Evelyn Varden (born Mae Evelyn Hall;
["Girl Claims Oil Land; Cherokee Indian Maiden Sues to Enforce Allotment"]
''The Washington Post''. July 28, 1907. p. 59. Retrieved May 15, 2020.["Vinita Girls Making Good on Broadway](_blank)
''The Vinita Daily Chieftain''. November 26, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2020.["Estate of Actress Goes to Relatives"]
''The Los Angeles Times''. October 10, 1931. p. 32. Retrieved May 15, 2020. June 12, 1893 – July 11, 1958) was an American
character actress.
Stage
Born in
Adair, Oklahoma
Adair is a town in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 732 at the 2020 census, down from 790 in 2010. Named for two prominent Cherokee brothers, the town was established in 1883. It opened a Cherokee school.
History
Adair ...
, Varden was
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
and is listed on the
Dawes Rolls
The Dawes Rolls (or Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, or Dawes Commission of Final Rolls) were created by the United States Dawes Commission. The commission was authorized by United States Congress in 1893 to exe ...
as 1/32nd Cherokee by Blood. She began her career as a teenager in the first decade of the 20th century, acting with her aunts in a troupe that toured the western United States.
She was on
Broadway by age sixteen in 1910. It was not until the 1930s and into her forties that her stage career took off in the theater, notably playing Mrs. Gibbs, the small town matron who dreams of Paris, in the original production of ''
Our Town
''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...
''.
Varden's stage work mainly consisted of showy supporting roles although she did star in the ill-fated ''Return Engagement'' by
Lawrence Riley. The 1950 melodrama ''Hilda Crane'' was a personal success for Varden although the play itself ran only two months. The following year she played the Nurse in a production of ''
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' starring
Olivia de Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
. Her final Broadway appearance in ''
The Bad Seed'' was one of her acclaimed performances.
Radio and television
Varden occasionally appeared on radio from the early 1940s and well into the 1950s. She starred in radio productions of ''
Hay Fever
Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of rhinitis, inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a Allergy, type I hypersensitivity re ...
'', ''
The Silver Cord'', and ''
The Glass Menagerie'' among several other programs. She would later appear in a number of television productions during the 1950s, including an adaptation of ''Cradle Song'', opposite
Judith Anderson.
Film
Varden did not make her first film appearance until 1949 at age 56 with the film ''
Pinky''. She then went on to make over a dozen more films, including recreating her stage roles in the motion picture adaptations of ''
Hilda Crane'' (1956) and ''
The Bad Seed'' (1956).
Varden's best-known motion picture performance was as the gregarious storekeeper Icey Spoon in the 1955 film classic, ''
The Night of the Hunter, '' based on the
like-named novel. That performance garnered considerable acclaim, not least from the book's author,
Davis Grubb
Davis Alexander Grubb (July 23, 1919 – July 24, 1980) was an American novelist and short story writer, best known for his 1953 novel ''The Night of the Hunter (novel), The Night of the Hunter'', which was
The Night of the Hunter (film), adapt ...
. "Varden is almost my favorite person in the whole film.
..I thought she was perfect as Icey Spoon. She put things into that characterization that she should have gotten ''extra'' for.
..Because she got across the very subtle way of middle-aged women who are promoting the marriage of a younger woman to an attractive male, they themselves are very sexually excited by the whole thing. It's a sixty-year-old ''
yenta's'' way of getting off. She did more with a little sigh..."
Varden's career was still going strong at the time of her death. Immediately prior to taking ill in January, Varden was appearing in London, earning kudos for her portrayal of an American mother in
Lesley Storm's comedy, ''Roar Like a Dove''. Just weeks before her death, that turn earned Varden the award for Best Supporting Performance (in a Play or Musical) for 1957/1958, as judged by drama critics of the National British press.
Personal life
Varden was married twice: first to fellow thespian
Charles Pearce Coleman, from 1914 until their divorce in 1921,
[ and then, from 1921 until her death, to Baltimore-based hotel operator William J. Quinn.][
]
Death
Varden died on July 11, 1958, at Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, at the age of 65.[ ]
Filmography
* '' Pinky'' (1949) as Melba Wooley
* '' When Willie Comes Marching Home'' (1950) as Mrs. Gertrude Kluggs
* ''Cheaper by the Dozen
''Cheaper by the Dozen'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bes ...
'' (1950) as School Principal (uncredited)
* '' Stella'' (1950) as Flora Stella's mother
* ''Elopement
Elopement is a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, sometimes involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married without parental approval. A ...
'' (1951) as Millie Reagan
* '' Finders Keepers'' (1952) as Ma Kipps
* '' Phone Call from a Stranger'' (1952) as Sally Carr
* ''The Student Prince
''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in a prologue and four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play ''Old Heidelberg (play), Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a scor ...
'' (1954) as Queen
* ''Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...
'' (1954) as Grandma Salome Mulvain
* '' Désirée'' (1954) as Marie
* '' The Night of the Hunter'' (1955) as Icey Spoon
* ''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 ...
'' (1956) (Season 2 Episode 12: "The Rose Garden") as Cordelia Welles
* '' Hilda Crane'' (1956) as Mrs. Burns
* '' Cradle Song'' (1956 TV movie) as The Vicaress["Noel Coward, Edna Best Star Saturday; 'Cradle Song' Next"]
''Green Bay Press-Gazette''. May 4, 1956. Retrieved May 16, 2020.[Lowery, Raymond (April 10, 1960)]
"Goings On"
''The Raleigh News and Observer''. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
* '' The Bad Seed'' (1956) as Monica Breedlove
* '' Ten Thousand Bedrooms'' (1957) as Countess Alzani (final film role)
Broadway appearances
* ''The Nest Egg'' (November 22, 1910 – January 1911)
* ''Seven Days' Leave'' (January 17, 1918 – June 1918)
* ''Allegiance'' (August 1, 1918 – September 1918)
* ''The Honor of the Family'' (March 17, 1919 – May 1919)
* ''Alley Cat'' (September 17, 1934 – Sep 1934)
* ''A Woman of the Soil'' (March 25, 1935 – April 1935)
* ''Life's Too Short'' (September 20, 1935 – September 1935)
* ''Weep for the Virgins'' (November 30, 1935 – December 1935)
* ''Russet Mantle'' (January 16, 1936 – April 1936)
* ''Prelude to Exile'' (November 30, 1936 – January 1937)
* ''Now You've Done It'' (March 5, 1937 – April 1937)
* ''To Quito and Back'' (October 6, 1937 – December 1937)
* ''Our Town
''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...
'' (February 4, 1938 – November 19, 1938)
* ''Family Portrait'' (March 8, 1939 – June 1939)
* ''Ladies and Gentlemen'' (October 17, 1939 – January 13, 1940)
* ''Grey Farm'' (May 3, 1940 – June 1, 1940)
* ''Return Engagement'' (November 1–7, 1940)
* ''The Lady Who Came to Stay'' (January 2–4, 1941)
* ''Candle in the Wind'' (October 22, 1941 – January 10, 1942)
* ''The Family'' (March 30, 1943 – April 3, 1943)
* ''Our Town'' (revival) (January 10–29, 1944)
* ''Dream Girl'' (December 14, 1945 – December 14, 1946)
* ''Present Laughter'' (October 29, 1946 – March 15, 1947)
* '' She Stoops to Conquer'' (December 28, 1949 – January 8, 1950)
* ''Hilda Crane'' (November 1, 1950 – December 31, 1950)
* ''Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' (March 10, 1951 – April 21, 1951)
* ''A Date With April'' (April 15–25, 1953)
* ''The Bad Seed'' (December 8, 1954 – September 27, 1955)
References
Further reading
"Evelyn Varden, the Beautiful Spy in 'Seven Days' Leave,' the New Bill at The Park, New York"
''The Spur''. The Spur. February 1, 1918.
"Around Broadway's Maypole: Evelyn Varden
''Theatre Magazine''. May 1919.
"The Stage: Evelyn Varden, Leading Woman with Otis Skinner in his Revival of 'The Honor of the Family'"
''Munsey's Magazine''. June 1919.
"L.A. Girl Will Be Seen in New Role: Evelyn Arden to Appear in Musical Comedy"
''Los Angeles Herald''. June 3, 1920.
"Denied Many a Role Because She Was Willowy; Evelyn Varden, Lean in Plump Era, Now Proud of Her Curls"
''The Boston Sunday Globe''. December 13, 1942.
* Ormsbee, Helen (November 10, 1946
"Dolly Varden Once, Evelyn Varden Now: Evelyn Varden in "Present Laughter""
''New York Herald Tribune''.
* Marriott, J. B. (October 17, 1957)
"Evelyn Varden: A Distinguished Visitor from America"
''The Stage''.
External links
*
*
*
1947 radio production
of ''Hay Fever
Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of rhinitis, inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a Allergy, type I hypersensitivity re ...
'' at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varden, Evelyn
1893 births
1958 deaths
20th-century American actresses
20th-century Native American people
20th-century Native American women
Actresses from Oklahoma
American film actresses
American radio actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Cherokee Nation actresses
People from Adair, Oklahoma
Cherokee people on the Dawes Rolls