Gertrude Warner (April 2, 1917 – January 26, 1986) was an American voice talent who played multiple characters on radio productions during the

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

Early life

Warner was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, in 1917. Her father was James L. Warner. Her mother was Mildred Lovejoy Warner. Her brother, James L. Warner, was a B17 pilot in World War II.

Career

In 1938, Warner went to New York after having acted with a radio stock company in

. A week after she arrived, she had the lead role in the radio drama '' Against the Storm''. Warner's first starring role on radio came when she was 23, playing Rebecca Lane in ''Beyond These Valleys'' 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 ...

. Her successful radio career continued for 28 years and well over 4,000 performances. She was considered one of the queens of daytime radio, appearing in dozens of daytime serials. Among her accomplishments was being the female lead on the dramatic anthology '' Brownstone Theater'' on Mutual. She portrayed such well known characters as

Della Street Della Street is the fictional secretary of Perry Mason in the long-running series of novels, short stories, films, and radio and television programs featuring the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner. In 1950, Gardner publ ...

on the daytime ''

The New Adventures of Perry Mason ''The New Perry Mason'' is a CBS TV series that ran from 1973 to 1974. It was a revival of the 1957 ''Perry Mason'' television series about Erle Stanley Gardner's brilliant defense attorney. Plot All of the major characters of the original seri ...

'', "the lovely Margot Lane" on ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

'', and the title character on '' Joyce Jordan, M.D.'' The December 6, 1943 ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'' 60-minute radio adaptation of the film ''

Mrs. Miniver ''Mrs. Miniver'' is a 1942 American romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. Inspired by the 1940 novel '' Mrs. Miniver'' by Jan Struther, it shows how the life of an unassuming Britis ...

'' proved so popular, it was developed into a daytime serial in early 1944. Warner was the second actor to take the title role and act as the narrator on this short-lived

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

.Dunning, op. cit.
"Mrs. Miniver" pp. 461-462
/ref> Trudy Warner played leading, supporting and some times guest roles on popular radio series, such as ''

Young Doctor Malone ''Young Doctor Malone'' is an American soap opera, created by Irna Phillips, which had a long run on radio and television from 1939 to 1963. The producer was Betty Corday (1912–1987), who also produced '' Pepper Young's Family'' and later wa ...

'', '' The Mystery Man'', '' Dimension X'', ''

Nick Carter, Master Detective ''Nick Carter, Master Detective'' is a Mutual radio crime drama based on tales of the fictional private detective Nick Carter from Street & Smith's dime novels and pulp magazines. Nick Carter first came to radio as ''The Return of Nick Carter ...

'', ''Dangerously Yours'', ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

'', ''

Cavalcade of America ''Cavalcade of America'' is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented musicals, such as an adaptation of ''Show Boat'', and condensed biographies of popular Composer, composers. It was ...

'', ''Matinee Theater'', '' The MGM Theater of the Air'' and dozens more programs. She was the third-busiest actor in the Golden Age of Radio. Her only visual credit is as one of five actresses playing the character of Claire English on the daytime soap opera ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

''. She also appeared in some television commercials. Later in her life, she taught acting for television at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

and Weist Barron studios.

Personal life

Warner was married to Carl Frank from 1955 until 1957. Together they have a son, Douglas Warner Frank. She also has two grandchildren, Griffin and Caroline Frank.

Death

Warner died on January 26, 1986, from cancer.

References

External links

* * �
Last Ride on the Merry Go Round - Theater Five
March 8, 1965, Starring Gertrude Warner, Hosted b
Archive.org

Gertrude Warner at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Gertrude 1917 births 1986 deaths American radio actresses American soap opera actresses Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Hartford, Connecticut