Great Characters: Eve Arden
Posted on April 30, 2008 at 8:00 am
You know the character of the leading lady’s wisecracking best friend? No one ever filled that role better than Eve Arden (real name: Eunice Quedens), whose birthday we celebrate today. Seen-it-all but not cynical, she was the ideal sidekick for stars like Jimmy Stewart (“Anatomy of a Murder”), Katharine Hepburn (“Stage Door”), or Joan Crawford (she was Oscar-nominated for “Mildred Pierce”). On radio and then on television, she played “Our Miss Brooks,” the teacher who often battled with crusty principal Mr. Conklin and a crush on meek science teacher Mr. Boynton. It was this role that inspired her appearance as the principal in “Grease.”
Thank you for honoring one of Hollywood’s greatest character actors. She was amazing. Just a side note: Ms. Arden was simply delicious as the Stepmother in Shelley Duvall’s Farie Tale Theatre Cinderella (from the 1980’s –now available on DVD).
I am thrilled that that great series is coming out on a new DVD release and will be featuring it as a DVD pick of the week soon. Those shows were beautifully done with sensational casts. Thanks so much for writing!