Eve Arden

Biography

Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens; April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. Born just north of San Francisco in Mill Valley and was interested in show business from an early age. At 16, she made her stage debut after quitting school to joined a stock company. After appearing in minor roles in two films under her real name, Eunice Quedens, she found that the stage offered her the same minor roles. By the mid 30s, one of these minor roles would attract notice as a comedy sketch in the stage play "Ziegfeld Folies". By that time, she had changed her name to Eve Arden. In 1937, she attracted some attention with a small role in Oh, Doctor (1937) which led to her being cast in a minor role in the film Stage Door (1937). By the time the film was finished, her part had expanded into the wise-cracking, fast-talking friend to the lead. She would play virtually the character for most of her career. While her sophisticated wise-cracking would never make her the lead, she would be a busy actress in dozens of movies over the next dozen years. In At the Circus (1939), she was the acrobatic Peerless Pauline opposite Groucho Marx and the Russian sharp shooter in the comedy The Doughgirls (1944). For her role as Ida in Mildred Pierce (1945), she received an Academy Award nomination. Famous for her quick ripostes, this led to work in Radio during the 40s. In 1948, CBS Radio premiered "Our Miss Brooks", which would be the perfect show for her character. As her film career began to slow, CBS would take the popular radio show to television in 1952. The television series Our Miss Brooks (1952) would run through 1956 and led to he movie Our Miss Brooks (1956). When the show ended, she tried another television series, The Eve Arden Show (1957), but it was soon canceled. In the 60s, Eve raised a family and did a few guest roles, until her come-back television series The Mothers-In-Law (1967). This show, co-starring Kaye Ballard ran for two seasons. After that, she would make more unsold pilots, a couple of television movies and a few guest shots. She returned in occasional cameo appearances including the Principal McGee in Grease (1978), and Warden June in Pandemonium (1982), showing that she still had the wise-cracks and screen presence to bring back the fond memories of Miss Connie Brooks.

Known For

Maida Rutledge

Anatomy of a Murder

Principal McGee

Grease

Self (archive footage)

Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

Ida Corwin

Mildred Pierce

Cornelia 'Stonewall' Jackson

Cover Girl

Dolly

Manpower

Katie Woodruff

We're Not Married!

Vivian Martin

My Dream Is Yours

Peerless Pauline

At the Circus

Harriet

The Strongest Man in the World

Jane Wilson

Comrade X

Principal McGee

Grease 2

Pauline Hastings

Tea for Two

Vivian Delwyn

The Arnelo Affair

Molly Stewart

One Touch of Venus

Gabrielle

Night and Day

Sally Aikens

That Uncertain Feeling

Marcia (uncredited)

Dancing Lady

Ève

Stage Door

Tommy Thompson

Paid in Full

Henrietta

Having Wonderful Time

The Duchess

Under the Rainbow

Virginia Cole

Bedtime Story

Lieutenant Kinsey

Sergeant Deadhead

Paula

The Unfaithful

'Buzz' Baker

Whistling in the Dark

Chris Sherwood

Whiplash

Gloria

Eternally Yours

Miss Constance 'Connie' Brooks

Our Miss Brooks

Gabby Trent

San Antonio Rose

Sgt. Natalia Moskoroff

The Doughgirls

Lucille McCabe

Three Husbands

Cora Phelps

Letter of Introduction

Ginna Abbott

My Reputation

Ann Westly

The Kid from Brooklyn

Miss Ater

Slightly Honorable

Lottie Lacey

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Susan Wayne

The Lady Takes a Sailor

Miss 'Woody' Woods

Goodbye, My Fancy

'Space' OShea, aka Suwanee Rivers

Obliging Young Lady

Olive Lashbrooke

The Voice of the Turtle

Jean Matthews

Patrick the Great

Kit Campbell

Women in the Wind

Alice Hinsdale

She Couldn't Say No

Lily Martin

Curtain Call at Cactus Creek

Aunt Theda Reeson

In Name Only

Sophie De Lemma

Cocoanut Grove

Tex Donnelly

Earl Carroll Vanities

Helen 'Hoppy' Hopkins

Pan-Americana

Gladys Jones

The Lady Wants Mink

Madame de Talavera

Song of Scheherazade

Queen of Hearts

Alice in Wonderland

Miss Pinty

A Child Is Born

Patsy Dixon

Ziegfeld Girl

Kate

Last of the Duanes

Belinda Wright

Hit Parade of 1943

Sally Long

She Knew All the Answers

Shirley Truman

Oh, Doctor

Kitty

No, No, Nanette

Maggie Watson

Let's Face It

Stepmother

Cinderella

Susan Warren

Big Town Czar

Employment Lady

A Guide for the Married Woman

Principal McGee (archive footage)

The Grease Story

Self

Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary

Self

Blow-Ups of 1946

Miss Freeling, the Wedding Counselor

All My Darling Daughters

Hildegarde Withers

A Very Missing Person

Self (archive footage)

The Costume Designer

Barbara Stevens

Sing for Your Supper

Maida Rutledge (archive footage) (uncredited)

Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

Carrie Ashburn

The Forgotten Woman

Warden June

Pandemonium

The Stepmother

Faerie Tale Theatre: Cinderella