Grace Matthews
{{Short description|Radio actress}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Grace Matthews
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1910|9|3}}
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|1995|5|15|1910|9|3}}
| death_place = Mount Kisco, New York, US
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Actress
| alma_mater = University of Toronto
| spouse = Court Benson (1940-?)
| children = 1 daughter Radio Interview "Whatever Became of the Shadow" Richard Lamparski
1 son
| parents =
| known_for =
}}
Grace Matthews (September 3, 1910 – May 15, 1995) was a Canadian actress in the era of old-time radio and the early years of television. She is perhaps best known for portraying Margo Lane in the radio program The Shadow.
Early years
Matthews was born in Toronto, Canada, on September 3, 1910.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-2834-2}}. P. 186. She graduated from the University of Toronto{{cite journal|title=Grace Matthews|journal=Radio and Television Mirror|date=August 1950|volume=34|issue=3|page=74|url=https://archive.org/stream/radiotele00macf#page/n199/mode/1up|accessdate=27 July 2016}} and from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England.{{cite news|last1=Vale|first1=Virginia|title=Star Dust|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6016722/big_piney_examiner/|work=Big Piney Examiner|agency=Western Newspaper Union|date=April 17, 1947|location=Wyoming, Big Piney|page=5|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 26, 2016}} {{Open access}}
Radio
Matthews played Margo Lane in The Shadow 1946-1949.Sterling, Christopher H. (ed.) (2004). Encyclopedia of Radio. Fitzroy Dearborn. {{ISBN|1-57958-249-4}}. P. 1252. Lane was described in the program's scripts as the faithful companion of Lamont Cranston, alter ego of The Shadow. A February 5, 1987, article in the Milwaukee Journal reported Matthews' confusion about the programs: "The plots were so complicated I often had difficulty figuring them out. After the show, I'd go home and ask my husband ... to explain what had happened."{{cite news|title=Shadow|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19870205&id=bwAiAAAAIBAJ&pg=3795,4503415&hl=en|accessdate=28 July 2016|work=The Milwaukee Journal|date=February 5, 1987|location=Wisconsin, Milwaukee|page=110}}
Matthews was the lead actress on American Portrait,{{cite news|title=Production|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/46-OCR/1946-04-29-BC-OCR-Page-0068.pdf|accessdate=28 July 2016|work=Broadcasting|date=April 28, 1946|page=68}} Soldier's Wife and The Story of Dr. Susan,{{cite book|last1=Cox|first1=Jim|title=The Great Radio Soap Operas|date=1999|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786438655|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rXwCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Grace+Matthews%22+actress&pg=PA35|page=35|accessdate=28 July 2016|language=en}} and she appeared often on Armstrong's Theatre of Today. She was active in Canadian radio for about five years before she began working on radio in the United States.{{cite news|title=Main Street|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-Radio-Daily-IDX/RD-46/Radio-Daily-1946-Apr-0110.pdf|accessdate=28 July 2016|work=Radio Daily|date=April 16, 1946|page=6}} In later years, she was heard in some episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwtRbXNca0oC&dq=%22The+CBS+Radio+Mystery+Theater,+dramatic%22+%22Grace+Matthews%22&pg=PA143 |last=Dunning| first=John| author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) | title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio| date=1998| publisher=Oxford University Press| location=New York, NY| isbn=978-0-19-507678-3| pages=142-143 | edition=Revised| access-date=2019-11-14}}
Stage
Matthews' theatrical work included stock theater in Manitoba, Canada, and Ontario, Canada, summer stock activities in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and the production of Dame Nature by the Theatre Guild in New York City.{{cite news|title=Radio Chatter|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6016808/janesville_daily_gazette/|work=Janesville Daily Gazette|date=September 10, 1946|location=Wisconsin, Janesville|page=4|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 26, 2016}} {{Open access}}
In Canada, Matthews was active in the Hart House Theatre and the John Holden Players.{{cite news|title=Welcome Back|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6016988/the_winnipeg_tribune/|work=The Winnipeg Tribune|date=January 23, 1937|location=Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=27|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 26, 2016}} {{Open access}}
Television
Matthews was seen in Road of Life, As the World Turns as Grace Baker #2, and The Guiding Light as Claudia Dillman. She also spent three years in London, England, acting in programs on ITV and the BBC.
Recognition
Matthews' work as an actress on radio in Canada in 1944 earned her three national awards — The Major Genera La Fleche Trophy, Canadian Broadcaster magazine's Beaver Award and a top rating in a poll by Canadian newspapers.{{cite news|last1=Hammerston|first1=Claude|title=Mostly Biographical|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19490517&id=xh0vAAAAIBAJ&pg=6306,4758706&hl=en|accessdate=27 July 2016|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=May 17, 1949}} She also won the Beaver Award (for "Distinguished Service to Canadian Radio") in 1940.{{cite news|last1=O'Neill|first1=Mildred|title=Women in Radio|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-Radio-Daily-IDX/RD-46/Radio-Daily-1946-Apr-0110.pdf|accessdate=28 July 2016|work=Radio Daily|date=March 6, 1946|page=6}}
Personal life
Matthews married announcer and actor Court Benson in October 1940.{{cite journal|last1=Shermet|first1=Hazel|title=All Three of Us|journal=Radio and Television Mirror|date=October 1949|volume=32|issue=5|pages=54, 84–86|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Mirror/49/Mirror-1949-Oct.pdf#page=59|accessdate=28 July 2016}} They had a daughter, Andrea, and a son, Paul.{{cite journal|last1=Haller|first1=Marie|title=Grace Matthews' Road of Life|journal=Radio-TV Mirror|date=February 1953|volume=39|issue=3|pages=34–35, 68|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Mirror/53/Mirror-1953-Feb.pdf#page=36|accessdate=28 July 2016}}
Death
Matthews died May 15, 1995, in Mount Kisco, New York.
References
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Category:American radio actresses
Category:Canadian stage actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:20th-century Canadian actresses
Category:University of Toronto alumni