Eleanor Phelps
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Eleanor Phelps (September 8, 1907-September 29, 2001) was an American film and television actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She also appeared in Broadway theater productions.
Phelps attended Vassar and aspired to become a Broadway performer. Her father opposed her desire to appear on stage but her mom assisted her by introducing her to actor George Arliss. She visited Arliss at his elegant Beekman Place (Manhattan) apartment and he also tried to discourage Phelps from acting.
She joined the University Players Guild along with Henry Fonda, Margaret Sullivan, and James Stewart. Arliss saw her in a play and invited her to become a member of the cast in his production of The Merchant of Venice. She loved more than anything being in a play by Mister Shakespeare.
Phelps appeared in motion pictures in the early 1930s with roles in The Run Around (1932), The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), and Cleopatra (1934).
She believed that some of the best acting was in soap operas. Phelps participated in both soaps and made-for-television productions. Among these are Cinderella (1957), Hallmark Hall of Fame (1961), The Catholic Hour (1967), The Secret Storm (1954), Somerset (1975), Threesome (1984), and Kate & Allie (1989). She played a very rich lady, Grace Tyrrell, on The Secret Storm, for more than sixteen years. She once did a commercial for Hershey in which she played an elegant lady getting in an elevator with a cow.
Among her passions was Latin America and wearing the bright colors and Aztec designs which reflected her interest.
Phelps died in September 2001 in New York City.
[edit] References
- Fresno, California Bee, Where Fifty Million Dollars Works For $7.50 A Day, August 12, 1934, Page 36.
- The Frederick, Maryland News, Personalities, The Best Drama Teacher Is The Audience, March 21, 1973, Page 6.
