Florida Friebus

{{Infobox person

| name = Florida Friebus

| image = Florida Friebus 1968.JPG

| caption = Friebus in 1968

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|10|10|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Auburndale, Massachusetts, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1988|5|27|1909|10|10|mf=y}}

| death_place = Laguna Niguel, California, U.S.

| othername = Florida Freebus
Florida Freibus

| occupation = Actress, screenwriter

| years_active = 1929–1978

| spouse = {{marriage|Richard Waring|1934|1952|end=divorced}}

| children = 1

}}

Florida Friebus (October 10, 1909 Her obituary in the Los Angeles Times gives her birth year as 1908. – May 27, 1988) was an American writer and actress of stage, film, and television. Friebus's best-known roles were Winifred "Winnie" Gillis, the sympathetic mother of Dwayne Hickman's character Dobie Gillis on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,{{r|etvs|page1=267}} and Mrs. Lillian Bakerman on The Bob Newhart Show.{{cite book| last1=Terrace| first1=Vincent| title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC&q=friebus| date=January 10, 2014| publisher=McFarland| location=Jefferson, N.C.| isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7| pages=119–120| edition=2nd}}

Early years

Florida Friebus was born in Auburndale, Massachusetts, to Theodore Friebus and Beatrice Flagg Mosier Friebus.Her obituary in the Los Angeles Times gives her place of birth as Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. She was known to make it clear to curious people that she was named after her mother's favorite aunt—not after the state of Florida. Her paternal grandmother was named Florida as well.{{cite news| title=A Question for You, Mr. Shakespeare| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11523408/jefferson_city_posttribune/| newspaper=Jefferson City Post-Tribune| date=May 18, 1962| page=16| via=Newspapers.com| access-date=June 6, 2017}}{{Open access}}

Personal life

Friebus married actor Richard Waring, in 1934. They had one child who died in infancy. The couple divorced in 1952. Friebus never remarried.[http://archives.nypl.org/the/21637 Florida Friebus papers, 1926-1988], Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; accessed July 9, 2015.

Career

Friebus first acted professionally in 1929 in New York City, appearing in The Cradle Song with the Civic Repertory Theater.

She appeared on television in such programs as The Ford Theatre Hour, Perry Mason, Bachelor Father, Father Knows Best, The Rookies, Peyton Place, Ironside, Gunsmoke, Sanford and Son, Ben Casey, The Doris Day Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Room 222, The Partridge Family, Chico and the Man, Barnaby Jones, Alice, and Rhoda.

She also read stories to children on Look and Listen on KNXT in Los Angeles, California.{{cite news| last1=McGraw| first1=Carol| title=Florida Friebus; Played Mother of Dobie Gillis| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-02-mn-5490-story.html| access-date=June 6, 2017| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=June 2, 1988| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606015616/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-06-02/news/mn-5490_1_dobie-gillis| archive-date=6 June 2017}}

As a writer, Friebus collaborated with Eva Le Gallienne to dramatize Alice in Wonderland. The play was presented on Broadway and later on the Hallmark Hall of Fame on television.

Actors' Equity

Friebus spent more than 16 years on the board of Actors' Equity Association. She was presented the Phil Loeb Award "for extraordinary service to her profession."

Papers

Friebus's papers are housed at the New York Public Library.

Filmography

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" \| Film
Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes
1958 \| High School Confidential! \| Mrs. Staples \| Uncredited
1978 \| Jennifer \| Miss Tooker \|
colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" \| Television
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
rowspan=3\|1950 \| Lights Out \| \| 1 episode
Escape \| \| 1 episode
Pulitzer Prize Playhouse \| \| 1 episode
1950–1951 \| The Philco Television Playhouse \| \| 2 episodes
1950–1953 \| Kraft Television Theatre \| \| 3 episodes
1953 \| Goodyear Television Playhouse \| \| 1 episode
1954 \| Lamp Unto My Feet \| \| 1 episode
rowspan=2\|1956 \| Hallmark Hall of Fame \| Karoline \| 1 episode
The Alcoa Hour \| Mrs. Franklin \| 1 episode
1957 \| The Joseph Cotten Show \| Helen Fogarty \| 1 episode
1957–1958 \| Bachelor Father \| Mrs. Banks Mrs. Marquand \| 3 episodes
rowspan=2\|1958 \| Father Knows Best \| \| 1 episode
Gunsmoke \| Mrs. Meggs \| 1 episode
rowspan=2\|1959 \| Playhouse 90 \| \| 1 episode
The Donna Reed Show \| Helen Brooks \| 1 episode
1959–1963 \| The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis \| Winifred Gillis \| 87 episodes
1960 \| The Chevy Mystery Show \| Lois Halsey \| 1 episode
1963 \| Perry Mason \| Marian Lamont \| 1 episode
rowspan=2\|1964 \| The New Phil Silvers Show \| Mrs. Bradshaw \| 1 episode
Peyton Place \| Maggie Riggs \| Unknown episodes
1965 \| My Mother the Car \| Miss McFee \| 1 episode
rowspan=2\|1966 \| This Is the Life \| \| 1 episode
Ben Casey \| \| 1 episode
1968 \| Ironside \| Middle-Aged Woman \| 1 episode
1971–1972 \| The Mary Tyler Moore Show \| Mrs. Marshall Nun \| 2 episodes
rowspan=4\|1972 \| Sanford and Son \| Woman \| 1 episode
Ghost Story \| Mrs. Prescott \| 1 episode
The Doris Day Show \| Miss Peabody \| 1 episode
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law \| \| 1 episode
1972–1978 \| The Bob Newhart Show \| Mrs. Lillian Bakerman \| 17 episodes
rowspan=5\|1973 \| Room 222 \| \| 1 episode
Cannon \| Julie McElroy \| 1 episode
Gunsmoke \| Mrs. Tavers \| 1 episode
The Partridge Family \| Mrs. Hendleman \| 1 episode
The Rookies \| Sister Elizabeth \| 1 episode
1973–1977 \| Barnaby Jones \| Molly McMurty Connie Graham \| 2 episodes
1974–1978 \| Rhoda \| Harriet Strongen Edna Brundidge Mrs. Swensen \| 3 episodes
rowspan=4\|1975 \| Chico and the Man \| Althea Nelson \| 1 episode
Miles to Go Before I Sleep \| Ruth \| Television movie
Love Nest \| Jenny \| 1 episode
Kate McShane \| \| 1 episode
rowspan=2\|1976 \| Amelia Earhart \| Miss Perkins \| Television movie
Switch \| Fiona \| 2 episodes
rowspan=2\|1978 \| Kaz \| \| 1 episode
ABC Weekend Special \| Miss Kelly \| 1 episode

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"

! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film

Year

! Film

! Role

! Notes

1958

| High School Confidential!

| Mrs. Staples

| Uncredited

1978

| Jennifer