Dorothy Vaughan

If Dorothy Vaughan appeared in 143 movies or episodes of TV series, it was certainly not by accident. Actually the reason why this lively stout lady was in such demand is that she was the spitting image of the woman next door, of the hospital nurse who took care of your son after he broke his arm falling off his bike, of the midwife who helped your wife to give birth to that wonderful baby boy ... whose girlfriend you dislike so much now that he is almost grown up. Dorothy Vaughan was everybody's ma, John Doe's Granny, your boss's charwoman. There can be no other reasons why she was in so many films in so little time. Of course her roles were often brief, just like when you come across an ordinary person you barely notice in everyday life. But she could occasionally get more meaty roles, like in "Trail to San Antone" (1947) in which she portrayed the bossy 'Commodore' with obvious relish.