April 30, 1908 Eve Arden was born

On this day in 1908 Eve Arden was born.

April 30, 1908 Eve Arden was born

On this day in 1908, Eve Arden was born.

April 30: Happy Birthday, Eve Arden

She was Our Miss Brooks; she played a pickpocket in The Marx Brothers flick At The Circus; and for an encore, turned in memorable performances as the wacky high school principal in Grease and its sequel. Eve Arden, born on this day in 1908, was multi-talented and loved by millions for her roles in radio, TV, and film.

The lovely strawberry blonde began her show biz career on the stage, as a teenager. But before long she was on the silver screen, finding a niche as the sidekick, witty and wise-cracking. Her prolific late-30's film output inlcuded Oh, Doctor, Stage Door, Cocoanut Grove, and Having Wonderful Time.

In 1948, after nearly two decades fighting in the show business trenches as a comic character actress, Arden landed a starring role, that of high school teacher Connie Brooks in Our Miss Brooks.

The literature teacher was likeable--in fact, praised by organizations of actual teachers--a strong female character who stood up to the shenanigans of the sketchy Principal Conklin (Gale Gordon). She was sarcastic rather than ditzy or bubbly, and rather than being hit on by her male colleagues, she was the one doing the hitting, repeatedly trying to snag the attention of the bio teacher, Mr. Boynton (Jeff Chandler).

The show succeeded on the radio and succeeded in its television guise, which ran from 1952-57.

Eve Arden's given name was Eunice Queens, and legend has it that the Arden came from a fortuitously-placed jar of Elizabeth Arden hand cream.

She died in 1990, and was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.


Sources:

Evearden.com

Movies.nytimes.com

April 30: Happy Birthday Eve Arden!

On this day in 1909, Eve Arden of Our Miss Brooks fame was born!

June, 29: Happy Birthday, Joan Davis

When Joan Davis was born on June 29, 1907, America was blessed with talent that would encompass all avenues of entertainment. This young comedian was going to make her mark on television, radio, vaudeville and in the movies...not in necessarily in that order. he first arena for performing was in vaudeville with her comedian husband Si Willis.

One of her enterprising talents was that of a physical comedian; her size and lanky build was suited for the making the slapstick variety of visual humor. In 1941, Joan Davis entered the radio arena by appearing on the Rudy Vallee Show, where she would become a regular a few months later.

When Vallee left to serve during WWII in 1943, Davis and Jack Haley became co-hosts of the program, The Sealtest Village Store. In 1945 she moved over to CBS and did a radio program centered around owning a tea room. In 1947, the show changed placing her name on the title still with the focus of the tea room and the happenings in Smallville, running until 1948. By July of that same year, Leave it to Joan ran in place of Lux Radio Theatre for the summer.

In August 1949 the program became a yearly diet for america with its run until March of 1950. Her physical comedy was played up on the radio and developed her prowess for that type of comedy. it worked for when NBC took her on television opposite of Jim Backus with I Married Joan. It ran until 1955. In 1961, MS Davis passed away at the age of 53 in Palm Springs, California. Comediennes like Lucille Ball and Eve Arden owe much of their success to the talents pioneered by Joan Davis.

April 30: Happy Birthday, Eve Arden

Eve Arden was born--as Eunice Quedens, on this day in 1908. However, we know her as Our Miss Brooks, the star and title character of the long-running radio series about a witty and wise school teacher. The show actually hauled in an award from The National Education Association for its sympathetic portrayal of teachers.

On Our Miss Brooks, Mrs. Brooks interacted with the bio teacher, Mr. Boynton (Jeff Chandler), Principal Conklin (Gale Gordon), and Walter Denton, one of her wacky students, played by Richard Crenna.

For her efforts, Eve Arden won a Radio Mirror magazine readers' poll for best comedienne of 1948-49.

Though her own series was her claim to fame, Arden also guested on The Danny Kaye Show, and The Lux Radio Theater.