Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2008-0617-502, Ehepaare March, Prinz zu Löwenstein

Florence Eldridge (born Florence McKechnie, September 5, 1901 – August 1, 1988) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1957 for her performance in '' Long Day's Journey into Night''.

Early years

Eldridge was born Florence McKechnie in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, the daughter of Charles J. McKechnie. She attended public schools, including P.S. 85 and Girls' High School.

Stage

Eldridge made her Broadway debut at age 17 as a chorus member of ''Rock-a-Bye Baby'' at the Astor Theatre. The reference book ''American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1930-1969'' noted, "In the 1920s she won major attention in such plays as ''The Cat and the Canary'' and ''Six Characters in Search of an Author''." In 1965, husband Fredric March and she did a world tour under the auspices of the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

. Eldridge wrote that they were "experimenting to see if an acting couple doing excerpts from plays on a bare stage could reach and appeal to a worldwide audience."

Personal life

On March 19, 1921, Eldridge married Howard Rumsey, who owned the Empire Theater and the Knickerbocker Players (both in Syracuse) and the Manhattan Players of Rochester. They were wed at her aunt's home in Maplewood, New Jersey. She was married to Fredric March from 1927 until his death in 1975, and appeared alongside him on stage and in seven films. They adopted two children, Penelope and Anthony. Like her husband, she was a liberal Democrat.

Partial credits

Stage

*'' The Cat and the Canary'' *''

Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist metatheatric play about the relationship among authors, the ...

'' *''

An Enemy of the People ''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende''), an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, followed his previous play, '' Ghosts'', which criticized the hypocrisy of his society's moral code. That response in ...

'' *'' Long Day's Journey Into Night'' *'' The Skin of Our Teeth'' *'' The Autumn Garden''

Screen

*'' Six Cylinder Love'' (1923) as Marilyn Sterling *'' The Studio Murder Mystery'' (1929) as Blanche Hardell *'' The Greene Murder Case'' (1929) as Sibella Greene *'' Charming Sinners'' (1929) as Helen Carr *'' The Divorcee'' (1930) as Helen *'' The Matrimonial Bed'' (1930) as Juliet Corton *'' Thirteen Women'' (1932) as Grace Coombs *'' The Great Jasper'' (1933) as Jenny Horn *'' Dangerously Yours'' (1933) as Jo Horton *'' The Story of Temple Drake'' (1933) as Ruby Lemarr *''

A Modern Hero ''A Modern Hero'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romance drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and directed by G. W. Pabst. It is based on the novel with the same title by Louis Bromfield. It was Pabst's only American talking film and the next ...

'' (1934) as Leah Ernst *''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' (1935) as

Fantine Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young '' grisette'' in Paris who becomes pregnant by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look after their chi ...

*'' Mary of Scotland'' (1936) as Elizabeth Tudor *'' Another Part of the Forest'' (1948) as Lavinia Hubbard *'' An Act of Murder'' (1948) as Catherine Cooke *''

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

'' (1949) as Queen Isabella *'' Inherit the Wind'' (1960) as Sarah Brady

Radio appearances

References

External links

* * * 1901 births 1988 deaths American film actresses American radio actresses Actresses from New York City American stage actresses People from Brooklyn People from Long Beach, California 20th-century American actresses Burials in Connecticut Connecticut Democrats California Democrats New York (state) Democrats Girls' High School alumni {{US-film-actor-1900s-stub