Vivian Fridell
{{Short description|American actress}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| image = Vivian Fridell Backstage Wife 1942.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Vivian Naomi Fridell
| birth_date = {{birth date|1912|10|15}}
| birth_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1998|8|20|1912|10|25}}
| death_place = Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Actress
| alma_mater = University of Wisconsin
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- Gerritt James de Gelieke
- Benjamin Solomon
}}
| children = 1
| parents =
| known_for =
}}
Vivian Naomi Fridell{{cite news |title=Radio Royalty |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117605425/the-star-press/ |access-date=January 31, 2023 |work=The Star Press |date=August 5, 1937 |location=Indiana, Muncie |page=5|via = Newspapers.com}} (October 15, 1912[https://www.newspapers.com/image/406370698/?clipping_id=121813774 "Vivian Fridell Will Marry Architect"]. Wisconsin State Journal. October 13, 1935. p. 8. Retrieved 28 March 2023. - August 20, 1998) was an American actress who worked on radio.
Early years
Fridell was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her father was a Swedish actor, and three of her uncles were entertainers in Sweden.{{cite news |title=(untitled brief) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117601362/radio-wave/ |access-date=January 30, 2023 |work=Radio Wave |date=May 14, 1936 |location=Oklahoma, Tulsa |page=3|via = Newspapers.com}} Fridell operated an adding machine in a Milwaukee bank before she went to college.{{cite news |title=Radio Riddle Answer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117654935/vivian-fridell/ |access-date=January 31, 2023 |work=Washington Court House Record-Herald |date=November 5, 1937 |page=13|via = Newspapers.com}} She graduated from the University of Wisconsin's radio school, and she produced and wrote programs while she was there.{{cite news |title=Vivian Fridell in Backstage Wife, Two Other New Programs On WIBA |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117603190/the-capital-times/ |access-date=January 30, 2023 |work=The Capital Times |date=June 13, 1937 |page=20|via = Newspapers.com}} She was a member of the Wisconsin Players{{cite news |title=3 Entries in Drama Finals Here Tonight |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117526506/the-capital-times/ |access-date=January 29, 2023 |work=The Capital Times |date=March 24, 1943 |page=6|via = Newspapers.com}} and president of Phi Mu sorority.{{cite news |title=Phi Mu Elects |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117527747/the-capital-times/ |access-date=January 29, 2023 |work=The Capital Times |date=February 9, 1933 |page=7|via = Newspapers.com}}
Career
One of Fridell's earliest jobs in radio was working as announcer on a three-day-a-week, 15-minute musical program on WGN in Chicago.{{cite news |title=Phil Kalar to launch W-G-N series Tuesday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117540341/chicago-tribune/ |access-date=January 29, 2023 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 30, 1934 |page=60|via = Newspapers.com}} She had the lead role of Mary Noble in the radio soap opera Backstage Wife from the show's debut in 1935 until production of the program moved from Chicago to New York in June 1945.{{cite news |title=Let Prof. Do-It |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117721017/newsday-suffolk-edition/ |access-date=February 1, 2023 |work=Newsday (Suffolk Edition) |date=April 13, 1946 |location=New York, Melville |page=7|via = Newspapers.com}} She also starred on Road of Life,{{cite news |title=New 'Carol' on 'Road of Life' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9536787/the-times-shreveport-la-dec-21-43-7/ |access-date=February 1, 2023 |work=The Times |date=December 21, 1943 |location=Louisiana, Shreveport |page=7|via = Newspapers.com}} Wife vs. Secretary,{{cite news |title=Three popular shows shift on W-G-N tomorrow |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117645072/chicago-tribune/ |access-date=January 31, 2023 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=August 1, 1937 |page=42|via = Newspapers.com}} and The Affairs of Anthony.{{cite news |title=In WTCN Drama Roles |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117677751/vivian-fridell/ |access-date=January 31, 2023 |work=Star Tribune |date=November 20, 1938 |page=31|via = Newspapers.com}}
After Fridell left acting, she taught drama to teenage students from her home in Glencoe, Illinois.
Personal life and death
Fridell was married to Gerritt James de Gelieke,{{cite news |last1=Owen |first1=Kent |title=Along Radio Lane |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117653414/the-journal-times/ |access-date=January 31, 2023 |work=The Journal Times |date=March 1, 1937 |location=Wisconsin, Racine |page=11|via = Newspapers.com}} a representative for Johns-Manville. Their home was in Madison, Wisconsin, but she spent five days a week in Chicago with her work on radio.{{cite news |title='Backstage Wife' Has Weekend Career Here |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117665250/vivian-fridell/ |access-date=January 31, 2023 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |date=September 12, 1937 |page=1|via = Newspapers.com}} She later married Benjamin Solomon, and they had a daughter. She died on August 20, 1998, in her home in Wilmette, Illinois, aged 85.{{cite news |last1=Breslin |first1=Meg McSherry |title=Vivian F. Solomon, 'Backstage Wife' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117523318/vivian-fridell/ |access-date=January 29, 2023 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=August 25, 1998 |page=8-Section 2|via = Newspapers.com}}
References
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Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Milwaukee