Margaret Ruth Draper (November 20, 1916 – October 14, 2011) was an American actress and international service worker.

Early years

Draper was born in 1916, the third of six children born to Delbert Morley Draper and Frances Mary Rogers. Shortly after her birth her family relocated to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

where she lived until 1934. A 1940 newspaper article noted that she "is pleasantly remembered for her performances in

Theta Alpha Phi Theta Alpha Phi National Theatre Honors Fraternity () was an American honor society for theatre. It was established in 1919 by members of the National Association of Teachers of Speech. Membership was available to undergraduates and graduate stud ...

productions" at 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 ...

. The summer she graduated from university, she accompanied a friend and his sister to New York City to pursue a career in the theatre. She went with a single bag and $38.50 in her purse. Alone in New York, she found a small room in Tudor City and soon began working in G. Schirmer's music store.

Career

In the late 1930s through 1940, Draper was active in the theater in the Eastern United States for four seasons. She worked with the Wharf School of the Theater, Provincetown, Massachusetts; Green Lake Players, Buffalo, New York;

Cherry Lane Theatre The Cherry Lane Theatre is the oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater in New York City. The theater is located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, ...

, New York City, New York; and Chekhov Theater Studio, Ridgefield, Connecticut. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she worked for two years for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

as a recreational director, and returned to lean years in New York until 1947, when she got her first radio role with Carl Beier in the

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 ...

program, ''Joe Powers of Oakville''. (Another source says: "In 1947, she joined with the

Barter Theatre Barter Theatre, in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933. It is the longest-running professional Equity theatre in the United States. History Concept In 1933, when the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, many peo ...

and for a year toured with that company throughout the southwest. In March of 1948, she returned to New York and radio ....") She later appeared in the

Actor's Equity The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book or thro ...

presentation of "Peer Gynt", and was voted one of the most promising actresses of the year. She obtained supporting roles in two Broadway shows, played the part of Fay Perkins in the radio soap opera

Ma Perkins ''Ma Perkins'' (sometimes called ''Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins'') is an American radio soap opera that was heard on NBC from 1933 to 1949 and on CBS from 1942 to 1960. It was also broadcast in Canada, and Radio Luxembourg carried it in Europe. T ...

, and in 1949 was invited to audition for the part of Liz Dennis in '' Brighter Day''. She won the part, and played Liz until around 1954, when the part of Linda Pepper was being cast for ''

Pepper Young's Family ''Pepper Young's Family'' is a daytime drama series, with various format and title changes during its long run from 1932 to 1959. It was created and written by short story author and playwright Elaine Sterne Carrington. History With Burgess Mere ...

'', which she won. ^ Draper portrayed Eva Petri in '' The Gambler'' on

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 ...

in 1952. Her other Broadway credits included '' A Minor Adjustment'', during the 1967-1968 season.

Later years and death

In 2003, Draper moved to an independent living community in Salt Lake City. In the fall of 2010, she moved to her son's home in

Payson, Utah Payson is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo– Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 21,101 at the 2020 census. History Pioneers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led by ...

, and the following spring she settled in a care facility in that same town, where she died on October 14, 2011, aged 94.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, Margaret 1916 births 2011 deaths Actresses from Utah American radio actresses American stage actresses People from Spanish Fork, Utah University of Utah alumni 21st-century American women