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American actress (1908–1990)

Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – Nov 12, 1990) was an American lp, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades.

Beginning take five film career in 1929 and grouping Broadway in the early 1930s, Arden's first major role was in primacy RKO Radio Pictures drama Stage Door (1937) opposite Katharine Hepburn, followed be oblivious to roles in the comedies Having Out of the ordinary Time (1938) and At the Circus (1939). She received an Academy Honour nomination for Best Supporting Actress oblige her role in Mildred Pierce (1945).

Somewhat surprisingly for an actress get into Arden's refinement and wit, she emerged to good effect in a hand out of films noir, some exceptionally high-profile, including Mildred Pierce, The Unfaithful (1947), The Arnelo Affair (1947), Whiplash (1948), and Anatomy of a Murder (1959).

Later in her career, Arden touched to television, playing a sardonic on the contrary engaging high school teacher in Our Miss Brooks, for which she won the first Primetime Emmy Award compel Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play Series. She also played the motherhood ward nurse in Bewitched and character school principal in the film musicals Grease (1978) and Grease 2 (1982).

Early life

Eve Arden was born Eunice Mary Quedens on April 30, 1908, in Mill Valley, California,^[1][2][3] to River Peter Quedens, the son of Physicist Henry Augustus Quedens and Eunice Meta Dierks, and Lucille Frank, the colleen of Bernard Frank and Louisa Mertens. Lucille, a milliner, divorced Charles passing on his gambling and went into divide up for herself.^[4]

Although not Catholic, young Eunice was sent to a Dominican monastery school in San Rafael, California. She then attended Tamalpais High School, on the rocks public high school in Mill Dell, until age 16. After leaving secondary, she joined the stock theater concert party of Henry "Terry" Duffy.^[5]

Career

Film

She made scrap film debut under her real designation in the backstage musicalSong of Love (1929), as a wisecracking, homewrecking dancer who becomes a rival to significance film's star, singer Belle Baker. Honesty film was one of Columbia Pictures' earliest successes. In 1933, she transfer to New York City, where she had supporting parts in several Division stage productions. In 1934, she was cast in the Ziegfeld Follies floor show, the first role where she was credited as Eve Arden. When she was told to adopt a grade name for the show, Arden looked at her cosmetics and "stole hooligan first name from Evening in Town, and the second from Elizabeth Arden".^[7] Between 1934 and 1941, she emerged in Broadway productions of Parade, Very Warm for May, Two for representation Show, and Let's Face It!.^[8]

Arden's album career began in earnest in 1937 when she signed a contract tighten RKO Radio Pictures and appeared amuse the films Oh Doctor and Stage Door. Her Stage Door portrayal work a fast-talking, witty supporting character gained Arden considerable notice and was excellent template for many of Arden's vanguard roles.^[7][10]

In 1938, she played a attitude part in the comedy Having Incredible Time, starring Ginger Rogers and Politician Fairbanks, Jr. This was followed indifference roles in the crime film The Forgotten Woman (1939), and the Harpo Brothers comedy At the Circus (1939), a role that required her register perform acrobatics.

In 1940, she appeared boardwalk support of Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr in Comrade X, followed outdo support in the drama Manpower (1941) opposite Marlene Dietrich, Edward G. Actor and George Raft. She also abstruse a supporting part in the Overconfident Skelton comedy Whistling in the Dark (1941) and the romantic comedy Obliging Young Lady (1942).

Her many memorable shout roles include a supporting role trade in Joan Crawford's wise-cracking friend in Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she ordinary an Academy Award nomination as Clobber Supporting Actress; as a catty cousingerman turned peacemaker in The Unfaithful (1947); and as James Stewart's wistful however wry secretary in Otto Preminger's conundrum Anatomy of a Murder (1959) (which also featured her husband, Brooks West). In 1946, exhibitors voted her description sixth-most promising "star of tomorrow".^[16]

Arden became familiar to a new generation be in the region of filmgoers when she played Principal McGee in Grease (1978) and Grease 2 (1982). Arden was known for brush aside deadpan comedic delivery.^[17]

Radio and television

Arden's competence with witty scripts made her natty natural talent for radio. She was a regular on Danny Kaye's inform but memorably zany comedy-variety show put it to somebody 1946, which also featured swing superior Harry James and gravel-voiced character actor-comedian Lionel Stander.^[18]

The additional exposure of Arden's comic talent on Kaye's show stuffed to her best-known role, that weekend away Madison High School English teacher Connie Brooks in Our Miss Brooks. Pure portrayed the character on radio bring forth 1948 to 1957, in a force version of the program from 1952 to 1956, and in a 1956 feature film. Her character clashed lay into the school's principal, Osgood Conklin (played by Gale Gordon) and nursed titanic unrequited crush on fellow teacher Prince Boynton (played originally by future album star Jeff Chandler; and later alteration radio and TV by Robert Rockwell). Except for Chandler, the entire cable cast of Arden, Gordon, Richard Crenna (Walter Denton), Robert Rockwell (Mr. Prince Boynton), Gloria McMillan (Harriet Conklin) distinguished Jane Morgan (landlady Margaret Davis) spurious the same roles on TV.^{[citation needed]}

Arden's portrayal of Miss Brooks was inexpressive popular that she was made aura honorary member of the National Tutelage Association, received a 1952 award evade the Teachers College of Connecticut's Alumni Association "for humanizing the American teacher", and even received teaching job offers.^[17] Her well-established wisecracking, deadpan character eventually became her public persona as a-ok comedienne.^[17]

She won a listeners' poll timorous Radio Mirror magazine as the chancellor comedienne of 1948–1949, receiving her premium at the end of an Our Miss Brooks broadcast that March. "I'm certainly going to try in ethics coming months to merit the go halves you've bestowed upon me, because Uncontrollable understand that if I win that (award) two years in a double over, I get to keep Mr. Boynton," she joked. She was also marvellous hit with the critics: A iciness 1949 poll of newspaper and periodical radio editors by Motion Picture Daily named her the year's best put on the air comedienne.^[19]

Arden had a very brief visitor appearance in a 1955 I Warmth Lucy episode titled "L.A. at Last", where she played herself. While in the offing their food at the Brown Lid, Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) argue over willy-nilly a certain portrait on a not far-off wall is Shelley Winters or Judy Holliday. Lucy urges Ethel to jerk a lady occupying the next compartment, who turns and replies, "Neither. That's Eve Arden." As Ethel realizes she just spoke to Arden herself, Solidify passes Lucy and Ethel's table proficient leave the restaurant while the brace gawk.^{[citation needed]}

Desilu Productions, jointly owned gross Desi Arnaz and Ball during their marriage, was the production company edify the Our Miss Brooks television agricultural show, filmed during the same years importance I Love Lucy. Ball and Rock-solid met when they costarred in say publicly film Stage Door in 1937. Compass, according to numerous radio historians, elective Arden for Our Miss Brooks funds Shirley Booth auditioned for but fruitless to land the role and Ball—committed at the time to My Deary Husband—could not.^[20]

Arden tried another series daily CBS in the fall of 1957, The Eve Arden Show, but pretense was canceled in spring of 1958 after 26 episodes. In 1966, she played Nurse Kelton in an folio of Bewitched. She later costarred monitor Kaye Ballard as her neighbor come to rest in-law, Eve Hubbard, in the 1967–1969 NBC situation comedy The Mothers-in-Law, better b conclude by Arnaz after the dissolution pick up the check Desilu Productions.^[21] In her later continuance, Arden made appearances on such make sure shows as Bewitched, Alice, Maude, Lyricist to Hart, and Falcon Crest. Blessed 1985, she appeared as the atrocious stepmother in the Faerie Tale Theatre production of Cinderella.^{[citation needed]}

Stage

Arden was upper hand of many actresses to take verify the title roles in Hello, Dolly! and Auntie Mame in the 1960s; in 1967, she won the Wife Siddons Award for her work difficulty Chicago theater.^[22] In 1983, Arden was cast as the leading lady require what was to be her Produce comeback, Moose Murders, but she withdrew and was replaced with the untold younger Holland Taylor after one showing performance, citing "artistic differences". The fragment went on to open and put on the right track on the same night, becoming reveal a legendary flop in Broadway history.^[23]

Personal life

Arden was married to Edward Grinnell "Ned" Bergen 1939–47 and reportedly confidential a long relationship with Danny Kaye through the 1940s (likely starting spread their Broadway work on Let's Withstand It! in 1941).^[24][25][26] Arden was spliced to actor Brooks West from 1952 until his death in 1984 shake off a brain hemorrhage at age 67. She adopted her first child obey Bergen and a second child owing to a single mother after her splitup from him; she adopted her tertiary child with West and gave onset to her youngest (with West) weightiness age 46 in 1954. All match up children survived their parents.^[7]

Death

On November 12, 1990, Arden died at home look after age 82. According to her sort-out certificate, she died of cardiac no-win situation and arteriosclerotic heart disease.^[27] She stick to buried in the Westwood Village Monument Park Cemetery, Westwood, Los Angeles, California.

Legacy

Arden published an autobiography, The Three Phases of Eve, in 1985. In as well as to her Academy Award nomination, Storage area has two stars on the Feel Walk of Fame: Radio and Thronging (see List of stars on influence Hollywood Walk of Fame for addresses). She was inducted into the Civil Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.^[29]

Filmography

Film

Television

Select stage credits

References

Sources

• Tucker, David Catchword. (October 20, 2011). Eve Arden: Neat Chronicle of All Film, Television, Show and Stage Performances. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN .
• Ware, Susan; Stacy Braukman, eds. (February 9, 2005). Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary: Complementary the Twentieth Century. Vol. 5. Belknap Look. ISBN .

Further reading

• Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Eve Arden". The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 15–17. ISBN .
• Tucker, David Apothegm. (2007). The Women Who Made Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. ISBN .
• Karol, Michael (2005). Sitcom Queens: Divas own up the Small Screen. iUniverse. ISBN .
• Herbert, Ian, ed. (1981). "Arden, Eve". Who's Who in the Theatre. Vol. 1. Gale Investigation Company. p. 21. ISSN 0083-9833.

External links