Arlene Harris
Arlene Harris | |
|---|---|
 Publicity photo of Arlene Harris | |
| Born | July 7, 1896 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | June 12, 1976 (aged 79) |
| Occupation | Actress |
Arlene Harris (July 7, 1896 – June 12, 1976) was a Canadian-born American radio, film, and television actress. (Another source gives her date of birth as July 7, 1898.)[1] She was best known for her role as "the human chatterbox" on Al Pearce's radio program.[1]
Early years
[edit]Harris was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was educated primarily in England.[2] During the first three years of Harris's life, she was unable to hear.[3] At age 5, she was entertaining her family with comedy sketches. When she was older, she "branched out into the art of impersonating."[4]
Vaudeville
[edit]Harris toured in vaudeville as Arlene Francis in the 1920s.[1] She had to retire after being injured in an automobile accident, but the Great Depression in the United States caused her to return to entertaining—this time in radio.[1]
Radio
[edit]Before her career in film, Harris was well known as a comic actress on the radio program, The Chatterbox.
She first appeared on radio on KFWB in Hollywood, California.[1] She was a regular on Al Pearce and His Gang,[5] where she was known as "The Human Chatterbox" in monologues that involved telephone conversations with an unheard friend.[6] A CBS statistician once calculated that she averaged four words per second during one of her rapid-fire monologues.[3] She also co-starred with Pearce in Here Comes Elmer.[7]
Harris played Mummy Higgins on The Baby Snooks Show[1] and was heard on Ina Ray Hutton's program[6] and Fare for Ladies.[8]
Television
[edit]Harris played herself in an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1964,.[9][10] She also appeared on Panorama Pacific and made guest appearances on several TV programs.[11]
Recognition
[edit]Harris has a star at 6250 Hollywood Boulevard in the Radio section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.[12]
Personal life
[edit]Harris was married to Dr. Harry G. Harris.[4]
Death
[edit]Harris died June 12, 1976, at the Motion Picture Country Home in Woodland Hills, California.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 121.
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- ^ a b
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- ^ Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. P. 15.
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- ^ The Return of Edwin Carp Archived 2012-04-10 at the Wayback Machine - Season 3 : Ep. 27 of the Dick Van Dyke Show
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- ^ "Arlene Harris". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 13 May 2016.