1 | [[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eve_arden.jpg]] |
2 | [[caption-width-right:280:"Leave ''something'' on me; I'll catch cold."]] |
3 | |
4 | ->''"I once appeared as a mystery guest on a programme...and disguised my voice, raised it a few octaves and used an accent. Sixty-five people phoned in and asked if it was Eve Arden. And at that time I didn't think sixty-five people ''knew'' me."'' |
5 | |
6 | One of the greatest comedic actresses of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, Eve Arden (April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) had a career that spanned more than half a century and encompassed stage, film, radio, and television. |
7 | |
8 | Arden was born Eunice Quedens in Mill Valley, California. Interested in show business from an early age, she quit school and joined the stage. She had a few bit parts here and there, and even appeared in two films under her real name. Success came in the mid-1930s after she changed her name to "Eve Arden" and secured several OneSceneWonder roles in such films as ''Oh, Doctor'' and ''Film/StageDoor''. The success meant that she was eternally typecast as the DeadpanSnarker for the rest of her career, and she was too funny and snarky to be a leading lady. However, she was still a very in-demand actress, and appeared in several famous films. She even earned a Best Supporting Actress UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for her role as Ida in ''Film/MildredPierce''. |
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10 | Eve's best-known project was ''Series/OurMissBrooks''. It initially aired as a radio show, before getting moved to television. It received four seasons and a feature film. Her next series, ''The Eve Arden Show'', wasn't as successful, but she still made appearances here and there over the next three decades – still as a snarky one-scene wonder. (That's her as the principal in ''Film/{{Grease}}''.) She died in 1990 of heart problems. Having concealed her age for most of her career, Arden's tombstone confirms that she was eighty-two when she died. |
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12 | ----- |
13 | !! Selected Filmography: |
14 | |
15 | * ''Oh, Doctor'' (1937) as Shirley Truman |
16 | * ''Film/StageDoor'' (1937) as Eve |
17 | * ''Film/HavingWonderfulTime'' (1938) as Henrietta |
18 | * ''Film/ZiegfeldGirl'' (1941) as Patsy Dixon |
19 | * ''Film/CoverGirl'' (1944) as Cornelia Jackson |
20 | * ''Film/MildredPierce'' (1945) as Ida Corwin |
21 | * ''Film/MyReputation'' (1946) as Ginna Abbott |
22 | * ''Film/TheVoiceOfTheTurtle'' (1947) as Olive Lashbrooke |
23 | * ''Film/OneTouchOfVenus'' (1948) as Molly Grant |
24 | * ''Series/OurMissBrooks'' (1952–56) as Constance Brooks |
25 | * ''The Eve Arden Show'' (1957–58) as Liza Hamilton |
26 | * ''Film/AnatomyOfAMurder'' (1959) as Maida Rutledge |
27 | * ''The Mothers-in-Law'' (1967–69) as Eve Hubbard |
28 | * ''Film/{{Grease}}'' (1978) as Principal [=McGee=] |
29 | ** ''Film/{{Grease 2}}'' (1982) |
30 | * ''Film/UnderTheRainbow'' (1981) as The Duchess |
31 | * ''Film/{{Pandemonium|1982}}'' (1982) as The Warden |
32 | |
33 | ----- |
34 | !!This actress provides examples of: |
35 | * BillingDisplacement: In ''Film/OneTouchOfVenus'' she's billed before Olga San Juan and Tom Conway, who play more significant roles. This was apparently because filmmakers found her stealing the show. |
36 | * ButIPlayOneOnTV: After the popularity of ''Series/OurMissBrooks'', she received several offers from high school students to become ''their'' English teacher. |
37 | * CreatorCouple: She and her husband, Brooks West, appeared together in ''Film/AnatomyOfAMurder''. |
38 | * TheDanza: |
39 | ** She plays an Eve in ''Film/StageDoor'' and ''The Mothers In Law''. |
40 | ** Curious variety in ''Series/OurMissBrooks''. Brooks was her husband's first name. |
41 | * DyeingForYourArt: For the film ''The Hour of Enchantment'' her blonde hair was dyed red, so as not to compete with Creator/DorisDay. |
42 | * LyingCreator: She lied about her age constantly during her life. According to her tombstone, she was eighty-two when she died. |
43 | * RealitySubtext: Her line in ''The Unfaithful'' - "Every morning you open up the paper, there's another body in a weed-covered lot," - is referring to the Black Dahlia case. |
44 | * ThoseTwoActors: Made three films with Zachary Scott - ''The Unfaithful'', ''Film/MildredPierce'' and ''Whiplash'' (no, [[Film/{{Whiplash}} not that one]]). |
45 | * ThrowItIn: During one performance on the stage, someone attempted to prank her by interrupting a monologue by making the prop telephone ring on stage. Eve apparently picked up the phone, improvised a conversation, handed the phone over to the actor playing her husband (who was in on the joke), said "it's for you" and went on with the scene after he had ad-libbed a conversation. |
46 | * TypeCasting: She was always the DeadpanSnarker and a sensible career-woman, usually in the best friend role and unlucky in love. |
47 | * WhatCouldHaveBeen: |
48 | ** She starred in several preview performances of Broadway's ''Moose Murders'' but got fired after disagreements with the director, and replaced with Creator/HollandTaylor. The show ended up as one of Broadway's biggest flops, closing after only one performance. |
49 | ** Her part in ''Film/StageDoor'' was very small originally. But it was expanded during filming and became something of a StarMakingRole for her. |
50 |
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