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Wisecrackin' Dames - Page 2

© K Cruver

By the late forties, Russell's career faltered. She had varied success when she started taking more dramatic parts. Though she was effective in roles such as the restless schoolteacher in the drama Picnic (1955), she didn't get back her old magic until her successful Broadway run in Auntie Mame. Mame was Russell's defining role, and she took the part to Hollywood in the 1958. Essentially, Auntie Mame was the wisecrackin' dame in middle age.

Russell only made a few more movie appearances after the early sixties. She struggled with breast cancer, enduring mastectomy and the harsh treatments. She eventually lost her battle with the disease, leaving behind a son and her husband of thirty years. She will live on as Sylvia Fowler, Hildy Johnson, and Auntie Mame, some of the sharpest dames to ever step on a soundstage.

Movies:
Auntie Mame (1958)
Hired Wife (1941)
His Girl Friday (1940)
The Women (1939)

Autobiography:
Life is a Banquet, By Rosalind Russell, with Chris Chase

Web Site:
Rosalind Russell's Home Page

Eve Arden
Born: April 30, 1907, Mill Valley, California, USA
Died: November 12, 1990, Los Angeles, California, USA

Eve Arden is best known for cracking wise on TV as the beloved star of the classic series Our Miss Brooks, but early in her career, she also made an impact in Hollywood. Arden had a difficult early life; her parents were divorced and she spent most of her childhood in a convent. She started performing in high school plays, which led to roles in summer stock and traveling companies.

Arden made her movie breakthrough in Stage Door(1937), as a wisecrackin' aspiring actress who wears her white cat around her neck as if he is a boa. In a cast full of future stars, Arden's deep voice and smooth delivery make a distinct impression. This formula served her well in a series of sidekick roles, the best in Mildred Pierce(1946) [a role that won her an Academy Award nomination for best actress] . For the most part, Arden stuck to type for the rest of her career.

In addition to her famous role as Miss Brooks, Arden also enjoyed great success on Broadway in numerous musicals and comedies. She is probably best known among recent generations as the constantly baffled principal of Rydell High in Grease(1978) and Grease II(1982), both worthy comic performances in the final years of her career.

Arden retired from acting in the early eighties. She began to suffer ill health late in the decade and died of heart disease in 1990. She left behind a body of sharp and intelligent work.

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