Eloise Kummer

Margery Eloise Kummer (June 17, 1916 - August 24, 2008) was an American radio and television actress.

Eloise Kummer
Kummer (circa 1944)
BornJune 17, 1916
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
DiedAugust 24, 2008 (aged 92)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin
OccupationActress
Known forActing in old-time radio
SpouseRaymond A. Jones (1946–78; his death)
Children1 son
1 daughter
Parent(s)Mr. and Mrs. Martin Kummer

Early years

Kummer was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin,[1] the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Kummer.[2] After graduating in 1933 from Sheboygan High School, where she won honors in dramatics,[3] she attended the University of Wisconsin, graduating from its School of Speech.[4] Later, working at the perfume counter in a department store in Chicago allowed her to study "manners of speech, reactions, opinions, and characteristics in general" of women. After working in the store, she began acting on radio.[3]

Career

Radio

In October 1937, Krummer successfully auditioned for a part in Curtain Time and, as a result, appeared in the program's October 15, 1937, broadcast on WGN.[5] A March 11, 1938, newspaper item reported, "Miss Kummer has been heard frequently on programs over Chicago stations ..."[6] By October 2, 1938, she had been chosen as a member of the permanent cast of Fortunes of Emily on WGN.[7]

Kummer's roles on radio programs included those shown in the table below:

ProgramCharacter
American WomenHost-narrator[8]: 24 
Backstage WifeMarcia Mannering[9]
Betty and BobKathy Stone[8]: 36 
Dear MomJane[10]
Doctors at HomeMrs. Riggs[11]
Guiding LightNorma Greenman[12]
Hot CopyPatricia Murphy[8]: 157 
Island VentureNancy[11]
Lone JourneyNita Bennett[8]: 204 
Lora LawtonMarcia Trevor[13]
The Right to HappinessCarolyn Allen[14]
Road of LifeCarol Evans[15]
The Story of Mary MarlinMary Marlin [8]

In 1957, Kummer was co-host with Josh Brady of two 15-minute daily talk programs on WBBM in Chicago. The Eloise and Josh Show aired in the mornings, and The Josh and Eloise Show was broadcast in the evenings.[16]

She returned to radio drama in 1980, taking the role of Circe in a 12-hour, $1.5 million National Radio Theater production of Homer's Odyssey.[17]

Television

In 1949, Kummer portrayed Kay Carter on These Are My Children, which has been inaccurately described as the first televised daytime soap opera (it was actually preceded by the DuMont series Faraway Hill in 1946 and Highway to the Stars in 1947), but was the first soap opera strip.[18] Kummer also played Nancy Bennett on The Bennetts.[19]

State fair narration

In 1962, Kummer recorded the narration for an exhibit at Hawaii's State Fair. The "talking glass lady" was described in an article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin as "a plexiglass model of a 28-year-old woman."[20] As the exhibit's lighting changed to focus on first one internal organ and then another, Kummer's narration described how each spotlighted organ functioned.[20]

Personal life

On August 3, 1946, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Kummer married Raymond A. Jones, an officer of the American Federation of Radio Artists.[21] They had two children[19] and remained married until his death in 1978.[22] Their daughter, Amanda Jones, won the Miss USA title in 1973.[23]

References
  1. "Eloise Kummer". OTRRPedia. Old Time Radio Researchers Group. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  2. "Miss Kummer Is Pledged As Kappa At State School". The Sheboygan Press. Wisconsin, Sheboygan. September 25, 1933. p. 8. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "Voice Specialist". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. May 17, 1941. p. 24. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "Play Written By Sheboygan Women Is Enjoyed At Meeting Of Woman's Club On Tuesday". The Sheboygan Press. Wisconsin, Sheboygan. March 10, 1937. p. 12. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. "Miss Kummer To Appear On Radio Program Tonight". The Sheboygan Press. Wisconsin, Sheboygan. October 15, 1937. p. 11. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. "Miss Kummer To Be Heard In Radio Drama Over WGN". The Sheboygan Press. Wisconsin, Sheboygan. March 11, 1938. p. 6. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. "Cast Is Chosen for 'Fortunes of Emily'". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. October 2, 1938. p. Part 3-Page 8. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  8. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  9. "(photo caption)". The Nebraska State Journal. Nebraska, Lincoln. October 16, 1938. p. D-10. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. "Dear Mom". The Times. Indiana, Munster. February 5, 1941. p. 15. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  11. "Miss Kummer Is Off To Florida". The Sheboygan Press. Wisconsin, Sheboygan. April 23, 1946. p. 7. Retrieved March 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  12. "Young Mother". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. March 17, 1942. p. 8. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  13. Luther, Paul (December 27, 1946). "Inside Radio". Daily Press. Virginia, Newport News. p. 7. Retrieved March 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  14. Cox, Jim (2008). The Great Radio Soap Operas. McFarland. p. 191. ISBN 9781476604145. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  15. "(photo caption)". The Pittsburgh Press. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. June 11, 1942. p. 31. Retrieved March 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  16. Southerland, Jackie (June 16, 1957). "Eloise Sees Bike, Brady in Same Light". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. p. 214. Retrieved March 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  17. Green, Larry (June 22, 1980). "Homer's Epic 'Odyssey' a Radio Drama, By Jove". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. p. 18. Retrieved March 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  18. "Television-KSD-TV". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri, St. Louis. January 31, 1941. p. 29. Retrieved March 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  19. "Talk of the Town". TV Radio Mirror. 49 (2): 50–51. January 1958. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  20. "'Glass Lady' To Tell All at 50th State Fair". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Hawaii, Honolulu. June 20, 1962. p. 39. Retrieved March 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  21. "Miss Eloise Kummer Weds Raymond Jones Of New York". The Sheboygan Press. Wisconsin, Sheboygan. August 5, 1946. p. 8. Retrieved March 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  22. "Raymond A. Jones". The Sheboygan Press. Wisconsin, Sheboygan. July 3, 1978. p. 12. Retrieved March 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  23. "New Miss USA Has Local Ties". The Sheboygan Press. Wisconsin, Sheboygan. May 21, 1973. p. 14. Retrieved March 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
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