Leora Thatcher (May 12, 1894 – March 5, 1984) was an American actress on stage, film, and television, and a teacher.

Early years

Thatcher was born in

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

, on May 12, 1894, the daughter of Sarah Catherine Hopkins and Moses Thatcher, Jr. She had a brother and two sisters. She attended

Brigham Young College Brigham Young College was a college and high school in Logan, Utah. It was founded by Brigham Young on 6 August 1877, 23 days before his death. He deeded several acres of land to a board of trustees for the development of a college. This was j ...

, Utah State Agricultural College, and the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

(UU), from which she graduated in 1921. At UU, she studied speech and theater under Maud May Babcock. She taught speech at Logan High School for two years before she became an actress.

Career

Thatcher's career began with her acting with the KSL Players in Utah. She joined the

Moroni Olsen Moroni Olsen (June 27, 1889November 22, 1954) was an American actor. Life and career Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah, to Latter-day Saint parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Martha ( Hoverholst) Olsen, who named him after the Moroni found in the ...

Players in 1923 and spent eight years performing with that touring repertory company. For eight years she played Ada Jester in '' Tobacco Road'' on Broadway, after which she continued in that role in the play's touring company. Her other Broadway credits included ''

One Bright Day ''One Bright Day'' is the fourth album by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers were a Jamaican-American reggae family group whose line-up consisted of the children of musicians, Bob Marley and Rita Marley, wh ...

'' (1952), ''The Male Animal'' (1952), '' The Children's Hour'' (1952), ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

'' (1957), and '' J.B.'' (1958), Films in which Thatcher appeared included ''

Counsel for Crime ''Counsel for Crime'' is a 1937 American crime film directed by John Brahm starring Otto Kruger, Douglass Montgomery and Jacqueline Wells. Plot Following his graduation from law school, Senator Robert Maddox's (Hall) adopted son Paul (Montgomery ...

'' (1937), '' Theodora Goes Wild'' (1936), and a series of comedies starring

Andy Clyde Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967), was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned some 45 years. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer Day''. H ...

. On radio, Thatcher portrayed Marge Mulvaney on ''Lora Lawton'' and Mrs. Kramer on ''The Right to Happiness'' and was a supporting player on '' The Mel Blanc Show''. She also was heard on '' Aunt Jenny's Stories'', ''Ellen Randolph'', ''Good Neighbors'', and '' Second Husband'', and she directed some radio programs. Television programs on which Thatcher appeared included ''I Remember Mama'', '' Kraft Theatre'', '' NBC Matinee Theater'', ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The Live television, live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run ...

'', and '' Studio One''. In 1943, while her parents were ill, Thatcher taught a play production class at USAC. Thatcher was inducted into the Pioneer State Theatre Hall of Fame in 1976.

Death

Thatcher died on March 5, 1984, in Salt Lake City, aged 89.

Photographs

The Leora Thatcher Photograph Collection is housed at the

Utah State Historical Society The Utah State Historical Society, founded in 1897, encourages the research, study, and publication of Utah history. From its modest beginnings, the Utah Historical Society has grown to several hundred members, developed a research collection ...

in Salt Lake City, Utah. It contains 36 photographs, most of which are of Thatcher and her relatives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thatcher, Leora 1894 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Utah American film actresses American radio actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses University of Utah alumni