Barbara Pepper

Marion Pepper was born in New York City, the daughter of actor David Mitchell "Dave" Pepper, and his wife, Harrietta S. Pepper. At age 16 she started life in show business with Goldwyn Girls, a musical stock company where she met Lucille Ball, with whom she would remain friends, during production of Eddie Cantor's Roman Scandals in 1933.

From 1937 to 1943, Pepper was a prolific actress, appearing in 43 movies, mostly in supporting roles or in minor films, with exceptions being main characters in The Rogues' Tavern and Mummy's Boys, both feature films released in 1936. Among her later film parts were small roles in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and My Fair Lady (1964). She also performed radio parts.

In 1943, she married actor Craig Reynolds (né Harold Hugh Enfield), and the couple later had two sons. After Reynolds died in 1949 in a California motorcycle accident, Pepper was left to raise their children alone. She never remarried.

After gaining weight, her roles were mostly confined to small character parts on television, including several appearances on I Love Lucy, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Petticoat Junction, and The Jack Benny Program. She made four appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Martha Dale, mother of the title character, in the 1957 episode "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen". In 1957, she guest-starred in the episode "The Diet" of the sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve, credited as "Fat Woman." In 1958, she appeared as "Boxcar Annie" on the television western Tales of Wells Fargo in the episode titled "Butch Cassidy". In 1959, she appeared on the TV series The Texan as Mary Devlin in the episode "The Telegraph Story".

A long-time friend of Lucille Ball, Pepper was the second woman considered for the role of Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy (after Bea Benaderet), but was passed over, purportedly due to the fact that she had an alcohol-drinking problem. Ironically, William Frawley ("Fred Mertz") also was an alcoholic, but he was already chosen for the Mertz role. At that time, the casting directors were concerned that two alcohol-drinkers in the upcoming cast might eventually cause difficulties, so another actress was sought.

Pepper may be best remembered as the first Doris Ziffel on Petticoat Junction in 1964, although her character's name on the "Genghis Keane" episode of Petticoat Junction was Ruth Ziffel. Her role as Doris Ziffel continued on Green Acres from 1965 to 1968 until health ailments finally forced her to leave that weekly series. Actress Fran Ryan replaced her on Green Acres, which ran for another three years. Pepper's final performance was in Hook, Line & Sinker (1969), in which she played Jerry Lewis's secretary.