Enid Markey (February 22, 1894 – November 15, 1981) was an American theatre, film, radio, and television actress, whose career spanned over 50 years, extending from the early 1900s to the late 1960s. In movies, she was the first performer to portray the fictional character Jane,

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

's "jungle" companion and later his wife. Markey performed as Jane twice in 1918, costarring with

Elmo Lincoln Elmo Lincoln (born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt; February 6, 1889June 27, 1952) was an American stage and film actor whose career in motion pictures spanned the silent and sound eras. He performed in over 100 screen productions between 1913 and 1952, a ...

in the films ''

Tarzan of The Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...

'' and '' The Romance of Tarzan''."Enid Markey dies; played Jane in original 'Tarzan'", obituary, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', November 16, 1981, p. D15. Retrieved (Ann Arbor, Michigan), June 29, 2022.

Early years

Markey was born in Dillon, Colorado. Her education came in boarding school in Denver.

Career

Markey acted on stage and in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

before turning to movies. Her first film role was in ''The Fortunes of War'' (1911). During the production of '' The Wrath of the Gods'' (1914), Markey, a "leading lady with the New York Motion Picture Company", was "badly injured" during the production. During her scene in which the lava flow destroys the village, she was surrounded by smoke and fumes, and was nearly asphyxiated, but had recovered by May 1914. After Markey made the first two Tarzan films, she turned to acting on stage, saying "I really wanted to learn how to act." She acted in 29 Broadway plays, beginning with ''Up in Mabel's Room'' (1919) and ending with ''What Did We Do Wrong?'' (1967). During the 1950s and 1960s, she appeared in several television series including ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'', ''

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' is an American television sitcom that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was b ...

'' and ''The Defenders''. In 1963, she guest-starred as Mrs. Mendelbright,

Barney Fife Bernard "Barney" Fife is a fictional character in the American television program ''The Andy Griffith Show'', portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow-paced, sleepy, southern community of Mayberry, North Ca ...

's landlady on ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series ...

'' in the episode "Up in Barney's Room." Later, in 1966, she appeared as Grandma Pyle on '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' in the episode "Grandma Pyle: Fortune Teller." She also had two appearances in ''

''. In the 1960-1961 season, Markey had a regular role as Aunt Violet Flower in the sitcom '' Bringing Up Buddy'', co-starring Frank Aletter and Doro Merande. Markey and Merande played spinster aunts who provide a home for their bachelor nephew, stockbroker Buddy Flower, played by Aletter. Her last appearance was in '' The Boston Strangler'' (1968).

Personal life

Markey married American Can Company executive George W. Cobb in 1942. He died in 1948.

Death

While visiting friends in Long Island, New York on November 13, 1981, Markey suffered a heart attack and was admitted to South Side Hospital in Bay Shore, New York, where she died two days later at age 87.

Partial filmography

* ''

The Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union army, Union and Confederate States Army, Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylva ...

'' (1913) * '' Shorty's Sacrifice'' (1914, short) - Ethel Somners * '' The Wrath of the Gods'' (1914) * ''The Cup of Life'' (1915) - Ruth Fiske * ''The Darkening Trail'' (1915) - Ruby McGraw * '' The Mating'' (1915) - Daisy Arnold * ''The Iron Strain'' (1915) - Octavia Van Ness * ''Between Men'' (1915) - Lina Hampdon * '' Aloha Oe'' (1915) - Kalaniweo * ''The Despoiler'' (1915) - Sylvia Damien * ''

Civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

'' (1915) - Katheryn Haldemann * ''The Conqueror'' (1916) - Viva Madison * ''The No-Good Guy'' (1916) - Lucia Andrada * ''The Phantom'' (1916) - Avice Bereton * ''The Captive God'' (1916) - Lolomi * '' Shell 43'' (1916) - Adrienne von Altman * ''Lieutenant Danny, U.S.A.'' (1916) - Ysobel Ventura * ''Jim Grimsby's Boy'' (1916) - Bill Grimsby * '' The Devil's Double'' (1916) - Naomi Tarleton * '' Blood Will Tell'' (1917) - Nora North * '' The Yankee Way'' (1917) - Princess Alexia * ''

The Curse of Eve ''The Curse of Eve'' is a lost film, lost 1917 silent film drama directed by Frank Beal and starring Enid Markey and Edward Coxen. It is also known under its alternate title ''Mother, I Need You''. Production The Garden of Eve sequence was shot o ...

'' (1917) - Eva Stanley * ''The Zeppelin's Last Raid'' (1917) - The girl * '' Cheating the Public'' (1918) - Mary Garvin * ''

Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...

'' (1918) - Jane Porter * ''Six Shooter Andy'' (1918) - Susan Allenby * '' The Romance of Tarzan'' (1918) - Jane * ''Mother, I Need You'' (1918) * ''Sink or Swim'' (1920) - Princess Alexia * ''

Snafu SNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression "Situation normal: all fucked up". It is a well-known example of military slang, military acronym slang. It is sometimes censored to "all fouled up" or similar. It me ...

'' (1945) - Aunt Emily * ''

The Naked City ''The Naked City'' (a.k.a. ''Naked City'') is a 1948 American crime procedural produced by Mark Hellinger, directed by Jules Dassin and written by Albert Maltz and Malvin Wald, from a story by Malvin Ward. Starring Barry Fitzgerald, with ...

'' (1948) - Mrs. Hylton * '' Take One False Step'' (1949) - Clara * ''

'' (1956) (Season 1 Episode 35 "The Legacy") - Cecilia Smithson * '' The Boston Strangler'' (1968) - Edna

References

External links

* *
Enid Markey papers, 1895-1971
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markey, Enid 1894 births 1981 deaths Actresses from Colorado American film actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses People from Summit County, Colorado 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles People from Bay Shore, New York