Eve Arden
Born: 1908-04-30 in Mill Valley, California, USA
Died: 1990-11-12
Known For: Acting
Biography
Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens; April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. Born just north of San Francisco in Mill Valley and was interested in show business from an early age. At 16, she made her stage debut after quitting school to joined a stock company. After appearing in minor roles in two films under her real name, Eunice Quedens, she found that the stage offered her the same minor roles. By the mid 30s, one of these minor roles would attract notice as a comedy sketch in the stage play "Ziegfeld Folies". By that time, she had changed her name to Eve Arden. In 1937, she attracted some attention with a small role in Oh, Doctor (1937) which led to her being cast in a minor role in the film Stage Door (1937). By the time the film was finished, her part had expanded into the wise-cracking, fast-talking friend to the lead. She would play virtually the character for most of her career. While her sophisticated wise-cracking would never make her the lead, she would be a busy actress in dozens of movies over the next dozen years. In At the Circus (1939), she was the acrobatic Peerless Pauline opposite Groucho Marx and the Russian sharp shooter in the comedy The Doughgirls (1944). For her role as Ida in Mildred Pierce (1945), she received an Academy Award nomination. Famous for her quick ripostes, this led to work in Radio during the 40s. In 1948, CBS Radio premiered "Our Miss Brooks", which would be the perfect show for her character. As her film career began to slow, CBS would take the popular radio show to television in 1952. The television series Our Miss Brooks (1952) would run through 1956 and led to he movie Our Miss Brooks (1956). When the show ended, she tried another television series, The Eve Arden Show (1957), but it was soon canceled. In the 60s, Eve raised a family and did a few guest roles, until her come-back television series The Mothers-In-Law (1967). This show, co-starring Kaye Ballard ran for two seasons. After that, she would make more unsold pilots, a couple of television movies and a few guest shots. She returned in occasional cameo appearances including the Principal McGee in Grease (1978), and Warden June in Pandemonium (1982), showing that she still had the wise-cracks and screen presence to bring back the fond memories of Miss Connie Brooks.
Filmography
2017
- The Grease Story as Principal McGee (archive footage)
1991
- Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker as Maida Rutledge (archive footage) (uncredited)
1986
- Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary as Self
1985
- Amazing Stories as Jane's mother
- Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers as Self (archive footage)
- Cinderella as Stepmother
1983
- Masquerade as Mrs. Woodman
- Alice in Wonderland as Queen of Hearts
1982
- Faerie Tale Theatre as The Stepmother
- Grease 2 as Principal McGee
- Pandemonium as Warden June
1981
- Falcon Crest as Lillian Nash
- Under the Rainbow as The Duchess
1980
- The Dream Merchants as Coralee
1979
- Hart to Hart as Sophie Green
- B. J. and the Bear as Mrs. Jarvis
1978
- Grease as Principal McGee
- Vega$ as Sarah Bancroft
- Flying High as Clarissa 'Wedgie' Wedge
- A Guide for the Married Woman as Employment Lady
1977
- The Love Boat as Brenda Watts
1976
- Alice as Martha MacIntire
1975
- Ellery Queen as Vera Bethune / Miss Aggie
- The Strongest Man in the World as Harriet
1974
- Dinah! as Self
1973
- The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts as Self
1972
- A Very Missing Person as Hildegarde Withers
- All My Darling Daughters as Miss Freeling, the Wedding Counselor
1971
- Great Performances as Queen of Hearts
- Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law as Dr. Lucille Barras
- The Pet Set as Self
1969
- Love, American Style as Linda's Mom
- In Name Only as Aunt Theda Reeson
1968
- Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as Self
1967
- The Mothers-in-Law as Eve Hubbard
- The Danny Thomas Hour as Thelda Cunningham
1965
- Run for Your Life as Mame Huston
- Laredo as Emma Bristow
- Sergeant Deadhead as Lieutenant Kinsey
1964
- Bewitched as Nurse Kelton
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as Professor Lillian Stemmler
1963
- Vacation Playhouse as Claudia Cooper
1962
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- The Merv Griffin Show as Self
1961
- The Mike Douglas Show as Self
1960
- My Three Sons as Marisa Montaine
- Checkmate as Georgia Golden
- The Dark at the Top of the Stairs as Lottie Lacey
1959
- Startime as Self
- Anatomy of a Murder as Maida Rutledge
1957
- Tonight Starring Jack Paar as Eve Arden
- The Eve Arden Show as Liza Hammond
1956
- Tony Awards as Self - Presenter
- The Dinah Shore Chevy Show as Self
- Our Miss Brooks as Miss Constance 'Connie' Brooks
- The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show as Self
1954
- The George Gobel Show as Self
1953
- The Lady Wants Mink as Gladys Jones
1952
- Our Miss Brooks as Connie Brooks
- The Liberace Show as Self
- We're Not Married! as Katie Woodruff
1951
- I Love Lucy as Eve Arden (uncredited)
- The Red Skelton Show as Self / Clara Appleby
- Goodbye, My Fancy as Miss 'Woody' Woods
1950
- What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
- Tea for Two as Pauline Hastings
- Paid in Full as Tommy Thompson
- Three Husbands as Lucille McCabe
- The Costume Designer as Self (archive footage)
- Curtain Call at Cactus Creek as Lily Martin
1949
- The Ed Wynn Show as Self
- My Dream Is Yours as Vivian Martin
- The Lady Takes a Sailor as Susan Wayne
1948
- The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- One Touch of Venus as Molly Stewart
- Whiplash as Chris Sherwood
1947
- The Voice of the Turtle as Olive Lashbrooke
- Song of Scheherazade as Madame de Talavera
- The Unfaithful as Paula
- The Arnelo Affair as Vivian Delwyn
1946
- Night and Day as Gabrielle
- The Kid from Brooklyn as Ann Westly
- My Reputation as Ginna Abbott
- Blow-Ups of 1946 as Self
1945
- Mildred Pierce as Ida Corwin
- Pan-Americana as Helen 'Hoppy' Hopkins
- Earl Carroll Vanities as Tex Donnelly
- Patrick the Great as Jean Matthews
1944
- Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter
- Cover Girl as Cornelia 'Stonewall' Jackson
- The Doughgirls as Sgt. Natalia Moskoroff
1943
- Let's Face It as Maggie Watson
- Hit Parade of 1943 as Belinda Wright
1942
- Obliging Young Lady as 'Space' OShea, aka Suwanee Rivers
1941
- Ziegfeld Girl as Patsy Dixon
- Manpower as Dolly
- That Uncertain Feeling as Sally Aikens
- Whistling in the Dark as 'Buzz' Baker
- She Knew All the Answers as Sally Long
- San Antonio Rose as Gabby Trent
- Last of the Duanes as Kate
- Bedtime Story as Virginia Cole
- Sing for Your Supper as Barbara Stevens
1940
- Comrade X as Jane Wilson
- No, No, Nanette as Kitty
- She Couldn't Say No as Alice Hinsdale
1939
- At the Circus as Peerless Pauline
- Slightly Honorable as Miss Ater
- Women in the Wind as Kit Campbell
- Eternally Yours as Gloria
- A Child is Born as Miss Pinty
- The Forgotten Woman as Carrie Ashburn
- Big Town Czar as Susan Warren
1938
- Having Wonderful Time as Henrietta
- Cocoanut Grove as Sophie De Lemma
- Letter of Introduction as Cora Phelps
1937
- Stage Door as Ève
- Oh, Doctor as Shirley Truman
1933
- Dancing Lady as Marcia (uncredited)
1929
- Song of Love as Maisie LeRoy