Eva Elizabeth "Eve" McVeagh (July 15, 1919 – December 10, 1997) was an American actress of film, television, stage, and radio. Her career spanned 52 years from her first stage role through her last stage appearance.
Her roles included leading and supporting parts as well as smaller character roles in which she proved a gifted
character actress.
Early life
Born in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
to Hugh McVeagh, a railroad clerk, and Eva E. Johnson, she moved to Los Angeles in 1923 with her widowed mother and maternal grandmother, Molly Johnson, where she started acting in theater in her teens.
Stage
![Eve McVeagh Headshot circa 1965](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Eve_McVeagh_Headshot_circa_1965.jpg)
Following stage success in Hollywood, McVeagh moved to New York City in her 20s, performing on radio and on Broadway in several productions including the roles of Martha in ''Snafu'' (1944–1945)
and Patsy Laverne in ''Too Hot for Maneuvers'' (1945).
After the well received Broadway run of ''Snafu'', McVeagh took over the female lead at The National Theater in Washington DC in 1945.
In 1947, McVeagh played a supporting role opposite
Billie Burke and
Grant Mitchell in the original play ''Accidentally Yours''. The production received very favorable reviews on the West Coast and was en route to New York where it was predicted to be the "comedy smash hit of 1948". However, the production was not a commercial success and never made it to Broadway. Ms McVeagh did not perform on Broadway again, but after returning to Los Angeles, and working in film and television for years, she traveled back to New York to perform in the play
Scuba Duba
''Scuba Duba'' is a 1967 comedy play from Bruce Jay Friedman which was a success off-Broadway starring Jerry Orbach, Judd Hirsch, Conrad Bain and Cleavon Little in a production that ran for 692 performances.
The play was profiled in the Willia ...
in 1971.
After this stage work, McVeagh traveled back to her home base in Los Angeles. She starred in West Coast premieres of Broadway shows at the
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...
, most notably the lead in ''Come Back Little Sheba''. Her Hollywood theater work included one year as Martha in ''
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...
''
Her stage career continued in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
in 1981 in ''The Ninety Day Mistress'', playing the mother of
June Wilkinson
June Wilkinson (born 27 March 1940 in Eastbourne) is an English model and actress, known for her appearances in ''Playboy'' magazine and in films of the 1960s. One of the world's most-photographed women in the late 1950s and early 1960s, at the he ...
's character. She continued to act in small stage productions including several with the award-winning Theatre Forty Company in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
. In Hollywood, her final role was as a member of a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
couple in 1989 concluding an over 50 year stage career.
[
]
Film
McVeagh's first film appearance was a supporting role in the classic ''High Noon
''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense of ...
'' (1952) in which she played Mildred Fuller alongside Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...
and Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kelly ...
. In the early 1950s she was under contract with Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. During that time, she co-starred in ''Tight Spot
''Tight Spot'' is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson and Brian Keith. The story was inspired by Senator Estes Kefauver's tactics in coercing Virginia Hill to testify in ...
'' as Clara Moran playing the sister of Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
: Of her performance, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' raved "For our money, the best scene, whipped up by scenarist William Bowers, is the anything-but-tender reunion of Miss Rogers and her sister, Eve McVeagh ... an ugly, blistering pip." Ms. McVeagh was also featured opposite Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, '' Kiss of Death'' (1947) ...
and Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...
in '' The Cobweb'' as Shirley Irwin. She starred as Viv in ''The Glass Web
''The Glass Web'' is a 1953 American 3-D film noir crime film directed by Jack Arnold and starring Edward G. Robinson, John Forsythe, Marcia Henderson and Kathleen Hughes. It is based on Max Simon Ehrlich's 1952 novel ''Spin the Glass Web''.
...
'', and was featured as Mrs. Clinton in ''Three in the Attic
''Three in the Attic'' is a 1968 comedy film directed by Richard Wilson and starring Christopher Jones and Yvette Mimieux, with Judy Pace and Maggie Thrett. Nan Martin, John Beck, and Eve McVeagh appear in supporting roles. Jones plays Paxton ...
'', Mrs. Masters in ''The Way West
''The Way West'' is a 1949 western novel by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1950 and became the basis for a film starring Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, and Richard Widmark.
The novel is one in the sequence o ...
'', Mrs. Griggs in ''Crime & Punishment, USA
''Crime and Punishment U.S.A.'' (1959) is an American feature film directed by Denis Sanders, written by Walter Newman and starring George Hamilton in his first screen role. The film was released on November 1, 1959.
''The New York Times'' call ...
'', a reporter in the Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. He ...
production of ''King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
'', and ''The Graduate
''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Wil ...
''. Her final co-starring film role was in the independent film ''Money to Burn'' (1983) as Vivian. Her last onscreen appearance was a cameo role in '' Creator'' (1985) with Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...
. Ms. McVeagh's contributions to film were recognized by the bestowal of full voting membership in the actor's branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...
in September 1974. Her contributions in film spanned 33 years.
Television
McVeagh's career in television began in 1946 as a primary cast member in the first American network Soap Opera, ''Faraway Hill
''Faraway Hill'' was the first soap opera broadcast on an American television network, airing on the DuMont Television Network on Wednesday nights at 9:00 PM between October 2 and December 18, 1946. A ''Variety'' article stated the Caples advertis ...
''. Other notable early television series on which she guest starred included '' Dragnet'' and ''I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'' (as Lucy
Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Luci ...
's hairdresser, Roberta, in the classic "Black Wig" episode). She was featured in three episodes of ''Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...
'' and two episodes of ''The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'', and was a regular guest on ''The Johnny Carson Show
''The Johnny Carson Show'' was a 1955–56 half-hour prime time television variety show starring Johnny Carson.
While working as a staff writer on ''The Red Skelton Show'', local Los Angeles television comedian Carson filled in as host when Sk ...
''. Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
notably hired actors he liked regularly. McVeagh was featured in four episodes of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...
'' and two episodes of ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was re ...
'' ("Last Seen Wearing Blue Jeans" in 1963). She co-starred on the Hitchcock-directed episode, "Incident at a Corner", of the television series '' Startime'' (pictured). Roles in the 1960s also included Frances Moseby, a series regular, on ''The Clear Horizon
''The Clear Horizon'' is an American soap opera which ran on CBS Daytime from July 11, 1960 to March 10, 1961 and February 26 to June 15, 1962. Manya Starr created the program and was its head writer.
Premise
''The Clear Horizon'' (titled ''The Ar ...
'', a recurring character, Miss Hammond, on ''Petticoat Junction
''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and B ...
'', as well as roles on ''Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
'', '' Ironside'' and ''My Three Sons
''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chronicl ...
''. Continuing in the 1970s, she appeared in the 1972 television movie "The Daughters of Joshua Cabe".
McVeagh was a regular on ''The Red Skelton Show
''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his televis ...
'' for its last season. She also regularly performed in guest spots in ''Room 222
''Room 222'' is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television that aired on ABC for 112 episodes, from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 ( EST) fo ...
'' and ''McMillan & Wife
''McMillan & Wife'' (known simply as ''McMillan'' from 1976–77) is an American police procedural television series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1971, to April 24, 1977. Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in the title roles, the ...
''. A favorite of Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...
going back to ''I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'', she appeared with her on ''Here's Lucy
''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's thir ...
''. She guest starred in ''Love, American Style
''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...
'', and was featured in ''Little House on the Prairie
The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...
'', ''The Streets of San Francisco
''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin, Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the ...
'', '' The Virginian'', ''The Bionic Woman
''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel ''Cyborg'' by Martin Caidin, starring Lindsay Wagner that aired from January 14, 1976, to May 13, 1978. ' ...
'', ''Charlie's Angels
''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...
'', ''The Jeffersons
''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of List of The Jeffersons episodes, 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longe ...
'', ''Lou Grant
Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character was ...
'', ''The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
'', ''Knots Landing
''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...
'', ''Hill Street Blues
''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
'', ''Hunter
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
'', and '' Airwolf''. She rounded out the 1970s on a high note as socialite Helen Carrington in the 1979 critically acclaimed television movie ''Murder by Natural Causes
''Murder by Natural Causes'' is a 1979 American television film directed by Robert Day (director), Robert Day and starring Hal Holbrook, Katharine Ross, Richard Anderson, and Barry Bostwick. It is a crime mystery written by the creators of the TV s ...
'' with Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
.
In the 1980s, her last decade in entertainment, McVeagh co-starred in an episode of Michael Landon
Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in ''Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in ''Little House on the Pr ...
's ''Highway to Heaven
''Highway to Heaven'' is an American fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series that ran on NBC from September 19, 1984, to August 4, 1989. The series starred Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel sent to Earth in order t ...
'' and was featured in two episodes of ''Simon & Simon
''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who operate ...
''. McVeagh guest starred in a 1985 episode of '' Cagney and Lacey'' as Dorothy Gantney, the grief-stricken mother of a murder victim in "The Psychic". McVeagh's last television credit was in 1987 as the guest star of the PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
show ''Square One TV
''Square One Television'' (sometimes referred to as ''Square One'' or ''Square One TV'') is an American children's television program produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop) to teach mathematics and abstract ...
'' as Mrs. Swaggle. Her career in television spanned 41 years.
Radio
Photograph (right) was taken for "Let's Play Tennis Week" a charity event with stars of that era.
During the "Golden Age of Radio", McVeagh had several leading and supporting series roles and episodic leads in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mrs. Harriet Beatty on the "Clyde Beatty Show", and was a regular on "Broadway Is My Beat
''Broadway Is My Beat'', a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air. For ...
" and "Stars Over Hollywood
''Stars over Hollywood'' is a radio anthology in the United States. It was broadcast on CBS from May 31, 1941, to September 25, 1954, sponsored first by Dari-Rich, Carnation Milk and later by Armour and Company. (Note: This program should not be ...
". She starred in "Hollywood Hostages", an episode of "Suspense
Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...
", as Grace.
McVeagh was a principal performer on "Jeff Regan, Investigator", Jack Webb
John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Joe Friday, Sgt. Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise) ...
's radio noir series. "McVeagh's ditzy—and sultry—characterizations were regularly featured" in the series. She also played the lead in the role of convicted murderess Marie Lafarge
Marie-Fortunée Lafarge (née Capelle; 15 January 1816 – 7 November 1852) was a French woman who was convicted of murdering her husband by arsenic poisoning in 1840. Her case became notable because it was one of the first trials to be follo ...
in the 1953 episode of ''Crime Classics
''Crime Classics'' is a United States radio docudrama which aired as a sustaining series over CBS Radio from June 15, 1953, to June 30, 1954.
Production
Produced and directed by radio actor and director Elliott Lewis, the program was a histor ...
'', "The Seven Layered Arsenic Cake of Madame Lafarge". McVeagh appeared as the title character in the May 29, 1960 episode of "Gunsmoke" entitled "Bad Seed" and again in the January 29, 1961 episode entitled "Harriet".
Acting and voice coach
McVeagh was an acting and voice coach at the Film Actors Workshop at Warner Brothers Studios. Additionally, she taught privately and guest lectured at the University of Southern California in the School of Theatre.
Family life
McVeagh was married to character actor and director Clarke Gordon (her fourth husband) at the time of her death and had four children and nine grandchildren.
Death
Eve McVeagh Gordon died on December 10, 1997, from natural causes in Los Angeles. She was 78 years old.
Stage, Radio, Television and Film Credits
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McVeagh, Eve
1919 births
1997 deaths
American stage actresses
American radio actresses
American television actresses
American soap opera actresses
American film actresses
Actresses from Cincinnati
20th-century American actresses