Shirley Bell Cole
{{short description|American actress}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = February 21, 1920
or February 21, 1921
| death_date = January 12, 2010 (age 89)
| name = Shirley Bell Cole
| birth_name = Shirley Adrienne Bell
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1930–1940
|spouse=Irwin Cole
}}
Shirley Adrienne Bell Cole (February 21, 1920 (another source says 1921DeLong, 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. 28.) – January 12, 2010), also known as Shirley Bell, was an American radio actress; best known as the voice of Little Orphan Annie in the eponymous radio show.
Early years
Born Shirley Adrienne Bell in Chicago's South Side, she grew up in various apartments as her family endured the Depression. Her mother was described as "the consummate stage mother," while her father "left the family when Shirley was a toddler."{{cite news|last1=Hevesi|first1=Dennis|title=Shirley Bell Cole, at age 89; played 'Little Orphan Annie'|url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2010/02/04/shirley_bell_cole_at_age_89_played_little_orphan_annie/|accessdate=16 November 2015|agency=Boston Globe|date=February 4, 2010}} She attended Lake View High School in Chicago.{{cite news|last1=Jensen|first1=Trevor|title=Shirley Bell Cole: 1920-2010: Radio voice behind 'Little Orphan Annie'|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/01/26/shirley-bell-cole-1920-2010/|access-date=16 November 2015|agency=Chicago Tribune|date=January 26, 2010}}
Radio
Cole was first heard on radio at age 6, as a member of the WGN Players. Beginning when she was 10 years old, Bell was the primary voice actress of the character Little Orphan Annie from 1930 to 1940[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/arts/30cole.html Hevesi, Dennis. "Shirley Bell Cole, the Voice of Little Orphan Annie, Dies at 89". The New York Times, January 30, 2010.][http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-shirley-bell-cole27-2010jan27,0,5336133 Jensen, Trevor. "Shirley Bell Cole dies at 89; radio voice of 'Little Orphan Annie'." Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2010.]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} (except for a brief time when a problem with her contract kept her out).{{cite news|title=Comic strip's 'Annie' gets network niche|newspaper=Galesburg Register-Mail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2364602/galesburg_registermail/|agency=Galesburg Register-Mail|date=July 1, 1977|page=12|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = May 5, 2015}} {{Open access}} She also was on Captain Midnight in the role of Patsy.
In 1995, Bell was heard in a reenactment of Little Orphan Annie on Chuck Schaden's Those Were the Days radio show.
Family
She quit acting in 1940 and married Irwin Cole, an automobile dealer.{{cite news|last1=Wolters|first1=Larry|title=They Say|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1956/02/18/page/34/article/they-say|accessdate=7 May 2015|agency=Chicago Tribune|date=February 18, 1956|page=2}} He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where the couple raised three daughters (Randy, Cathy, and Lory) in the affluent Chicago suburb Glencoe. Irwin Cole died in 1998.
Later years
=Book=
She authored Acting Her Age: My Ten Years as a Ten-Year-Old: My Memories as Radio’s Little Orphan Annie (Stinehour Press, 2005). Designed by Susan Cox, the book won Best in Show, Crystal Book Award of Excellence at the Chicago Book and Media Show, and a Silver Award in Fine Editions at the Gold Ink Awards.
=Commercials=
Death
Cole died in Arizona January 12, 2010. She was survived by three daughters and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held in Chicago, Illinois, February 21, 2010.{{cite news|title=Shirley Bell Cole|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?pid=139229090|accessdate=16 November 2015|agency=Chicago Tribune|date=January 31, 2010}}
See also
References
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Category:American radio actresses