Claire Niesen (c. 1920 - October 4, 1963)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc.; , pg. 203. was an American actress, primarily on

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

Early years

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, she wanted to be an actress from age 4. She was valedictorian of her class at a high school in New York City and attended the

Feagin School of Dramatic Art The Feagin School of Dramatic Art (also Feagin School of Dramatic Radio and Arts) first located at Carnegie Hall, then later at 316 West 57th Street in New York City, was an early training site for actors Jeff Corey, Helen Claire, Angela Lan ...

. She had experience in vaudeville before she began working in radio.

Radio

Niesen debuted on radio on a small station when she was 15 years old, having roles in works by Ibsen and Shakespeare. She starred on network soap operas for two decades. She first acted on network radio in ''

Joyce Jordan, M.D. Joyce Jordan, M.D. is a radio soap opera in the United States. It was broadcast on ABC, CBS and NBC at various times during the era of old-time radio. Donna Halper, in her book, ''Invisible Stars: A Social History of Women in American Broadcastin ...

'' Her roles on radio programs included those shown in the table below. Source: ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960'', except as noted. In his book, ''Historical Dictionary of American Radio Soap Operas'', Jim Cox wrote: "Mary Noble's alter ego, Niesen, consistently projected the appealing inflections required by the role: invariably soft-spoken, tenderhearted, and forgiving. Her empathetic expressions contributed to winning the part and helping her keep it for the final 14 years the serial was on the air (1945-59)." Other programs in which Niesen was heard included ''

Life Can Be Beautiful ''Life Can Be Beautiful'' was a daytime drama broadcast on NBC and CBS during its 16-year run. The program was also facetiously known to many as ''Elsie Beebe'', a contrived acronym based on the show's initials. Scripted by Don Becker and Carl Bi ...

'', ''The Right to Happiness'', ''Light of the World'', ''Meet Miss Julia'', ''Into the Light'', ''The Man I Married'', ''We, the People'', ''March of Time'' and ''Manhattan at Midnight''.

Stage

Niesen's

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 Stree ...

credits include ''The Talley Method'' (1940) and ''Cue for Passion'' (1940).

Recognition

In 1943, Niesen won the Philco Hall of Fame Award.

Personal life

Niesen married actor

Melville Ruick Melville Ruick (July 8, 1898 – December 24, 1972) was an American actor. Early years Ruick was born in Boise, Idaho in 1898. His father was a U.S. district attorney in Idaho, and Ruick studied law at the University of California. Milit ...

March 11, 1949, in New York City.

Death

Niesen died of cancer in

Encino, California Encino (Spanish language, Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north t ...

on October 4, 1963. She was survived by her husband, a daughter and a sister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niesen, Claire 1920 births 1963 deaths American stage actresses American radio actresses 20th-century American actresses