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Her trembling, high-pitched, Southern-accented voice was once likened to "a Tweetie Pie cartoon bird choking on peanut butter." The sheer absurdity of that comparison perfectly captured comedienne Dody Goodman’s essence. She was hard to categorize, yet she could spark laughter with just a bewildered glance, a spaced-out pause, or by blurting out a humorous malapropism. Her eccentricity felt so genuine that one wondered if it was truly the real Dody Goodman or a clever performer expertly crafting her persona. Perhaps it was a bit of both.
A charming scene-stealer, Dody made her mark playing scatterbrained relatives, bumbling teachers, and neighborhood gossip queens, portraying them with full commitment over a career spanning more than six decades. Her characters always seemed lost in their own little world—a sweet, happy place, judging by her consistently pleasant demeanor and the fixed smile on her somewhat blank face. Later in life, she gravitated toward television, where her ditzy characters became beloved fixtures on prime-time and late-night shows throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Born Dolores Goodman on October 28, 1914, in Columbus, Ohio, she was the daughter of Dexter, a cigar factory owner, and Leona Goodman. Dody’s early training was in dance and ballet. After moving to New York with aspirations of becoming a ballerina, she joined the ballet company at Radio City Music Hall. She transitioned to Broadway, debuting as a ballet dancer in the short-lived 1941 musical "Viva O'Brien." She gained experience in the ensembles of shows like "Something for the Boys," "One Touch of Venus," "Laffing Room Only," "High Button Shoes," "Miss Liberty," "Call Me Madam," and "My Darlin’ Aida." A featured role in the 1953 musical "Wonderful Town," starring Tony-winner Rosalind Russell, marked a major breakthrough, followed by a standout part in 1955’s "Shoestring Revue," where she introduced the show-stopping novelty song "Someone Is Sending Me Flowers."
Comedienne Imogene Coca and "Wonderful Town" director George Abbott recognized Dody’s comic potential and guided her toward comedy. Soon she was appearing in comedy skits on 1950s television. With a pixie-like eccentricity reminiscent of the late Gracie Allen, Dody’s big break came at age 43, when she made a chatty guest appearance on the second episode of Jack Paar’s 1957 "Tonight Show" and was soon hired as a regular. A huge audience favorite, she earned an Emmy nomination but was dropped the following year because she had the unsettling habit of upstaging Paar. She later became a popular guest on game shows and talk shows hosted by Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, and Merv Griffin.
On stage, Dody filled the Carol Burnett role in a touring production of "Once Upon a Mattress" and added "Fiorello!" and the "New Cole Porter Review" to her musical comedy credits in the early 1960s. She returned to Broadway over a decade later with a supporting role in the 1974 production of "Lorelei" starring Carol Channing. Two decades afterward, she appeared in a Broadway revival of "Grease." Her work in straight comedy included roles in "A Thurber Carnival," "Don’t Drink the Water," "The Front Page," and "George Washington Slept Here," adding to her reputation for wackiness.
A perfect showcase for her quirky talents was as Martha Shumway, Louise Lasser’s mother, on the groundbreaking TV satire "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (1976). This offbeat spoof of soap operas found Goodman in her element portraying the title character’s mother, who conversed with her plants. When Lasser left the show, the cast continued for six more months under the new title "Forever Fernwood" (1977).
In her later years, Dody was a regular for a season on the sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" (1978) and appeared in youth-oriented films such as "Grease" (1978), "Grease 2" (1982), "Splash" (1984), and "Private Resort" (1985). She also provided a long-running voiceover role on the cartoon series "Alvin & the Chipmunks." On stage, she earned a Drama Desk nomination for her 1984 performance in the O’Neill play "Ah, Wilderness!" and toured for several seasons in the musical farce "Nunsense," beginning as Sister Mary Amnesia and later playing Mother Superior. At age 85, she was still lively in one of the show’s spin-offs, "Nuncrackers," and occasionally appeared as her trademark quirky self on "The David Letterman Show."
Even into her nineties, she made special appearances before passing away peacefully on June 22, 2008, at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey. Declining health had led her to move into the Lillian Booth Actors’ Fund Home in Englewood in October 2007. Unmarried, Dody was survived by several nieces and nephews.
