Florence E. "Flo" Sundstrom (February 9, 1918 – June 25, 2001) was an American actress who had an active career in theatre, television, and film. A prominent character actress on Broadway from 1936-1959, she notably created the roles of Bella in the world premiere of

Anita Loos Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888 – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put h ...

's '' Happy Birthday'' in 1946, Bessie in the world premiere of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

's ''

The Rose Tattoo ''The Rose Tattoo'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1949 and 1950; after its Chicago premiere on December 29, 1950, he made further revisions to the play for its Broadway premiere on February 2, 1951, and its publication b ...

'' in 1951, and Mrs. Marie "Fatty" Pert in

Ketti Frings Ketti Frings (28 February 1909 – 11 February 1981) was an American writer, playwright, and screenwriter who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1958. Early life and education Katherine Hartley was born in Columbus, Ohio. She attended Principia College. ...

's ''

Look Homeward, Angel ''Look Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life'' is a 1929 novel by Thomas Wolfe. It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American coming-of-age story. The character of Eugene Gant is generally believed to be ...

'' in 1957. She made her film debut as Flora in the film adaptation of ''The Rose Tattoo'' in 1955, and thereafter remained active as a character actress in American television and film into the 1990s. She was a main cast member in the 1955–1956 season of ''

The Life of Riley ''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, as well as two different television series, and a comic book. Radio series The radio program initially aired on the B ...

'', portraying a new neighbor of the Riley family.

Life and career

Florence E. Sundstrom was born February 9, 1918, in New York City, the younger of two daughters of U.S. Navy Captain Einar William Sundstrom and Jetta Marie (Osmundsen) Sundstrom. She was educated at

Great Neck Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Poin ...

High School, and studied acting, music, and dance in New York and

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, where she made her stage debut in 1922. She made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

debut as a replacement in ''Parnell'' during its 1935–1936 run at the

Ethel Barrymore Theatre The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 243 West 47th Street (Manhattan), 47th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1928, it ...

, and was an opening cast member as Vivian Caldwell in Henry R. Misrock's ''Bright Honor'' at the

48th Street Theatre The 48th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 157 West 48th Street in Manhattan. It was built by longtime Broadway producer William A. Brady and designed by architect William Albert Swasey. The venue was also called the Equity 48th Stree ...

(September 27, 1936). She starred as a character actress in numerous plays on Broadway through 1959, including

Chester Erskine Chester Erskine (November 29, 1905 – April 7, 1986) was an American director, producer, and writer. Biography Chester Erskine was born in Hudson, New York and studied for a short time at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first dir ...

's ''The Good'' (Oct 1938, as Rose Dubrowski),

Irwin Shaw Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: '' The Young Lions'' (1 ...

's ''Retreat to Pleasure'' (1940 -1941, as Lenore Trilling),

Charles MacArthur Charles Gordon MacArthur (November 5, 1895 – April 21, 1956) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and 1935 winner of the Academy Award for Best Story. Life and career MacArthur was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the sixth of seven ch ...

's ''Johnny on a Spot'' (1942, as Barbara Webster),

Frank Tarloff Frank Tarloff (February 4, 1916 – June 25, 1999) was a blacklisted American screenwriter who won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for '' Father Goose''. A child of Polish immigrant parents, Tarloff grew up in Brooklyn, New York ...

's ''They Should Have Stood in Bed'' (1942, as Vivian Lowe),

Milton Lazarus Milton Lazarus (1898 or 1899 – March 1, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He began his career as a Press Agent before pursuing a career as a writer. He wrote the book for the Broadway musicals '' Shoot the Works'' (1931), ''New ...

's ''The Sun Field'' (1942, as Karyl Dumont),

Robert Stolz Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.Stanley Sadie Ed. (2002) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Oxford University Press Biography ...

's ''Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston'' (1945, as Pepi), Stanley Richards's ''Marriage Is for Single People'' (1945, as Lily Packer),

's '' Happy Birthday'' (1946-1948, as Bella),

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's ''

Goodbye, My Fancy ''Goodbye, My Fancy'' is a 1948 play by Fay Kanin. A comedy in three acts and four scenes, the work premiered at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario, on October 21, 1948, for tryout performances before the production moved to Broadway in New Yo ...

'' (1948-1949, as Ellen Griswold),

's ''

'' (1951, as Bessie), Mary Helen Fay's ''Faithfully Yours'' (1951, as Gracie), N. Richard Nash's ''See the Jaguar'' (1952, as Mrs. Meeker), and

's ''

'' (1957-1959, as Mrs. Marie "Fatty" Pert). In film Sundstrom appeared in ''

'' (1955, as Flora, ''

The Vagabond King ''The Vagabond King'' is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic novel and play ''If I Were King''. The story is a fictionali ...

'' (1956, as Laughing Margot), '' Spring Reunion'' (1957, as Mary), '' Bachelor in Paradise'' (1961, as Mrs. Pickering), '' The Last Challenge'' (1967, as Outdoors), '' The World's Greatest Lover'' (1977, as Aunt Tillie), '' Stitches'' (1985, as a maid), and ''

Pacific Heights Pacific Heights (often referred to as Pac Heights) is a wealthy neighborhood in San Francisco, California, United States. It has panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, the Palace of Fine Arts, Alcatraz, Presidio of San Fr ...

'' (1990, as Mrs. Thayer). Sundstrom joined the main cast of the television series ''

'' for the 1955-1956 season after the Riley family moved and they were given new neighbors portrayed by Sundstrom and

George O'Hanlon George O'Hanlon (November 23, 1912 – February 11, 1989) was an American actor, comedian and writer. He was best known for his role as Joe McDoakes in the Warner Bros.' live-action ''Joe McDoakes'' short subjects from 1942 to 1956 and as the voic ...

. Sundstorm married baritone and musical theatre actor and radio personality

Ronald Graham Ronald Lewis Graham (October 31, 1935July 6, 2020) was an American mathematician credited by the American Mathematical Society as "one of the principal architects of the rapid development worldwide of discrete mathematics in recent years". He ...

on December 20, 1940, who died in 1950, aged 38. Sundstorm died in Los Angeles on June 25, 2001, at the age of 83.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
Florence Sundstrom
theatre credits on

BroadwayWorld BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City, New York. Launched in 2003, the site covers Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater productions, with sections devoted to particular countries, cities, or regi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundstrom, Florence 1918 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American actresses American musical theatre actresses American television actresses