Enid Markey

Enid Markey (February 22, 1894 – November 15, 1981) was an American theatre, film, radio, and television actress, whose career spanned over 50 years, extending from the early 1900s to the late 1960s. In movies, she was the first performer to portray the fictional character Jane, Tarzan's "jungle" companion and later his wife. Markey performed as Jane twice in 1918, costarring with Elmo Lincoln in the films Tarzan of The Apes and The Romance of Tarzan.[1][2]

Enid Markey
Markey in 1916
Born(1894-02-22)February 22, 1894
Dillon, Colorado
DiedNovember 15, 1981(1981-11-15) (aged 87)
Bay Shore, New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1911–1968

Early years

Markey was born in Dillon, Colorado. Her education came in boarding school in Denver.[1]

Career

Markey acted on stage and in vaudeville before turning to movies.[1] Her first film role was in The Fortunes of War (1911). During the production of The Wrath of the Gods (1914), Markey, a "leading lady with the New York Motion Picture Company", was "badly injured" during the production.[3] During her scene in which the lava flow destroys the village, she was surrounded by smoke and fumes, and was nearly asphyxiated, but had recovered by May 1914.[4]

After Markey made the first two Tarzan films, she turned to acting on stage, saying "I really wanted to learn how to act."[5] She acted in 29 Broadway plays, beginning with Up in Mabel's Room (1919) and ending with What Did We Do Wrong? (1967).[6]

During the 1950s and 1960s, she appeared in several television series including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and The Defenders.

In 1963, she guest-starred as Mrs. Mendelbright, Barney Fife's landlady on The Andy Griffith Show in the episode "Up in Barney's Room."[7] Later, in 1966, she appeared as Grandma Pyle on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. in the episode "Grandma Pyle: Fortune Teller."[8] She also had two appearances in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

In the 1960-1961 season, Markey had a regular role as Aunt Violet Flower in the sitcom Bringing Up Buddy, co-starring Frank Aletter and Doro Merande. Markey and Merande played spinster aunts who provide a home for their bachelor nephew, stockbroker Buddy Flower, played by Aletter.[9]

Her last appearance was in The Boston Strangler (1968).

Personal life

Markey married American Can Company executive George W. Cobb in 1942. He died in 1948.[5]

Death

While visiting friends in Long Island, New York on November 13 1981, Markey suffered a heart attack and was admitted to South Side Hospital in Bay Shore, New York, where she died two days later at age 87.[2][5]

Partial filmography

References
  1. Katchmer, George A. (2009). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. p. 233. ISBN 9781476609058. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  2. "Enid Markey dies; played Jane in original 'Tarzan'", obituary, Chicago Tribune, November 16, 1981, p. D15. Retrieved via ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Ann Arbor, Michigan), June 29, 2022.
  3. "New York Motion Picture Company". Motion Picture News. May 23, 1914. p. 56. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  4. "Miss Enid Markey". Illustrated Films Monthly (Mar - August 1914). p. 382. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  5. Fraser, C. Gerald (November 16, 1981). "Enid Markey, Actress, Dead; Starred in First Tarzan Film". The New York Times. p. B 18. ProQuest 121663388. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  6. "Enid Markey". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  7. The Andy Griffith Show: Up in Barney's Room | TVmaze, retrieved February 14, 2023
  8. Gomer Pyle, USMC : Grandma Pyle, Fortuneteller (1966) - Peter Baldwin | Cast and Crew | AllMovie, retrieved February 14, 2023
  9. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
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