1938 production of “Our Town.” This was the part that brought her to Hollywood in 1940, where Merande appeared in dozens of Hollywood-based TV and movie character roles, including the loud mouthed housekeeper in “The Gazebo” (1959) and the strident victim of Soviet invaders in “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” (1966). In her last professional years, Merande was also a recurring presence on the “Jackie Gleason.” variety show and died, in fact, of a stroke while there to film an episode in Miami. (bio by: MC)