Shirley Adrienne Bell Cole (February 21, 1920 (another source says 1921
[DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 28.]) – January 12, 2010), also known as Shirley Bell, was an American radio actress; best known as the voice of ''
Little Orphan Annie
''Little Orphan Annie'' is a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on Aug ...
'' in the
eponymous radio show.
Early years
Born Shirley Adrienne Bell in Chicago's South Side, she grew up in various apartments as her family endured the Depression. Her mother was described as "the consummate
stage mother," while her father "left the family when Shirley was a toddler."
She attended
Lake View High School in Chicago.
Radio
Cole was first heard on radio at age 6, as a member of the
WGN Players.
[ Beginning when she was 10 years old, Bell was the primary voice actress of the character ''Little Orphan Annie'' from 1930 to 1940][Hevesi, Dennis. "Shirley Bell Cole, the Voice of Little Orphan Annie, Dies at 89". ''The New York Times'', January 30, 2010.]
/ref>[Jensen, Trevor. "Shirley Bell Cole dies at 89; radio voice of 'Little Orphan Annie'." ''Los Angeles Times'', January 27, 2010.]
/ref> (except for a brief time when a problem with her contract kept her out).[ ] She also was on ''Captain Midnight
''Captain Midnight'' (later rebranded on television as ''Jet Jackson, Flying Commando'') is a United States, U.S. adventure franchise first broadcast as a radio serial from 1938 to 1949. The character's popularity throughout the 1940s and into ...
'' in the role of Patsy.[
In 1995, Bell was heard in a reenactment of ''Little Orphan Annie'' on ]Chuck Schaden
Charles Leroy "Chuck" Schaden, born June 29, 1934, is a Chicago-area broadcaster and historian who hosted the program ''Those Were the Days'' on local radio from 1970 to 2009. Schaden played recordings of classic old-time radio shows and reminisc ...
's ''Those Were the Days'' radio show.
Family
She quit acting in 1940 and married Irwin Cole, an automobile dealer. He was born in Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, where the couple raised three daughters (Randy, Cathy, and Lory[) in the affluent Chicago suburb Glencoe. Irwin Cole died in 1998.][
]
Later years
Book
She authored ''Acting Her Age: My Ten Years as a Ten-Year-Old: My Memories as Radio’s Little Orphan Annie'' (Stinehour Press, 2005). Designed by Susan Cox, the book won Best in Show, Crystal Book Award of Excellence at the Chicago Book and Media Show, and a Silver Award in Fine Editions at the Gold Ink Awards.
Commercials
In the 1970s, Cole recorded voice-overs for television commercials.[
]
Death
Cole died in Arizona January 12, 2010. She was survived by three daughters and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held in Chicago, Illinois, February 21, 2010.
See also
* ''Little Orphan Annie
''Little Orphan Annie'' is a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on Aug ...
''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Shirley Bell
1920s births
2010 deaths
American radio actresses
Actresses from Chicago
21st-century American women