CINEFILER

Eve Arden

Born
April 30, 1908
Died
November 12, 1990
Eve was 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. Date of Death 12 November 1990 , Los Angeles, California  (cardiac arrest due to arteriosclerotic heart disease)
Known For
Grease
(1978)
Principal McGee
Mildred Pierce
(1945)
Ida Corwin
Grease 2
(1982)
Principal McGee
Anatomy of a Murder
(1959)
Maida Rutledge
Cover Girl
(1944)
Cornelia 'Stonewall' Jackson
Stage Door
(1937)
Eve
The Strongest Man in the World
(1975)
Harriet
Pandemonium
(1982)
Warden June
Whiplash
(1948)
Chris Sherwood
Ziegfeld Girl
(1941)
Patsy Dixon
At the Circus
(1939)
Peerless Pauline
Sergeant Deadhead
(1965)
Lieutenant Kinsey
Night and Day
(1946)
Gabrielle
My Reputation
(1946)
Ginna Abbott
That Uncertain Feeling
(1941)
Sally Aikens
Eternally Yours
(1939)
Gloria
Full Filmography
Acting
Dancing Lady
(1933)
Marcia (uncredited)
Stage Door
(1937)
Eve
Oh, Doctor
(1937)
Shirley Truman
Having Wonderful Time
(1938)
Henrietta
Letter of Introduction
(1938)
Cora Phelps
Cocoanut Grove
(1938)
Sophie De Lemma
A Child Is Born
(1939)
Miss Pinty
Big Town Czar
(1939)
Susan Warren
Women in the Wind
(1939)
Kit Campbell
The Forgotten Woman
(1939)
Carrie Ashburn
At the Circus
(1939)
Peerless Pauline
Slightly Honorable
(1939)
Miss Ater
Eternally Yours
(1939)
Gloria
She Couldn't Say No
(1940)
Alice Hinsdale
Comrade X
(1940)
Jane Wilson
No, No, Nanette
(1940)
Kitty
Ziegfeld Girl
(1941)
Patsy Dixon
Last of the Duanes
(1941)
Kate
Manpower
(1941)
Dolly
Whistling in the Dark
(1941)
'Buzz' Baker
Sing for Your Supper
(1941)
Barbara Stevens
Bedtime Story
(1941)
Virginia Cole
She Knew All the Answers
(1941)
Sally Long
That Uncertain Feeling
(1941)
Sally Aikens
San Antonio Rose
(1941)
Gabby Trent
Obliging Young Lady
(1942)
'Space' OShea, aka Suwanee Rivers
Let's Face It
(1943)
Maggie Watson
Hit Parade of 1943
(1943)
Belinda Wright
The Doughgirls
(1944)
Sgt. Natalia Moskoroff
Cover Girl
(1944)
Cornelia 'Stonewall' Jackson
Patrick the Great
(1945)
Jean Matthews
Earl Carroll Vanities
(1945)
Tex Donnelly
Mildred Pierce
(1945)
Ida Corwin
Pan-Americana
(1945)
Helen 'Hoppy' Hopkins
Blow-Ups of 1946
(1946)
Self
Night and Day
(1946)
Gabrielle
The Kid from Brooklyn
(1946)
Ann Westly
My Reputation
(1946)
Ginna Abbott
The Unfaithful
(1947)
Paula
The Voice of the Turtle
(1947)
Olive Lashbrooke
The Arnelo Affair
(1947)
Vivian Delwyn
Song of Scheherazade
(1947)
Madame de Talavera
Whiplash
(1948)
Chris Sherwood
One Touch of Venus
(1948)
Molly Stewart
The Lady Takes a Sailor
(1949)
Susan Wayne
My Dream Is Yours
(1949)
Vivian Martin
Three Husbands
(1950)
Lucille McCabe
Paid in Full
(1950)
Tommy Thompson
Tea for Two
(1950)
Pauline Hastings
The Costume Designer
(1950)
Self (archive footage)
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek
(1950)
Lily Martin
Goodbye, My Fancy
(1951)
Miss 'Woody' Woods
We're Not Married!
(1952)
Katie Woodruff
The Lady Wants Mink
(1953)
Gladys Jones
Our Miss Brooks
(1956)
Miss Constance 'Connie' Brooks
Anatomy of a Murder
(1959)
Maida Rutledge
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
(1960)
Lottie Lacey
Sergeant Deadhead
(1965)
Lieutenant Kinsey
In Name Only
(1969)
Aunt Theda Reeson
A Very Missing Person
(1972)
Hildegarde Withers
All My Darling Daughters
(1972)
Miss Freeling, the Wedding Counselor
The Strongest Man in the World
(1975)
Harriet
Grease
(1978)
Principal McGee
A Guide for the Married Woman
(1978)
Employment Lady
Under the Rainbow
(1981)
The Duchess
Pandemonium
(1982)
Warden June
Grease 2
(1982)
Principal McGee
Alice in Wonderland
(1983)
Queen of Hearts
Cinderella
(1985)
Stepmother
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
(1985)
Self (archive footage)
Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary
(1986)
Self
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
(1991)
Maida Rutledge (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Grease Story
(2017)
Principal McGee
Data provided by TMDB