Dorothy Adams
Adams (January 8, 1900 – March 16, 1988) was an American character actress of stage, film, and television.
Dorothy Adams

film screenshot (Warner Bros.) · [1] · Public domain
- Name
- Dorothy Adams
- Birth Name
- Dorothy I.
- Born
- 8 January 1900
- Birthplace
- Hannah, North Dakota U.S.
- Died
- 16 March 1988
- Place of death
- Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actress
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3037157 · wikipedia · Dorothy Adams
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Dorothy Adams • Birth Name — Dorothy I. Adams • Born — 8 January 1900 • Birthplace — Hannah, North Dakota U.S. • Died — 16 March 1988 • Place of death — Woodland Hills, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Inglewood Park Cemetery • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1931−1975 • Children — Rachel Ames
Early years
Early years
Born in Hannah, North Dakota, Adams was the daughter of Rachel Jamison and hardware salesman W. E. Adams. They later moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where she attended Braemar School and the University of British Columbia.
Stage
Stage
In the 1920s, Adams was active with the Moroni Olsen Players.
Later years
Later years
In the 1960s, she was a popular acting instructor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
Personal life
Personal life
Adams was married to character actor Byron Foulger from 1926 until his death in 1970. She was the mother of soap opera actress Rachel Ames.
Death
Death
Adams died from a heart failure on March 16th, 1988 in Woodland Hills, California. Her ashes lie with those of her husband in niche A142 in the Del Prado Mausoleum of Inglewood Park Cemetery in California.
Partial filmography
Partial filmography
• 1938: Condemned Women as Nurse (uncredited) • 1938: Crime Ring as Second Fortune Teller (uncredited) • 1938: Broadway Musketeers as Anna, Judy's Governess • 1939: Calling Dr. Kildare as Jenny's Mother (uncredited) • 1939: Bachelor Mother as Secretary (uncredited) • 1939: Mickey the Kid as Student's Mother (uncredited) • 1939: On Borrowed Time as Florist (uncredited) • 1939: Career as Telephone Operator (uncredited) • 1939: The Women as Miss Atkinson (uncredited) • 1939: Disputed Passage as Nurse (uncredited) • 1939: Ninotchka as Jacqueline - Swana's Maid (uncredited) • 1939: A Child Is Born as Nurse (uncredited) • 1940: The Fight for Life as The Young Woman • 1940: Babies for Sale as Mother in Dr. Gaines' Office (uncredited) • 1940: Untamed as 3rd Nurse • 1940: Cross-Country Romance as Emmy (uncredited) • 1940: We Who Are Young as Bellevue Hospital Nurse (uncredited) • 1940: Dr. Christian Meets the Women as Indigent Woman (uncredited) • 1940: Lucky Partners as Maid at Ethel's (uncredited) • 1940: Nobody's Children as Mrs. Alice Stone (uncredited) • 1941: The Devil Commands as Mrs. Marcy • 1941: Back Street as Mrs. Brown (uncredited) • 1941: Tobacco Road as Payne's Secretary (uncredited) • 1941: Penny Serenade as Mother in Stalled Car (uncredited) • 1941: The Flame of New Orleans as Cousin • 1941: Affectionately Yours as Reception Nurse at Hospital (uncredited) • 1941: The Shepherd of the Hills as Elvy • 1941: Highway West as Wife (uncredited) • 1941: Whistling in the Dark as Mrs. Farrell (uncredited) • 1941: One Foot in Heaven as Woman Behind Hope at Baptism (uncredited) • 1941: Glamour Boy as Mr. Devin - Fruit Stand Proprietress (uncredited) • 1941: Bedtime Story as Betsy • 1942: Joe Smith, American as Nurse (uncredited) • 1942: Lady Gangster as Deaf Annie • 1942: The Gay Sisters as Nurse (uncredited) • 1942: Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant as Mrs. Alberts (uncredited) • 1943: So Proudly We Hail! as Lt. Irma Emerson • 1943: O, My Darling Clementine as Dancer (uncredited) • 1944: Since You Went Away as Nurse (uncredited) • 1944: Bathing Beauty as Ms. Hanney (uncredited) • 1944: Laura as Bessie Clary, Laura's Maid (uncredited) • 1945: Keep Your Powder Dry as WAC Seamstress #2 (uncredited) • 1945: Circumstantial Evidence as Bolger's Wife • 1945: Captain Eddie as Nurse (uncredited) • 1945: The Falcon in San Francisco as Hotel Maid (uncredited) • 1945: Fallen Angel as Stella's Neighbor (uncredited) • 1946: Miss Susie Slagle's as Mrs. Johnson • 1946: Sentimental Journey as Martha (uncredited) • 1946: O.S.S. as Claudette (uncredited) • 1946: The Inner Circle as Emma Wilson • 1946: Nocturne as Angry Apartment House Tenant (uncredited) • 1946: The Best Years of Our Lives as Mrs. Cameron • 1946: A Boy and His Dog (Short) as Mrs. Allen • 1947: That's My Man as Millie • 1947: The Trouble with Women as Henry's Mothers (uncredited) • 1947: Unconquered as Woman Beside Garth Happy at Bagpipes (uncredited) • 1948: The Foxes of Harrow as Mrs. Sara Fox (uncredited) • 1948: Sitting Pretty as Mrs. Goul (scenes deleted) • 1948: The Sainted Sisters as Widow Davitt • 1948: He Walked by Night as Paranoid Housewife (uncredited) • 1949: Down to the Sea in Ships as Miss Hopkins (uncredited) • 1949: Not Wanted as Mrs. Aggie Kelton • 1949: Samson and Delilah as Screaming Temple Spectator (uncredited) • 1950: Montana as Kitty Maynard (uncredited) • 1950: Paid in Full as Emily Burroughs, Nurse (uncredited) • 1950: The Outriders as Farmer's Wife (uncredited) • 1950: The Cariboo Trail as Nurse • 1950: The Jackpot as Watch Saleswoman - Store Employee (uncredited) • 1951: The First Legion as Mrs. Dunn • 1951: Home Town Story as Hospital Nurse (uncredited) • 1952: The Greatest Show on Earth as Sam's Wife (uncredited) • 1952: Fort Osage as Mrs. Winfield • 1952: Jet Job as Mrs. Kovak • 1952: The Winning Team as Ma Alexander • 1952: Carrie as Mrs. Meebers • 1954: Rose Marie as Townswoman (uncredited) • 1954: There's No Business Like Show Business as Nurse (uncredited) • 1955: Many Rivers to Cross as Mrs. Crawford (uncredited) • 1955: The Prodigal as Carpenter's Wife • 1956: The Broken Star as Mrs. Trail (uncredited) • 1956: The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit as Mrs. Hopkins' Maid (uncredited) • 1956: The Killing as Ruthie O'Reilly • 1956: Three for Jamie Dawn as Helen March • 1956: Johnny Concho as Sarah Dark • 1956: These Wilder Years as Aunt Martha • 1956: The Ten Commandments as Slave woman / Hebrew at Golden Calf / Hebrew at Rameses' Gate • 1956: Gunsmoke (TV Series, season 2, episode 1, "Cow Doctor") as Mrs. Pitcher • 1957: Hot Rod Rumble as Ma Crawford • 1957: The Buckskin Lady as Mrs. Adams • 1957: An Affair to Remember as Mother at Rehearsal (uncredited) • 1957: 3:10 to Yuma as Mrs. Potter (uncredited) • 1958: Leave It to Beaver (TV Series) as Miss Wakeland, Acting Teacher • 1958: Gunman's Walk as Mrs. Stotheby (uncredited) • 1958: The Big Country as Hannassey Woman • 1958: Unwed Mother as Mrs. Paully • 1960: From the Terrace as Mrs. Benziger (uncredited) • 1961: The Twilight Zone (TV Series, "Dust", Season 2, episode 12) as Mrs. Canfield • 1969: The Good Guys and the Bad Guys as Mrs. Pierce (uncredited) • 1975: Peeper as Mrs. Prendergast
Selected television
Selected television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1952 — The Adventures of Kit Carson — Mrs. Williams — Episode "Snake River Trapper" • 1952 — The Adventures of Kit Carson — Mrs. Trumbull — Episode "Outlaw Paradise" • 1952 — The Adventures of Kit Carson — Mrs. Raymond — Episode "Pledge to Danger" • 1953 — The Adventures of Kit Carson — Landlady — Episode "Claim Jumpers" • 1953 — Dragnet — Episode "The Big In-Laws" (1953) • 1953 — Death Valley Days — Amelia Griffen — Season 2, Episode 1, "The Diamond Babe" • 1956 — Gunsmoke — Mrs. Pitcher — Episode "Cow Doctor" • 1957 — Gunsmoke — Mrs. Glick — Episode " Born to Hang" • 1958 — Leave It to Beaver — Miss Wakeland — Episode "School Play" • 1961 — The Twilight Zone — Mrs. Canfield — Season 2, Episode 12, "Dust"
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Works and production
Works and production
The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. Born on 8 January 1900. Adams died on 16 March 1988.

Scene from the Broadway play My Three Angels. From left: Dolores Mann (Marie-Louise), Carl Betz (Alfred) and Dorothy Adams (Emilie, Marie-Louise's mother).
Photo by Talbot, New York · eBay front back

L. to R.: Tom Helmore, David Perkins, Paul McGrath Dorothy Adams in the Louis Verneuil's play Love and Let Love, Broadway, Plymouth Theatre - publicity still (cropped)
George Karger, photographer (Pix Incorporated, New York) · eBay (front back)
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
North Dakota.
Birth place
Woodland Hills.
Death place
Films and television
In film Adams is perhaps best remembered for her roles as Laura's maid in Laura (1944) and as Wilma Cameron's mother in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). • Illustration — Adams (right) with Carl Betz and Dolores Mann in My Three Angels (1954) Adams made numerous television appearances in the 1950s. She was seen in Gunsmoke with James Arness, and four episodes of the Western series The Adventures of Kit Carson, starring Bill Williams. She appeared in four episodes of the crime drama series Dragnet, starring Jack Webb. She made two guest appearances in Perry Mason, starring Raymond Burr. She also appeared in comedy series, such as a 1958 episode of Leave It to Beaver, starring Jerry Mathers.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Dorothy Adams”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3037157: Dorothy Adams
General reference · Wikidata
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Dorothy Adams, revision 1367354957 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.John A. Willis. Screen World. Crown Publishers. 237. 1989. 978-0-517-57332-7.
- 2.Dorothy Adams : Classic Movie Hub (CMH).
- 3."Gossip and Notes". Courier Democrat. January 18, 1900. p. 5. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- 4.Dorothy Adams Takes in Moroni Olsen Play. The Independent-Record. The Independent Record. 2. October 15, 1927.
- 5."BRAEMAR SCHOOL RESULTS ANNOUNCED; Dorothy I. Adams Wins Silver Medal for General Efficiency". Vancouver Daily World. June 24, 1916. p. 2. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- 6."Sweet Lavender". The Vancouver Sun. March 11, 1921. p. 3 Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- 7.Benefit Play to Be Given. Morning Register. 16. November 30, 1927.
- 8.Armstrong, Stephen B. (2011). Andrew V. McLaglen: The Life and Hollywood Career. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 75. .
- 9.TV CASTINGS. The Hollywood Reporter. 33. October 31, 1958.
- 10."7 Members of UCLA Faculty Will Retire". The Los Angeles Times. July 16, 1967. sec. J, p. 7. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- 11.Hunter, James Michael. Mormons and Popular Culture: Cinema, television, theater, music, and fashion. ABC-CLIO. 236–237. 2013. 9780313391675.
- 12.Obituaries: Byron Foulger. Variety. 63. April 15, 1970.
- 13."Wedding Bells Will Culminate Stage Romance; Byron Foulger and Dorothy Adams, of Moroni Players, Obtain Marriage License". Salt Lake Telegram. April 13, 1926. sec. II, p. 1. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- 14."Utah, County Marriages, 1871-1941", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSPS-SHL : Thu Sep 19 20:40:47 UTC 2024), Entry for Byron Kay Foulger and A. K. Foulger, 13 Apr 1926.
- 15.Obituaries: Dorothy Adams Foulger. Variety. 133. March 23, 1988.
- 16.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of 14000 Famous Persons by Scott Wilson
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
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