Angel Casey
{{Short description|American television and radio actress}}
{{For|the television producer trio Angell-Casey-Lee|Grub Street Productions}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Angel Casey on Demming Court in Chicago Early 1950s.jpg
| caption = Angel Casey
| alt =
| birth_name = Lorraine Shartle Johnson
| birth_date = 1919
| birth_place = Middletown, OH, U.S.
| death_date = 2007
| death_place = Chicago, IL, U.S.
| death_cause =
| spouse = Tristan Meinecke (m. 1947-2004)
| children =
| occupation = Actress, Children's show host
| years_active =
}}
Lorraine Meinecke (née Johnson), known professionally as Angel Casey, was an American television and radio actress.
Early life
She was born in Middleton, Ohio,{{Citation | last = Overholser | first = Martha | title = Angel Casey Builds Name as Pinch Hitter | journal = | date = 31 Aug 1952 | url = }} and attended the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music.{{cite web | last = Eidson | first = Crystal | title = "It's About TV: The hidden history of Angel Casey" | publisher = Mitchell D. Hadley | date = 5 Oct 2016 | url = https://www.itsabouttv.com/2016/10/the-hidden-history-of-angel-casey.html }}
==Television and radio career==
Angel Casey began her acting career in the mid-1940s. One of the earliest extant photos from this period is an advertisement for caviar, published in Life Magazine's August 1945 issue.{{Citation | last = | first = | title = Caviar | journal = Life Magazine | date = 27 August 1945 | page = 54 }} A television commercial in which she appeared drew favorable press in 1946.{{Citation | last = | first = | title = Balaban & Katz | journal = Billboard Magazine | date = 16 Jan 1946 | url = }} She went on to act in numerous television and radio dramas in the late 1940s and early 1950s.{{cite web | last = Eidson | first = Crystal | title = "It's About TV: The hidden history of Angel Casey" | publisher = Mitchell D. Hadley | date = 5 Oct 2016 | url = https://www.itsabouttv.com/2016/10/the-hidden-history-of-angel-casey.html }}
Along with Bill Anson, she was the co-host of the WBKB show “Telequizicalls,” which first aired in 1945. It was modeled after Anson’s “Telephone Quiz” radio call-in show, and “purport[ed] to be the first audience participation show in visual radio.”{{Citation | last = | first = | title = "Television Program to Be Started by WBKB" | journal = Chicago Daily Tribune | date = 25 April 1945 | url = }}
In addition to regular acting roles, she made guest appearances with Martin and Lewis, Spike Jones and Dave Garroway.{{Citation | last = Overholser | first = Martha | title = Angel Casey Builds Name as Pinch Hitter | journal = | date = 31 Aug 1952 | url = }} In 1955, she was one of the celebrity guests at Chicago's State Street Christmas Parade.{{Citation | last = | first = | title = "Gay Parade to Welcome Santa to State St. Today" | journal = Chicago Daily Tribune | date = 19 Nov 1955 | url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/179624024 | id = {{ProQuest|179624024}}}}
“The Playhouse” aired Monday through Friday at 9am on WBKB’s channel 7.{{Citation | last = | first = | title = "March 10-16 1956"| journal = TV Guide Local Program Listings | date = 10 March 1956 | url = }} Her co-star, puppeteer Bruce Newton, describes her leadership as follows: "I don't think Angel ever missed a day either. We all contributed copy for the show, crafts, visuals, scripts, and guest suggestions. We did this from the debut on December 28, 1953, until the show went off the air on August 31, 1956."{{cite book | last1 = Okuda | first1 = Ted | last2 = Mulqueen | first2 = Jack | title = "The Golden Age of Chicago Children's Television | publisher = Lake Claremont Press | date = 1 June 2004 | location = | url = | isbn = 1893121178 }} Documents from her estate indicate that she created the concept for her puppet sidekick, Sir J. Worthington Wiggle, and successfully pitched it to producers.{{cite web | last = Casey | first = Angel | title = Meet J Worthington Wiggle the Worm | publisher = | date = 1953 | url =
http://www.angelcasey.com/angel_casey_photo_three.html }}
Later career and family life
Angel Casey remained a Chicago star in her later career, despite taking on smaller roles. In 1958 the Tribune's Lifestyle section featured a two-page story on the Meineckes' glamorous lifestyle, in which Angel was the primary subject of the article.{{Citation | last = Loring | first = Kathryn | title = Angel Casey In Her Heaven | journal = Chicago Tribune | date = 2 March 1958 | url = }} Another article from 1958 profiles the Meineckes as a household in which both parents have careers.{{Citation | last = Kiedaisch | first = William | title = Two Careers and a Baby | journal = Chicago Daily News | date = 18 January 1958 | url = }} She acted as business manager and promoter for her husband, Chicago artist and architect Tristan Meinecke.{{Citation | last = Lyon | first = Herb | title = Tower Ticker | journal = Chicago Daily News | date = 2 February 1959 | url = }}
After her death, her family alleged that "The Play House" may have been cancelled because she attempted to integrate it.{{cite web | last = Eidson | first = Crystal | title = "It's About TV: The hidden history of Angel Casey" | publisher = Mitchell D. Hadley | date = 5 Oct 2016 | url = https://www.itsabouttv.com/2016/10/the-hidden-history-of-angel-casey.html }}
She had two sons, Bradford and David Scott, and eight grandchildren.{{Citation | last = Dardick | first = Hal | title = Tristan Meinecke, 88 | journal = Chicago Tribune | date = 29 February 2004 | url = }}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.angelcasey.com}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Angel}}