Hope Emerson (October 29, 1897 – April 24, 1960;) was an American actress, vaudevillian, nightclub performer, and
strongwoman
A strongwoman is a woman who performs feats of strength in a show or circus, or a woman who competes in strength athletics. Traditionally, strongwomen have had a special appeal, as women involved in demonstrated feats of strength were exceptions ...
. An imposing person physically, she weighed between and stood tall in her prime.
Early life
Emerson was born in
Hawarden, Iowa
Hawarden is a city in Sioux County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,700 at the time of the 2020 census. It is located on the Big Sioux River.
History
Hawarden was platted in 1882. It was named for Hawarden Castle, the Welsh home of s ...
, to John Alvin and Josie L. (née Washburn) Emerson, the middle and only surviving child of three (her two siblings died in infancy). She began her career at age three, touring Iowa with her mother, a character actress. Following her graduation from West High School in
Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
in 1916, she moved to New York City, where she performed in
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
.
Career
Emerson 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 Stree ...
debut in ''Lysistrata'' in 1930, when theatrical producer
Norman Bel Geddes
Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer.
Early life
Bel Geddes was born Norman Melancton Geddes in Adrian, Michigan and was raised in New Philadelp ...
cast her for the role of Lamputo, an Amazon. She made her film début in ''Smiling Faces'' (1932) but then returned to the theater. In 1947, critic
Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...
praised her performance ("vastly entertaining as the garrulous old crone") in ''
Street Scene''. In the 1940s, Emerson was also known as the voice of "
Elsie the Cow
Elsie the Cow is a cartoon cow developed as a mascot for the Borden Dairy Company in 1936 to symbolize the "perfect dairy product". Since the demise of Borden in the mid-1990s, the character has continued to be used in the same capacity for the ...
" in radio commercials for
Borden Milk
Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in C ...
.
Some of Emerson's more memorable roles were as a circus strongwoman in the film ''
Adam's Rib
''Adam's Rib'' is a 1949 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor from a screenplay written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in ...
'' (1949), lifting actor
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
up in the air; as a nefarious masseuse-conspirator in the noirish ''
Cry of the City
''Cry of the City'' is a 1948 American film noir starring Victor Mature, Richard Conte, and Shelley Winters. Directed by Robert Siodmak, it is based on the novel by Henry Edward Helseth, ''The Chair for Martin Rome''. The screenwriter Ben Hecht ...
'' (1948); and as a mail-order bride in ''
Westward the Women
''Westward the Women'' is a 1951 Western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel and John McIntire.
Plot
In 1851, Roy Whitman wants to keep the lonely men who live in Whitman's Valley from leaving, so he ...
'' (1952); as a prospector in an episode of ''
Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...
'' ("Big Liz") (1958). Her most famous character, however, was the sadistic prison matron Evelyn Harper in ''
Caged'' (1950), a role that garnered her an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination for
Best Supporting Actress.
On television, Emerson guest-starred in "Housekeeper", the final episode of the series ''
It's a Great Life''. In that episode she portrays a bossy housekeeper who temporarily takes charge while Amy Morgan, played by
Frances Bavier
Frances Elizabeth Bavier (December 14, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American stage and television actress. Originally from New York theatre, she worked in film and television from the 1950s until the 1970s. She is best known for her role o ...
, is away on vacation. In 1957, she guest-starred in "The Inheritance," an episode of the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
situation comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
Mr. Adams and Eve''.
[The Classic TV Archive Mr. Adams and Eve (1957-58) Accessed 12 June 2021]
/ref> She had a regular role as Mother on the detective series ''Peter Gunn
''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...
'' (1958–1961), for which she received an Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nomination. She left ''Peter Gunn'' after its first season and was succeeded in the same role by Minerva Urecal
Minerva Urecal (born Florence Minerva Dunnuck; September 22, 1894 – February 26, 1966) was an American stage and radio performer as well as a character actress in Hollywood films and on various television series from the early 1950s to 1 ...
, who bore a strong resemblance to Emerson but was far (8 inches) shorter. Emerson left ''Peter Gunn'' for a starring role on the CBS sitcom ''The Dennis O'Keefe Show
''The Dennis O'Keefe Show'' is an American sitcom produced by Cypress Production/United Artists Television which aired on CBS for sponsor General Motors' Oldsmobile division. It was not a ratings success during its original run and was canceled af ...
'' (1959–60). She appeared in every episode of its single season run but died 16 days before the final episode aired.
Death
Emerson died of liver disease
Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common.
Signs and symptoms
Some of the sig ...
in 1960 at age 62 in Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
on April 24, 1960. She is interred in Grace Hill Cemetery in her hometown of Hawarden, Iowa. She never married or had children.
References
External links
*
*
Profile
Turner Classic Movies website; accessed April 23, 2016
*
*http://sumshee.com/hope-emerson.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Hope
1897 births
1960 deaths
People from Hawarden, Iowa
Actresses from Iowa
American child actresses
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Deaths from liver disease
Vaudeville performers
Singers from Iowa
Strongwomen
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women singers