Actress/playwright Dot Farley launched her film career in 1912 as one of the earliest members of Mack Sennett's Keystone comedy troupe. Though she would leave Keystone after a few years, Farley occasionally returned to the Sennett fold in such roles as Ben Turpin's cross-eyed mother in A Small Town Idol (1921). A "regular" in 2-reel comedies, she could also be found in such elaborate features as DeMille's King of Kings (1927). In the talkie era, Farley was busiest in the short-subject field, usually playing domineering wives and mothers-in-law. From 1931 to 1948, she played Florence Lake's busybody mama in Edgar Kennedy's "Mr. Average Man" 2-reel series at RKO. Dot Farley's feature-film work during this period was usually limited to brief bits in films ranging from Val Lewton's Cat People (1942) to Preston Sturges' Hail the Conquering Hero (1944).
Dot Farley
Share on