Faye Margaret Emerson (July 8, 1917 – March 9, 1983) was an American film and stage actress and television interviewer who gained fame as a film actress in the 1940s before transitioning to television in the 1950s and hosting her own talk show. Born in Louisiana, Emerson spent the majority of her early life in San Diego, California. She became interested in theater while attending San Diego State College and then pursued an acting career, appearing in stock theater in California. She signed a contract with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

and began appearing in its films in 1941. She starred in several films noir, including '' Lady Gangster'' (1942) and

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

's war film ''

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

'' (1943). In 1944, she played one of her more memorable roles as Zachary Scott's former lover in '' The Mask of Dimitrios''. From 1944 to 1950, she was married to

Elliott Roosevelt Elliott Roosevelt may refer to: * Elliott Roosevelt (socialite) (1860–1894), American socialite, father-in-law of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, father of Eleanor Roosevelt, younger brother of President Theodore Roosevelt, and grandfather of G ...

, son of

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. In 1949, Emerson began hosting ''The Faye Emerson Show'', a late-night talk show series. Her prolific appearances on many talk shows and game shows throughout the 1950s earned her the nickname "The First Lady of Television". During the decade, she also appeared in numerous Broadway stage productions. Emerson formally retired from show business in 1963 and retired to Europe. She lived there until 1983, when she died of stomach cancer in Deià, Spain, aged 65. For her contributions to the motion picture industry, Emerson received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

in 1960. Her star is located at 6529 Hollywood Blvd.

Early life

Faye Margaret Emerson was born July 8, 1917, in

Elizabeth, Louisiana Elizabeth is a village in Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States with population of 417 in the 2020 census. It was a town and had population of 532 at the 2010 census. History As the village's website notes, the Village of Elizabeth was once ...

, the fifth child of Lawrence L. and Jean Emerson. The family moved frequently during her early years, including El Paso, Texas, and New Mexico, when she was an infant. Her parents separated when Emerson was three years old, and she went to Chicago in 1924 to live with her father and stepmother. At age 10, she moved to San Diego, California, to live with her mother, where she spent the remainder of her formative years. She became interested in dramatics during her two years attending the Academy of San Luis Rey, a Roman Catholic convent and boarding school in Oceanside, California. She attended Point Loma High School, and for one year, San Diego State College. Emerson joined the San Diego Community Theatre, and the St. James Repertory Theater, performing in summer stock productions in California. Emerson married her first husband, William Wallace Crawford, Jr., a naval aviator, on October 29, 1938. The couple had a son, William Wallace "Scoop" Crawford, III, in 1940.

Film career

In 1941, while appearing in a stage production of ''Here Today'' at the San Diego Municipal Theater, Emerson was spotted by a talent agent from

studios. She subsequently signed a contract with the studio, appearing in bit parts before having supporting roles in '' Bad Men of Missouri'' and '' Nine Lives Are Not Enough'' (both released in 1941). She had her first starring role in a low-budget remake of the

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career, she was known for her strong, realistic screen p ...

crime melodrama ''

Ladies They Talk About ''Ladies They Talk About'' is a 1933 pre-Code American crime drama directed by Howard Bretherton and William Keighley, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, and Lyle Talbot. The film is about an attractive woman who is a member of a ...

'' (1933); Emerson took the Stanwyck role in '' Lady Gangster'' (1942). In 1943, Emerson met President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

's son Colonel

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

was instrumental in bringing the two together when Colonel Roosevelt visited the

Hughes Aircraft Company The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of the Hughes Tool Company. The company produced the Hughes H-4 Hercules air ...

to evaluate the proposed Hughes XF-11. Though Roosevelt was married, Emerson and he linked up, strongly urged on by the generous efforts of Hughes and his social facilitator, Johnny Meyer. Emerson later asserted that despite her doubts, Hughes urged her to advance the relationship, and she could not defy him. Emerson and Roosevelt married on December 3, 1944, at the rim of Grand Canyon, where she was filming ''Hotel Berlin''. Hughes and Meyer provided the funding and airplanes for the wedding. When Roosevelt went back to Europe, he named his reconnaissance aircraft "My Faye". After some months in Beverly Hills in 1945, the couple resided with Eleanor Roosevelt at Hyde Park, New York. Emerson continued to appear in a number of crime dramas, co-starring with Zachary Scott in three: '' The Mask of Dimitrios'' (1944), '' Danger Signal'' (1945), and '' Guilty Bystander'' (1950). She co-starred with

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle; March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

in the film noir '' Nobody Lives Forever'' and opposite

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...

in '' Crime by Night''. '' Murder in the Big House'', made in 1942, was re-released in 1945 when co-star Van Johnson became a

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers themselves. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia Ea ...

; the film was retitled ''Born for Trouble''. By 1947, Emerson's marriage to Roosevelt had begun to disintegrate. In late 1948, after having made her Broadway debut in ''The Play's the Thing'', Emerson attempted suicide on Christmas Day 1948 by slitting her wrists, and was hospitalized. On January 12, 1950, she obtained a divorce from Roosevelt in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Television and theater

In 1948, Emerson had transitioned to television and had begun acting in various anthology series, including '' The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre'', ''

The Philco Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the ...

'', and ''

Goodyear Television Playhouse ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television. Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' ...

''. She served as host for several short-lived talk shows and musical/variety shows, including ''Paris Cavalcade of Fashions'' (1948) and ''The Faye Emerson Show'' (CBS, 1950).

She was hostess and narrator of NBC's ''Cavalcade of Fashion'' from August 13 to December 16, 1948...The Faye Emerson Show (CBS) debuted on October 24, 1949 and ended, April 12, 1952. During that time, she was also a member of the glamour panel on NBC's ''Leave It to The Girls'' and a frequent guest on ''Who Said That''. She was working steadily at both the networks. In addition to her CBS show, she starred in another ''Faye Emerson Show'' for NBC from April 15 to May 20, 1950. When it ended, she appeared on another for NBC: ''Fifteen with Faye''.

In November 1948, Emerson hosted ''Paris Cavalcade Of Fashions'', filmed for movie theaters and aired on NBC ( Julie Gibson later replaced her). In 1949, Emerson began hosting ''The Faye Emerson Show'', a 15-minute show, sometimes appearing on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

simultaneously, which, though it lasted only one season, gave her wide exposure. According to author Gabe Essoe in ''The Book of TV Lists'', on one of the show's segments, her low-cut gown slipped and "she exposed her ample self coast to coast." The show was broadcast from a studio CBS built on the sixth floor of the

Stork Club Stork Club was a nightclub in Manhattan, New York City. During its existence from 1929 to 1965, it became one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, the wealthy elite, including movie stars, celebrities, showgi ...

building. The studio, a complete replica of the Stork Club's Cub Room, was built for ''The Stork Club'', also seen on CBS beginning in 1950. ''The Stork Club'' aired 15 minutes before ''The Faye Emerson Show''. ''Fifteen with Faye'' aired from June to August 1950 on NBC. In 1950, Emerson married bandleader and conductor Lyle "Skitch" Henderson in Cuernavaca. After ''The Faye Emerson Show'' was canceled, she continued in television with other talk shows, including ''

Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town ''Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town'', also known as ''Wonderful Town, USA'', is a half-hour variety television series that aired on CBS from June 16, 1951, to April 19, 1952, in which Faye Emerson visits various cities. Episodes of the program wer ...

'' (1951–1952), '' Author Meets the Critics'' (1952), and ''Faye and Skitch'' (1953–54), appearing in the latter with her husband. She made numerous guest appearances on various variety shows and game shows. Emerson hosted or appeared on many talk shows, usually wearing elaborate evening gowns. She was such a frequent panelist on game shows like ''

To Tell The Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'' and '' I've Got a Secret'' that she was known as "The First Lady of Television" (although that title was sometimes applied to others, including Ruth Lyons and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

). During this time, Emerson was earning up to $200,000 per year. Emerson and Henderson divorced in 1957 in Acapulco, Mexico. Former brother-in-law

James Roosevelt James Roosevelt II (December 23, 1907 – August 13, 1991) was an American businessman, Marine officer, activist, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician. The eldest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor R ...

wrote: "After an incident involving some teenage girls, kitchwas dropped from

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

's ''Tonight'' TV show, and his career went into eclipse. Emerson's marriage to Skitch hit the skids". However, the teenage incident happened before Carson's ''Tonight Show'', which didn't begin until 1962, and Emerson had divorced Henderson in 1957. (Henderson had been dropped from ''Tonight'' in 1957, but it was the Steve Allen incarnation.) While appearing on television throughout the 1950s, Emerson also appeared in numerous Broadway productions, including ''Parisienne'' (1950), ''The Heavenly Twins'' (1955), ''Protective Custody'' (1956), and ''

Back to Methuselah ''Back to Methuselah (A Metabiological Pentateuch)'' by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface (''The Infidel Half Century'') and a series of five plays: ''In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 (In the Garden of Eden)'', ''The Gospel of the Brothers Ba ...

'' (1958).

Personal life

Eleanor Roosevelt and Faye Emerson in Hyde Park - NARA - 196168 Cropped

Emerson was married to auto dealer William Crawford from 1938⁠ until ⁠1942, and they had one son together. She was married to writer

, the son of President

, from 1944 until 1950. By 1947, Emerson's marriage to Roosevelt had begun to disintegrate. After having made her Broadway debut in ''The Play's the Thing'', Emerson attempted suicide on Christmas Day 1948 by slitting her wrists and was hospitalized. In January 1950, she obtained a divorce from Roosevelt in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Despite her former connection to the Roosevelts, Emerson supported Republican

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

in the presidential election of 1952. Emerson was married to Skitch Henderson from 1950 until 1957. In 1963, Emerson made her final television appearance and formally retired from show business. She moved to Europe, residing for a time in Switzerland and then settling in Spain in 1975. Emerson rarely returned to the United States and spent much of her time in seclusion. Emerson died on March 9, 1983, at age 65 from stomach cancer in Deià, Spain, where she had lived since 1975.

Filmography

Stage credits

Radio and TV credits

Radio show host: * ''That's A Good One'', NBC-BLUE (1943) * ''At Home With Faye And Elliott'', NBC-BLUE (1946) (co-host: Elliott Roosevelt) Radio show lead: * ''My Silent Partner'', NBC-Radio (1949) TV show host: * ''Paris Cavalcade Of Fashions'', NBC-TV (1948) (also Narrator) * ''The Faye Emerson Show'' CBS-TV, (1950) * ''The Faye Emerson Show'' NBC-TV, (1950) * ''Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town'', CBS (1951–1952) * ''Author Meets The Critics'', DuMont-TV (1952) (Moderator) * '' Youth Wants To Know'', NBC (1952) (

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

was a panelist on that show) * ''Faye And Skitch'', NBC-TV (1953–1954) (with Skitch Henderson) * ''Of All Things'', CBS-TV (1956) TV game show panelist: * ''I've Got A Secret'', CBS (1952–1958) * ''What's My Line'', CBS (1952) * ''Quick As A Flash'', ABC (1953–1954) * ''What's In A Word'', CBS (1954) * ''Masquerade Party'' (1958–1960)

References

Sources

* * * * * * Roosevelt, James. ''My Parents: A Differing View.'' Playboy Press, 1976. *

External links

* *
Faye Emerson
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Faye 1917 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American politicians Actresses from Louisiana Actresses from San Diego American expatriates in Spain American film actresses American stage actresses American television talk show hosts American television actresses California Democrats Deaths from stomach cancer in Spain Louisiana Democrats People from Elizabeth, Louisiana Faye Emerson Warner Bros. contract players