Virginia Graham
{{short description|American talk-show host}}
{{for|the English writer, critic and poet|Virginia Graham (English writer)}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Virginia Graham
| image = Virginia Graham 1972.JPG
| image_size =
| caption = Graham in 1972
| birth_name = Virginia Komiss
| birth_date = {{birth date|1912|07|04}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, US
| death_date = {{death date and age|1998|12|22|1912|07|04}}
| death_place = Manhattan, New York City, US
| restingplace =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| homepage =
| spouse =
}}
Virginia Graham, born Virginia Komiss, (July 4, 1912 – December 22, 1998)Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.{{cite news| title=Virginia Graham, Popular Host of Early Television Talk Shows| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/25/arts/virginia-graham-86-popular-host-of-early-television-talk-shows.html| last=Severo| first=Richard| newspaper=The New York Times| date=December 25, 1998| page=B11| url-access=subscription| access-date=April 9, 2020}} was an American daytime television talk show host from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. On television, Graham hosted the syndicated programs Food for Thought (1953–1957),"On Television." The New York Times, March 11, 1953, p. 41. Girl Talk (1963–1969) and The Virginia Graham Show (1970–1972)."Program Shifts Set on Channel 7." Boston Herald, January 4, 1963, p. 13 She was also a guest on many other programs.
Biography
=Early life and education=
Graham was born and raised in Chicago. Her father, an immigrant from Germany, became a successful businessman who owned the Komiss department-store chain.Christy, Marian (July 7, 1974). "Yes, Virginia, There's Always An Audience." The Boston Globe, p. 56. She graduated from the private Francis Parker School in Chicago, and in 1931, received her degree from the University of Chicago, where she had studied anthropology. She later earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.
=Marriage=
In 1935, Graham married Harry William Guttenberg, who owned a theatrical costume company. They remained married until his death in 1980. The couple had one daughter, Lynn Guttenberg Bohrer.Christy, Marian (May 18, 1988). "Straight Talk From Virginia Graham", The Boston Globe, p. 29 Graham's book about her husband's death, Life After Harry: My Adventures in Widowhood, became a bestseller in 1988.
=Career=
After World War II, Graham wrote scripts for radio soap operas such as Stella Dallas, Our Gal Sunday and Backstage Wife. She hosted her first radio talk show in 1951. Graham was a panelist on the DuMont panel show Where Was I? (1952–53). She succeeded Margaret Truman in 1956 as cohost of the NBC radio show Weekday, teamed with Mike Wallace.{{cite news| title=M-G-M Bars Use of 'Annie' on TV| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/02/24/archives/mgm-bars-use-of-annie-on-tv-studio-blocks-slated-2hour-color-show.html| last=Adams| first=Val| newspaper=The New York Times| date=February 24, 1956| page= 51}}
She played "Mrs.Walter" in "The Love Boat" S2 E16 sketch "Second Chance" which aired 1/26/1979. In 1982, Graham played fictional talk show host Stella Stanton in the final episodes of the soap opera Texas.
She was described by writer Howard Thompson in The New York Times as "a bright, alert, talkative woman of ripe, tart-edged candor."{{cite news| first=Howard| last=Thompson| title=Life As the Girls Live It| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/07/11/archives/life-as-the-girls-live-it.html| newspaper=The New York Times| date=July 11, 1965| page=X13}} Another writer, Richard L. Coe, said she looked like "Sophie Tucker doing a Carol Channing performance."Coe, Richard L. (September 30, 1977). "Virginia Graham in 'Wednesday' at the Hayloft," The Washington Post, p. C28.
Graham, a cancer survivor, was a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. A former smoker, she denounced smoking, but when asked on her program what she would do if she knew that the world would end tomorrow, she confessed that she would smoke.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
Graham died of a heart attack on December 22, 1998.
Filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | A Face in the Crowd | Herself | Uncredited |
| 1964 | The Carpetbaggers | Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1977 | A Secret Space | Grandma | |
| 1982 | Slapstick of Another Kind | Gossip Specialist | |
| 1982 | Hart To Hart | Morgana | |
| 1986 | The Perils of P.K. |
Books
- There Goes What's Her Name: The Continuing Saga of Virginia Graham (with Jean Libman Block), 1965.
- Don't Blame the Mirror (with Jean Libman Block), 1967. Self-improvement, beauty advice.
- If I Made It, So Can You, 1978.
- Life After Harry: My Adventures in Widowhood, 1988.
- Look Who's Sleeping in My Bed!, 1993. Memoir.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0334344}}
- "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100918232732/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,838443-1,00.html Cackleklatsch]", Time, June 7, 1968.
- [https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=11FF21432E90DA40 Clips from final Texas episodes]
{{Authority control}}
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Category:American television talk show hosts
Category:American women television personalities
Category:Television personalities from Chicago
Category:University of Chicago alumni
Category:Northwestern University alumni
Category:American radio writers
Category:American women radio writers
Category:20th-century American writers
Category:20th-century American women writers