Florence Eldridge

American actress (1901–1988)

Fredric March
​
​
(m. 1927; died 1975)​
Children2
Left to right: Fredric March with his wife Florence Eldridge, Helga Maria zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (born Schuylenburg) with husband Hubertus Prinz zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg at the Premiere of Anthony Adverse on 29 July 1936 in Los Angeles.

Florence Eldridge (born Florence McKechnie,[1] September 5, 1901 – August 1, 1988) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1957 for her performance in Long Day's Journey into Night.[2]

Early years

Eldridge was born Florence McKechnie in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Charles J. McKechnie.[3] She attended public schools, including P.S. 85 and Girls' High School.

Stage

Eldridge made her Broadway debut at age 17 as a chorus member of Rock-a-Bye Baby at the Astor Theatre.[4] The reference book American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1930-1969 noted, "In the 1920s she won major attention in such plays as The Cat and the Canary and Six Characters in Search of an Author."[5]

In 1965, husband Fredric March and she did a world tour under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. Eldridge wrote that they were "experimenting to see if an acting couple doing excerpts from plays on a bare stage could reach and appeal to a worldwide audience."[6]

Personal life

On March 19, 1921, Eldridge married Howard Rumsey, who owned the Empire Theater and the Knickerbocker Players (both in Syracuse) and the Manhattan Players of Rochester. They were wed at her aunt's home in Maplewood, New Jersey.[7]

She was married to Fredric March from 1927 until his death in 1975, and appeared alongside him on stage and in seven films.[8][9] They adopted two children, Penelope and Anthony.[10] Like her husband, she was a liberal Democrat.[11]

Partial credits

Stage

Screen

  • Six Cylinder Love (1923) as Marilyn Sterling
  • The Studio Murder Mystery (1929) as Blanche Hardell
  • The Greene Murder Case (1929) as Sibella Greene
  • Charming Sinners (1929) as Helen Carr
  • The Divorcee (1930) as Helen
  • The Matrimonial Bed (1930) as Juliet Corton
  • Thirteen Women (1932) as Grace Coombs
  • The Great Jasper (1933) as Jenny Horn
  • Dangerously Yours (1933) as Jo Horton
  • The Story of Temple Drake (1933) as Ruby Lemarr
  • A Modern Hero (1934) as Leah Ernst
  • Les Misérables (1935) as Fantine
  • Mary of Scotland (1936) as Elizabeth Tudor
  • Another Part of the Forest (1948) as Lavinia Hubbard
  • An Act of Murder (1948) as Catherine Cooke
  • Christopher Columbus (1949) as Queen Isabella
  • Inherit the Wind (1960) as Sarah Brady

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1953 Star Playhouse There Shall Be No Night[12]

References

  1. ^ Fisher, James (2011). Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater: 1930-2010. Scarecrow Press. p. 238. ISBN 9780810879508. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "("Florence Eldridge" search results)". Tony Awards. Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  3. ^ "'Seven Days' Leave' Thrills at Majestic". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. December 31, 1918. p. 8. Retrieved October 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Fredric March and Florence Eldridge Play Real Parents". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 1, 1946. p. 33. Retrieved July 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Bordman, Gerald (1996). American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1930-1969. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 177. ISBN 9780195090796. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Eldridge, Florence (June 27, 1965). "March, Eldridge Conduct Great Cultural Experiment". Morning World. Monroe Morning World. p. 19. Retrieved July 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "Florence McKechnie Weds H. Rumsey, Theatrical Man". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. April 2, 1921. p. 2. Retrieved October 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ Hischak, Thomas S. (2003). Enter the Players: New York Stage Actors in the Twentieth Century. Scarecrow Press. p. 99. ISBN 9780810847613. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  9. ^ Pryor, Thomas M. (July 6, 1960). "Film Reviews: Inherit the Wind". Variety. p. 6. Retrieved December 4, 2020 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ Krebs, Albin (August 3, 1988). "Florence Eldridge, 86, Actress on Stage and Screen - The New York Times". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Roland, Zelda (April 28, 2016). "A Socialist's Campaign for California Governor, And the Dirty Hollywood Politics That Sunk It". KCET.
  12. ^ Kirby, Walter (November 29, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. The Decatur Daily Review. p. 50. Retrieved July 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

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