- Evelyn Rudie
Evelyn Rudie (b.
March 28 ,1949 ,Los Angeles, California ) is a playwright, director, songwriter, film and television actress and teacher. Since 1973, she has been the co-artistic director of the Santa Monica Playhouse. Over a 35-year span, she has given more than 10,000 stage performances in 350 plays. As an award-winning costume designer, she uses the pseudonym Ashley Hayes.Television
In 1956, Rudie became an overnight star with her performance in the title role of "Eloise" on television's "
Playhouse 90 ". It brought her critical acclaim, much press coverage and an Emmy nomination at age six—the first time a child actress was so honored. She returned to "Playhouse 90" the following year portraying the young Perle Mesta in "The Hostess with the Mostest".The television "Eloise" was an adaptation of the popular book by
Kay Thompson , which owed much to the delicate line illustrations ofHilary Knight . The marketing of "Eloise" and the subsequent book sequels practically always featured the illustrations of Knight, and numerous photographs were published in the 1950s of Rudie in the role. However, Rudie's popularity as a child star led to the merchandising of at least one product which did not associate her with the character of Eloise. This was "Evelyn Rudie Paper Dolls", published by Saalfield in 1958.During the late 1950s, she acted on other leading television shows, including "Alfred Hitchcock Presents ", "General Electric Theater ", "Lawman", "The Red Skelton Show" and "Wagon Train ", along with seven appearances on "The Tonight Show " withJack Paar . During this period, she also was an actress on radio programs, including "Suspense".During the 1960s, she focused on education. After graduating from Hollywood High with honors, Rudie studied film production at UCLA.
Films
Her theatrical film appearances include:
*"Daddy Long Legs" (uncredited, 1955),
*"The View from Pompey's Head " (1955),
*"Hot Shots" (uncredited, 1956),
*"The Wings of Eagles" (uncredited, 1957),
*"The Restless Breed" (1957),
*"The Gift of Love" (1958) and
*"Bye Bye Birdie" (uncredited, 1963).Rudie's star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at the corner of Hollywood and Highland.Listen to
* [http://www.vintageradioplace.com/broadcast/arcglowingdial0410.html Evelyn Rudie on "Suspense" (May 18, 1958)]
External links
*imdb|0748766
* [http://www.eloisewebsite.com/eloise_on_tv.htm Eloise on TV]
* [http://santamonicaplayhouse.com/thepeople.htm#EVELYN_RUDIE Santa Monica Playhouse: Evelyn Rudie]
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