Dorothy I. Adams (January 8, 1900 – March 16, 1988) was an American character actress of stage, film, and television.
Early years Born in Hannah, North Dakota, Adams was the daughter of Rachel Jamison and hardware salesman W. E. Adams."Gossip and Notes". Courier Democrat. January 18, 1900. p. 5. Retrieved October 22, 2024. They later moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where she attended Braemar School and the University of British Columbia."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."Sweet Lavender". The Vancouver Sun. March 11, 1921. p. 3 Retrieved October 22, 2024.
Stage In the 1920s, Adams was active with the Moroni Olsen Players.
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).
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.
Later years In the 1960s, she was a popular acting instructor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television."7 Members of UCLA Faculty Will Retire". The Los Angeles Times. July 16, 1967. sec. J, p. 7. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
Personal life Adams was married to character actor Byron Foulger from 1926 until his death in 1970."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. She was the mother of soap opera actress Rachel Ames.
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.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of 14000 Famous Persons by Scott Wilson
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 YearTitleRole 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"
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