Elspeth Eric

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Elspeth Eric
Elspeth Eric in 1943
Born
Elspeth Thexton Eric

(1907-09-15)September 15, 1907[citation needed]
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 15, 1993(1993-06-15) (aged 85)
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Alma materWellesley College
OccupationActress
Known forActing in radio dramas

Elspeth Thexton Eric

old-time radio, "usually cast as the other woman in soaps and serials".[2]

Early years

The daughter of a doctor,[3] Elspeth Thexton Eric was born in Chicago, Illinois.[4] She attended Bradford Academy[5] and graduated from Wellesley College[2] with a double major in economics and English literature. After hearing tales of woe about "girls who had tried to crash the great White Way and failed ... she enrolled in a business school and left word with her friends in New York to let her know when a job was to be had there."[6]

She garnered some acting experience in

summer stock theatre and moved back to New York, where she worked at various jobs for five years while she tried to find work as an actor.[6] During those years, "She was a switchboard operator, waitress, governess, hostess in a cocktail lounge, publicity writer, model, cook, parlor maid, social secretary to a social secretary, stenographer and book saleswoman."[6]

Radio

Eric's initial work on radio came in

Big Sister and Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories.[7]
Her roles on radio programs included those shown in the table below.

Program Role
Betty and Bob Jane Hartford[8]
Big Sister Diane Carvell[9]
Central City Emily Olson[2]
The Falcon
 Nancy[10]
Joyce Jordan, Girl Interne Joyce Jordan[11]
Lorenzo Jones Irma Barker[12]
Road of Life Beth Lambert[13]
Lil Monet[14]
The Second Mrs. Burton Lillian Anderson[15]
Valiant Lady
 Eleanor Richards[16]
Young Doctor Malone Marsha[17]
Lucia Standish[18]

Other programs on which Eric appeared included The Haunting Hour,[19] The FBI in Peace and War,[20] Abbott Mysteries,[21] Ever Since Eve,[21]: 220  Front Page Farrell,[21]: 245  Quick as a Flash,[21]: 536  Rosemary,[21]: 567  Mommie and the Men,[22] Inner Sanctum Mystery,[23] Bulldog Drummond,[24] Manhattan at Midnight,[25] Green Valley, U.S.A.,[26] Gang Busters, 21st Precinct,[27] Grand Central Station,[28] and Mr. District Attorney.[29]

Stage

Eric gained early acting experience with the Woodstock Summer Theatre.[2] In 1932, she acted in the troupe at the Westchester Playhouse at Mount Kisco, New York.[30]

Her Broadway credits include The Live Wire, Snafu, Margin for Error, Too Many Heroes, and Dead End.[31]

Television

Eric had the role of Lil Monte in the Road of Life soap opera, which was broadcast on TV and radio in 1955, with the same cast.

Studio One (December 29, 1952),[33] and "The Unfraid," an episode of The Web (November 23, 1952).[34]

In a 1955 newspaper article, Eric indicated her preference for working in radio. "There are no ulcers in radio," she said.[35] The reporter noted, "She reports her eight radio shows a week are easier than one a week on TV, and leave her more time to herself."[35]

Later years

In the late 1970s, Eric wrote over 100 scripts for CBS Radio Mystery Theater and The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater.[36] One of her scripts, "The Black Room," was published (in "novelized" form) in a book, along with two other stories from CBSRMT. Strange Tales From CBS Radio Mystery Theater was published in 1976 by Popular Library.[37]

Death

Eric died of cancer in Manhattan in 1993, aged 85.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Library". James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2
    . P. 90.
  3. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Elspeth Eric" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 32 (3): 72. August 1949. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  5. ^ "What Do You Want To Know?" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 12 (6): 62. October 1939. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  6. ^
    Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ "What Do You Want to Know?". Radio and Television Mirror. 14 (1): 60. May 1940. Retrieved March 27, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Say Hello To -" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 18 (4): 60. August 1942. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  10. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4
    . Pp. 112-113.
  11. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ "Cast Changes" (PDF). WOW News Tower. February 1, 1946. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  13. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ^ a b "Road of Life". TV Radio Mirror. 43 (5): 27. April 1955. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  15. ^ "(photo caption)" (PDF). Radio Mirror. 29 (3): 52. February 1948. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  16. ^ "Valiant Lady" (PDF). Movie-Radio Guide. September 19, 1942. p. 6. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  17. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  18. ^ "What's New". Radio-TV Mirror. 37 (4): 22. March 1952. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  19. ^ "The Haunting Hour" (PDF). Radio Daily. August 23, 1950. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  20. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  21. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4
    . P. 10.
  22. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  23. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  24. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  25. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  26. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  27. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  28. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  29. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  30. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  31. ^ "Elspeth Eric search". Playbill. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  32. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  33. Newspapers.com. Open access icon Open access icon
  34. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  35. ^
    Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  36. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  37. Newspapers.com. Open access icon

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elspeth_Eric&oldid=1177633131"