Margaret Draper

Margaret Ruth Draper (November 20, 1916 – October 14, 2011) was an American actress and international service worker.

For the American Revolution printer, see Margaret Green Draper.
Margaret Draper
Margaret Draper The Brighter Day 1950
Born
Margaret Ruth Draper

(1916-11-20)November 20, 1916
Spanish Fork, Utah, U.S.
DiedOctober 14, 2011(2011-10-14) (aged 94)
Payson, Utah, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1934–1985

Early years

Draper was born in 1916, the third of six children born to Delbert Morley Draper and Frances Mary Rogers. Shortly after her birth her family relocated to Salt Lake City where she lived until 1934.[1]

A 1940 newspaper article noted that she "is pleasantly remembered for her performances in Theta Alpha Phi productions" at the University of Utah.[2]

The summer she graduated from university, she accompanied a friend and his sister to New York City to pursue a career in the theatre. She went with a single bag and $38.50 in her purse. Alone in New York, she found a small room in Tudor City and soon began working in G. Schirmer's music store.[3]

Career

In the late 1930s through 1940, Draper was active in the theater in the Eastern United States for four seasons. She worked with the Wharf School of the Theater, Provincetown, Massachusetts; Green Lake Players, Buffalo, New York; Cherry Lane Theatre, New York City, New York; and Chekhov Theater Studio, Ridgefield, Connecticut.[2]

During World War II, she worked for two years for the Red Cross in Europe and the Middle East as a recreational director,[4] and returned to lean years in New York until 1947, when she got her first radio role with Carl Beier in the CBS program, Joe Powers of Oakville. (Another source says: "In 1947, she joined with the Barter Theatre and for a year toured with that company throughout the southwest. In March of 1948, she returned to New York and radio ....")[4]

She later appeared in the Actor's Equity presentation of "Peer Gynt", and was voted one of the most promising actresses of the year. She obtained supporting roles in two Broadway shows, played the part of Fay Perkins in the radio soap opera Ma Perkins, and in 1949 was invited to audition for the part of Liz Dennis in Brighter Day. She won the part, and played Liz until around 1954, when the part of Linda Pepper was being cast for Pepper Young's Family, which she won. ^ [5]

Draper appeared in The Gambler in New York City in 1952.[6] Her Broadway credits included A Minor Adjustment, during the 1967-1968 season.[7]

Later years and death

In 2003, Draper moved to an independent living community in Salt Lake City. In the fall of 2010, she moved to her son's home in Payson, Utah, and the following spring she settled in a care facility in that same town, where she died on October 14, 2011, aged 94.

References
  1. The bulk of the information in this article taken from DeSantis, Fortunata, with Draper, Margaret: A Brief Biography of Margaret Draper, 1997 (unpublished)
  2. "Chekhov Stage Group Holds Utah Actress". Utah, Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake Tribune. August 11, 1940. p. 59. Retrieved April 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. Radio-TV Mirror, October 1952, "Margaret Draper - Stubborn Lassie", p. 72
  4. "Radio-Television". Pennsylvania, Altoona. Altoona Tribune. July 29, 1952. p. 11. Retrieved April 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. "Pepper Young's Wife". TV-Radio Mirror. March 1957. pg 86.
  6. "(photo caption)". New York, Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 12, 1952. p. 31. Retrieved April 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. "A Minor Adjustment - Cast". Playbill. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
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