Anne Elizabeth Burr, later Anne Burr McDermott (June 10, 1918 - February 1, 2003), was an American actress who appeared on the stage, and in television, radio, and film in the 1940s and 1950s. She made her Broadway debut in Orson Welles's Native Son in 1941, and appeared with frequency on the New York stage through 1952. She appeared in several minor roles in films, beginning with the parts of Ruth in Child of Divorce (1946) and Judy Clark in The Devil on Wheels (1947). In 1947 she portrayed Viola in the first unabridged televised production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. She became one of the world's first soap opera stars; first appearing in the earliest years of that genre as Dr. Eve Allen, one of the first women doctors portrayed on television, in The Greatest Gift (1954-1955). She was an original cast member of As the World Turns; starring as Claire from 1956 until 1959 when she retired from acting.
Born in Boston on June 10, 1918, Anne Burr was the daughter of Eugene Palmer Burr and Helen Isabel Burr (née Cummings).[1] Her mother was born and raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts and worked as a registered nurse.[2] Her father was born in Columbus, Ohio, and he graduated from Princeton University in 1901. After working for several businesses in the United States and England, and ultimately becoming an executive with the Meadow River Lumber Company where he finished his career.[3]
When Anne was seven years old, the Burr family moved to Hampstead, London. There she was a student at the Threave House School from 1925 through 1929.[1] The family briefly lived in Columbus, Ohio, and Anne attended the Columbus School for Girls for the 1929-1930 school year.[1] The Burr family then resided in Hartford, Connecticut where they lived at a house on Prospect Ave.[4] Anne graduated from West Middle School Hartford on June 17, 1931.[5][6] Her parents resided in Hartford until 1948 when they moved to Old Lyme, Connecticut; remaining there for the remainder of their lives.[2][3]
Anne spent her high school years at Oxford School in Hartford where she acted in plays staged by both the Oxford School Association; beginning with a performance of Mary Gilbertson's adaptation of the French Christmas story The Legend of the Crèche which was performed in December 1931.[7][8] In 1935 she starred in a production of Clyde Fitch's Beau Brummell at the school,[9] and in the 1935-1936 school year she was president of Oxford's 'Paint and Putty Club'; the school group responsible for putting on Oxford's plays as well as providing art opportunities to students.[10] She was one of sixteen students who graduated from Oxford on June 5, 1936.[11]
In the autumn of 1936 Burr began her college education at Sweet Briar College in Virginia where she was a member of the student dramatic association. In her freshman year she starred in a stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's short story "The Sire de Maletroit's Door" (1936).[4] Other plays she starred in at that school included the role of Jane in a stage adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1937),[12] and Moon Blossom in John Masefield's A King's Daughter (1938).[13] At Sweet Briar she studied drama under professor Cameron King.[14] In 1939 she moved to New York City to pursue further studies in drama.[15]
Burr died in Old Lyme, Connecticut, of respiratory failure;[21] her husband had predeceased her in 1990.[25] At the time of her death, she was survived by her three children from her second marriage, Maggie, Burr, and Michael, as well as five grandchildren.
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References
1 2 3 Herbert, Ian; Baxter, Christine; Finley, Robert E., eds. (1981). "Anne Burr". Who's who in the theatre: a biographical record of the contemporary stage. Gale Research Company.
1 2 "Obituaries; Mrs. Helen C. Burr". The Day. September 19, 1960. p.2.
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