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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."]]
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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."''
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6One 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.
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8Arden 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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10Eve'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:
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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
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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.
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