Marjorie Hannan

Last updated

Marjorie Hannan (born 1911or1912 [1] ) was an American actress.

Contents

Early years

Hannan was born in Hamilton, Ohio, and she majored in physical education at the University of Cincinnati (UC). [2] While she attended UC, she also studied at the Schuster-Martin School of Dramatic Art. In July 1930 she was chosen from applicants recommended by six schools of the arts in the Cincinnati area to be the first guest student at Cincinnati's Three Arts Club, with her residence there beginning in September 1930. [3] Hannan, who graduated from the drama school in 1931, was a tap dancer who was featured in the school's 1931 senior dance recital. [4] She was also an Albertina Rasch dancer. [5] She taught at Mother of Mercy High School in Cincinnati but found that her interests lay more in drama. [2]

Career

Hugh Studebaker and Hannan in Bachelor's Children Marjorie Hannan and Hugh Studebaker Bachelor's Children.jpg
Hugh Studebaker and Hannan in Bachelor's Children

Hannan left teaching to seek work on stage in New York. After six months there with no success she returned to Cincinnati, where she became an actress on radio station WLW. [2]

Hannan's performance in a 1930 radio adaptation of A Christmas Carol led to advances in her career. A production manager, attracted by her ability and her voice, "arranged the commercial audition that started her on the road up." [6] On network radio, Hannah portrayed Ruth Ann on Bachelor's Children [7] : 56  and Fay on Ma Perkins . [7] Other radio programs on which Hannan performed included Sally of the Talkies [6] and The Mysterious Doctor Mikalin. [8]

Hannan retired from radio in the mid-1940s, a move that led to the death of the character that she had portrayed on Bachelor's Children for more than 10 years. Bess Flynn, the program's author, wrote that "a very fine actress" was hired to take over the role, but "she was not Ruth Ann!" [9] Flynn added, "To me, Ruth Ann died with Miss Hannan's leaving the show" and the stories would continue to be convincing only if the character died." [9]

Personal life

Hannan was married to radio executive Myron Reck, and they had a son. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Bruce</span> Actress from the United States

Virginia Bruce was an American actress and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Chandler</span> American actress (1906–1965)

Helen Chandler was an American film and theater actress, best known for playing Mina Seward in the 1931 horror film Dracula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Etting</span> American singer and actress (1896–1978)

Ruth Etting was an American singer and actress of the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tunes were "Shine On, Harvest Moon", "Ten Cents a Dance" and "Love Me or Leave Me".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Roman</span> American actress (1922–1999)

Ruth Roman was an American actress of film, stage, and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polly Ann Young</span> American actress (1908–1997)

Polly Ann Young was an American actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patsy Ruth Miller</span> American actress

Patsy Ruth Miller was an American film actress who played Esméralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) opposite Lon Chaney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Mack</span> American actress

Helen Mack was an American actress. She started her career as a child actress in silent films, moving to Broadway plays and touring one of the vaudeville circuits. Her greater success as an actress was as a leading lady in the 1930s. She made the transition to performing on radio and then into writing, directing, and producing shows during the Golden Age of Radio. She later wrote for Broadway, stage and television. Her career spanned the infancy of the motion picture industry, the beginnings of Broadway, the final days of vaudeville, the transition to sound movies, the Golden Age of Radio, and the rise of television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Dell</span> American actress, dancer, and showgirl (1909–1977)

Claudia Dell was an American showgirl and actress of the stage and movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marian Marsh</span> Trinidad-American actress (1913–2006)

Marian Marsh was a Trinidad-born American film actress and later an environmentalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Lyons (broadcaster)</span> American broadcaster

Ruth Lyons was a pioneer radio and television broadcaster in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is said Ruth Lyons accidentally invented the daytime TV talk show. Like Arthur Godfrey and others of the era, Lyons built a TV empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marjorie White</span> Canadian film and stage actress (1904–35)

Marjorie White was a Canadian-born actress of stage and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Brodie</span> American actor (1904–2001)

Donald Ellis Brodie was an American film and television actor.

<i>Bachelors Children</i> 1935-1946 domestic daytime drama broadcast

Bachelor's Children is a domestic daytime drama broadcast that originated on Chicago's WGN in 1935–36, continuing on CBS and NBC until September 27, 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gertrude Michael</span> American actress

Lillian Gertrude Michael, sometimes nicknamed Beck Michael, was an American film, stage and television actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Todd (American actress)</span> American actress and librarian (1931–2020)

Ann Todd was an American child actress. She was credited in four films as Ann E. Todd. As an adult, she became a music reference librarian at University of California, Berkeley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardine Flynn</span> American radio actress and announcer (1904–1977)

Bernardine Flynn was an American radio actress and announcer best known for playing the role of Sade Gook on the long-running comic radio serial Vic and Sade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence O'Denishawn</span> American actress and model

Florence O'Denishawn, was an American actress and model, and one of the first group of dancers associated with the Denishawn school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lola Lane</span> American actress (1906–1981)

Lola Lane was an American actress and one of the Lane Sisters with her sisters Leota, Rosemary, and Priscilla Lane. She appeared on Broadway and in films from the 1920s to 1940s.

Ruth Emilissa Bailey was an American actress on stage and on old-time radio. After her acting years, she became a producer at a theater in Cincinnati.

Betty Ruth Smith was an American actress best known for her work in old-time radio.

References

  1. ↑ "Busy Marjorie Hannan Adds Novel Writing to Radio Dramatic Work". The Nebraska State Journal. July 12, 1936. p. 22. Retrieved February 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "Teacher Turns Actress". The Cincinnati Post. May 24, 1946. p. 22. Retrieved February 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Honored by Three Arts Club". The Cincinnati Enquirer. July 20, 1930. p. Section 5, page 3. Retrieved February 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Tap Dancer". The Cincinnati Post. April 30, 1931. p. 4. Retrieved February 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Wolters, Larry (December 15, 1934). "News of the Radio Stations". Chicago Tribune. p. 22. Retrieved February 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 "Marjorie Hannan Has Pet Christmas Superstition". Chicago Tribune. December 23, 1934. p. 26. Retrieved February 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 Dunning, John (May 7, 1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 420. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  8. ↑ Hegard, Ken (April 14, 1938). "Along Radio Lane". The Journal Times. Wisconsin, Racine. p. 29. Retrieved February 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "Editor's note". The Lincoln Star. June 2, 1946. p. 32. Retrieved February 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Gadget collector on radio tonight". Belvidere Daily Republican. June 20, 1942. p. 5. Retrieved February 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.