Cheerio Meredith (born Edwina Lucille Hoffmann; July 12, 1890 – December 25, 1964) was an American character actress. She was described in a 1963 newspaper article as having "a face like a wrinkled rosebud."

Early life

Meredith was born in 1890; her mother was an

elocution Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms. It stems from the idea that while communication is symbolic, sounds are final and compel ...

ist in the

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...

movement, and one of her grandmothers was an evangelist. Meredith made her own debut on stage with a monologue at age 3. The name Cheerio resulted from her cheerful attitude as a child. As a teenager, Meredith sought to play older characters. At age 15, she asked a producer to give her the part of an old woman, and he made her a witch in the play.

Film and television

Films in which Meredith appeared included ''Brand of Courage'' (1958), ''The Long Count'' (1962), '' The Fat Man'' (1951), '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'' (1955), '' I Married a Woman'' (1958), '' The Legend of Tom Dooley ''(1958), '' The Three Stooges in Orbit'' (1962),''

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm ''The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm'' is a 1962 American Biographical film, biographical fantasy film directed by Henry Levin (film director), Henry Levin and George Pal. The latter was the producer and also in charge of the stop motion a ...

'' (1962)'''' and '' Sex and the Single Girl (1964).'' On television, Meredith portrayed Lovey Hackett on '' One Happy Family'' (1961). She also was seen regularly on '' The Ames Brothers Show'' (1955) and had the role of Emma Brand (later Emma Watson) on '' The Andy Griffith Show.'' Mary Lou Gedman wrote about Meredith's role on the Griffith show, "During her two-year stint on the show, she only appeared in six episodes but somehow, to the American people, she made a lasting impression." She also had roles in other programs such as '' Petticoat Junction'', '' December Bride'', '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' The Tom Ewell Show'', ''

McHale's Navy ''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. The series was filmed i ...

'', '' Perry Mason'' and ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

.''

Personal life and death

Meredith was twice married and had four children, three of whom acted on Broadway before going into other careers. The fourth became a producer of plays. In December 1964, "after a long illness", Meredith died at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was 74 years old. Meredith was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Cheerio 1890 births 1964 deaths American film actresses 20th-century American actresses American television actresses