Theodora "Tedi" Thurman (born Dorothy Ruth Thurman; June 23, 1923 – September 17, 2012) was an American

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

who found fame in the 1950s as Miss Monitor on NBC's ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

'', a 40-hour weekend radio show developed by

Pat Weaver Sylvester Laflin "Pat" Weaver Jr. (December 21, 1908 – March 15, 2002) was an American broadcasting executive who was president of NBC between 1953 and 1955. He has been credited with reshaping commercial broadcasting's format and philosophy ...

. Born in

Midville, Georgia Midville is a city in Burke County, Georgia, Burke County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 269 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. History The Georgia General Assembly incorpor ...

, the daughter of a banker, Thurman originally planned to become a painter, studying at the Corcoran Institute in

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Her career plans changed, and she went to New York for modeling. Her first shoot wound up as a ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' cover, bringing with it many other modeling jobs and some work on television soap operas. Columnist Alice Hughes described her appearance: She had film offers, but only one role, in the z-grade 1954

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

movie, '' Jail Bait''. In 1954,

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

needed an accomplished jew's harpist for a performance of Charles Ives' symphony, '' New England Holidays''. Thurman was one of the 22 who auditioned, but she lost the gig to two professional musicians.

Miss Monitor

Thurman, who lived in Palm Springs, California, until her death on September 17, 2012, became one of the most familiar radio voices of the late 1950s in her role as Miss Monitor.

Jack Gould John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomi ...

, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', described her as someone who "made the

eather Eather may refer to: *Alice Eather (1988/89–2017), Australian poet *Edgar Eather (1886–1968), Justice of the Supreme Court of Nevada *Kenneth Eather (1901–1993), Australian Army officer who served during the Second World War *Michael Eather ( ...

report sound like an irresistible invitation to an unforgettable evening." Bob and Ray Tedi Thurman Monitor

It began during a modeling assignment on the ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'' show, where she caught the eye and ear of one of the producers who was part of the ''Monitor'' planning team. With her alluring, breathy delivery heard against a background of lush, romantic music, Thurman gave NBC's sexy weekend weather reports from 1955 until 1961. While

Bob and Ray Bob and Ray were an American comedy duo whose career spanned five decades, composed of comedians Bob Elliott (1923–2016) and Ray Goulding (1922–1990). The duo's format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, suc ...

stayed at NBC all weekend to spontaneously go on the air in case of technical problems with scheduled remotes, Thurman was there throughout the weekend to do her hourly weather reports. Dennis Hart, the author of ''Monitor: The Last Great Radio Show'' (2002), recalled: When Miss Monitor delivered weather forecasts for cities across the country, her forecasts were all real, except for one occasion when

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming we ...

set Thurman's script on fire. She had to complete the segment by making up temperatures for each city. In the mid-1950s, she was lampooned by

Edie Adams Edie Adams (born Edith Elizabeth Enke; April 16, 1927 – October 15, 2008) was an American comedian, actress, singer and businesswoman. She earned the Tony Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award. Adams was well known for her impersonations ...

on various shows hosted by

Ernie Kovacs Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years aft ...

. Bob and Ray also did a Miss Monitor satire, as did ''The

Joy Boys The ''Joy Boys'' was a popular daily improvised comedy radio show in Washington, D.C., between 1955 and 1974 that launched the broadcast careers of the program's co-hosts Willard Scott and Ed Walker. The two did various skits and satirized pro ...

'',

Willard Scott Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weather presenter, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC br ...

and Ed Walker in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, referring to "Miss Janitor."

Television and films

In 1957, Thurman appeared with Jack Paar on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'', and ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' did a feature article, "Tedi Thurman: Weathergirl Supreme" that year. She also can be seen as Miss Monitor in the trailer for the movie ''

Ten Thousand Bedrooms ''Ten Thousand Bedrooms'' is a 1957 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, and Eva Bartok. Martin's first film in the wake of the dissolution of his partnership with Jerry Lewi ...

'' (1957). Sammy Davis, Jr., hired Thurman to introduce him when he played

Harrah's Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven go ...

, Lake Tahoe, in April 1961. In "Fair-Weather Friends", ''Time'' (April 12, 1968) remembered Thurman: Thurman was interviewed about her life on

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...

for Crayton Robey's documentary film ''When Ocean Meets Sky'' (2003). ''Edge'' editor Steve Weinstein, reviewing the film June 4, 2006, noted: On Wednesday, July 14, 2004, 29 years after ''Monitor'' ended on NBC Radio; Thurman joined more than 40 former ''Monitor'' staff members who gathered in midtown Manhattan for the first ''Monitor'' reunion at Hurley's Tavern, a location made famous through many references on the Paar ''Tonight Show''. The event was organized by Dennis Hart, author of ''Monitor (Take 2)''. The book features an introduction by Thurman.

Death

On September 17, 2012, Thurman died in her sleep at age 89 in Palm Springs, California.

References

Listen to

Miss Monitor (Tedi Thurman)
(

RealAudio RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fi ...

)
''Miss Monitor'' on NPR (6/5/05)

"Miss Janitor," the Joy Boys' parody of Miss Monitor (February 10, 1961)
(

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

)

External links

Miss Monitor
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurman, Tedi 1923 births 2012 deaths Actresses from Palm Springs, California American film actresses American radio actresses Female models from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Fire Island, New York Actresses from New York (state) 21st-century American women