Eleanor Audley


Eleanor Audley was an American actress with a distinctive voice and a diverse body of work. She played Oliver Douglas's mom, Eunice Douglas, on the CBS sitcom Green Acres, and provided two Disney animated classics with the voices of the two iconic villainesses: Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's evil stepmother in Cinderella, and Maleficent, the wicked fairy in Sleeping Beauty. She had roles in live-action films, but was most active in radio programs such as My Favorite Husband as Liz Cooper's mother-in-law, Mrs. Cooper, and Father Knows Best as the Anderson family's neighbor, Mrs. Smith. Audley's television appearances include those in I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mister Ed, Hazel, The Beverly Hillbillies, Pistols 'n' Petticoats, and My Three Sons.

Early and personal life

Eleanor Zellman was born in Newark, New Jersey on November 19, 1905. Her family had moved to West 86th Street in Manhattan, New York City, by 1917.
Zellman began using the stage name "Eleanor Audley" sometime before 1940.

Career

Stage and radio

Audley made her Broadway debut at age 21 in the 1926 production of Howdy, King. Her other stage appearances included On Call ; Pigeons and People; Thunder on the Left ; Kill That Story; Ladies' Money ; Susan and God ; and In Bed We Cry.
Audley worked extensively in the 1940s and 1950s in radio, notably playing Liz Cooper's aristocratic mother-in-law, Mrs. Cooper, who typically looks down on her, on My Favorite Husband, and the Anderson family's neighbor, Mrs. Smith, on Father Knows Best. In addition, Audley performed on radio as a frequent performer on Romance, Escape, Suspense, Lux Radio Theatre, The Story of Dr. Kildare, The Railroad Hour, and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. She played the stepmother in one-shot adaptations of the "Cinderella" story on the anthology series Hallmark Playhouse, and the weekly western series The Six Shooter, that starred James Stewart.

Film and animation

Audley's first onscreen appearance was an uncredited role as a parole board member in the 1949 noir film The Story of Molly X starring June Havoc. Other film appearances followed, including: Pretty Baby ; Gambling House ; Cell 2455, Death Row ; The Unguarded Moment; Full of Life ; Spoilers of the Forest ; Home Before Dark ; a cameo as the mother and slain victim of suspect Jack Graham in The FBI Story ; The Second Time Around ; and Hook, Line and Sinker. Audley was uncredited dubbing the lines of actors playing small parts in films such as I Was a Male War Bride and Broken Arrow.
In the animated film industry, Audley provided her distinctive voice to Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's cruel stepmother, in the 1950 Disney film Cinderella; and Princess Aurora's wicked fairy nemesis, Maleficent, in Disney's 1959 version of Sleeping Beauty. For those films, animators Frank Thomas and Marc Davis designed the characters' facial features and expressions to be closely similar to Audley's. In addition to providing their voices, she served as the performance model for both characters for live-action referencing to help the animators. Audley had initially turned down the role of Maleficent because she was battling tuberculosis at the time.
Audley provided the voice for Madame Leota, the spirit of a psychic medium, in the Haunted Mansion attractions in Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

Television

Audley's first television appearance was in the pilot episode of The Mickey Rooney Show as Bessie Frost, a terrible actress who stars in a series called The Trials and Tribulations of Auntie Julia on the fictional IBC network where Mickey Mulligan works as a page. From 1954 to 1970, she appeared regularly on television, including episodes of: The People's Choice; I Love Lucy; Crossroads; Perry Mason ; The Real McCoys; Richard Diamond, Private Detective; The Twilight Zone; Dennis the Menace; Mr. Lucky; The Tab Hunter Show; Pete and Gladys; and Hazel. Audley had recurring roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show as the P.T.A. head Mrs. Billings, on The Beverly Hillbillies as the school headmistress Mrs. Potts, on Mister Ed as Wilbur Post's aunt Martha, on Pistols 'n' Petticoats as Mrs. Teaseley, on My Three Sons as Mrs. Vincent, and on Green Acres as Oliver Douglas's disapproving mother, Eunice Douglas, despite being only five months older than actor Eddie Albert who played the role of her son.

Death

Audley died from respiratory failure on November 25th, 1991, six days after her 86th birthday. She is interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Film

Television

  • Studio 57 as Miss Anna Hunt
  • The Loretta Young Show as Miss Bennett, as Edith Landow
  • General Electric Theatre as Woman in Restaurant,, as Alice Martin
  • The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
  • Front Row Center as Carlotta Vance
  • Damon Runyon Theater as Cynthia
  • Celebrity Playhouse
  • The Ford Television Theatre as Tina,, as Constance Perks
  • The Millionaire as Cynthia Semple, as Gloria Van Enger/Columnist
  • Our Miss Brooks as Mrs. Maya Pryor
  • The 20th Century-Fox Hour as Governor's Wife/Mrs. Lucy Hammond/Mrs. Julie Morgan
  • Climax!
  • Screen Directors Playhouse as Judith Brenner
  • The People's Choice as Moderator/Mrs. Kimbeley "Kim" Price
  • The Adventures of Jim Bowie as Miss Peabody
  • Father Knows Best as Saleslady/Woman giving spare change /Bookstacker in Library
  • Crusader as Mrs. Erika Watson
  • Lux Video Theatre as Mrs. Sandy Lane, as Aunt Ada
  • The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as The Lady Customer, as Mrs. Felicity Crowley/Mrs. Winthrop, as The Saleslady
  • The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna as Passenger, as Mrs. Michelle Gardiner, as Bess Pomeroy
  • The Bob Hope Specials
  • Cavalcade of America as Mrs. Stacey Littlefield
  • I Love Lucy as Eleanor Spaulding/Flower Judge
  • Crossroads as Mrs. Sophie Sand
  • The Lineup as Maryanne Carstaires
  • The Gray Ghost as Mrs. Joan Maddox
  • How to Marry a Millionaire as Gertrude Van Dyne
  • Frontier Doctor as Hattie Black
  • The Old Testament Scriptures as Naomi
  • Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre as Mrs. Emily Trumbull
  • Perry Mason as Lois Gilbert, as Headmistress Lorimer
  • Wagon Train as Mrs. Winston, as Mother Albright, as Minerva Ames
  • The Real McCoys as Dr. Laurence Kirkwood
  • The Ann Sothern Show as Mrs. Jenny Thompson
  • Mike Hammer as Mrs. Wendy Milford
  • Hennesey
  • Richard Diamond, Private Detective as Mrs. Deneken
  • The Twilight Zone as Mrs. Whitney
  • Walt Disney Presents as Mrs. Annie Videau
  • Johnny Midnight as Mrs. Mia Rice
  • The Untouchables as Mrs. Micheline Cross
  • The Man From Blackhawk as Comtesse De Vilon
  • Dennis the Menace as Mrs. Andrea Pompton
  • Peter Gunn as Laura Scott
  • Mr. Lucky as Mrs. Alice Dubois
  • Make Room for Daddy as Mrs. Anette Willoughby
  • Shirley Temple's Storybook as Miss Felicity Collingwood
  • New Comedy Showcase
  • Have Gun - Will Travel as Cynthia Palmer, as School Teacher, as Mrs. Hannah Randolph Quincy
  • The Tab Hunter Show as Columnist
  • The Tom Ewell Show as Madame Defarge
  • The Joey Bishop Show as Mrs. Adrianne Willoughby, as Fashion Announcer/Mrs. Penny Fitch as Clubwoman
  • Pete and Gladys as Mrs. Linda Brenner, as Mrs. Elisa Clibber
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show as Party Goer, as Mrs. Peggy Billings
  • Mister Ed as Aunt Martha
  • Hazel as Customer, as Mrs. Totter, as Mrs. Loretta Green, as Mrs. Katie Hardy
  • The Best of the Post as Mrs. Jackie Hill
  • Ichabod and Me
  • The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis as Irma Lumpkin
  • The Detectives as Liz Roberts
  • The Beverly Hillbillies as Mrs. Millicent Schuyler-Potts
  • The Dick Powell Theatre as Lady
  • The New Phil Silvers Show as Mrs. Allison Osborne
  • McHale's Navy as Mrs. Millicent Hardsey
  • Many Happy Returns as Mrs. Pernandina Atwood
  • Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre as Mrs. Johnson/Lil Schaeffer/Buttercup Fuchisa
  • The Farmer's Daughter as Simone, as Mildred
  • The Cara Williams Show as Mrs. Lorence Ashford
  • The Man From U.N.C.L.E. as Mrs. Laura Farnham
  • The Jack Benny Program as Mrs. Jeanna Lewis
  • Kentucky Jones as Mrs. Winnona Edgerton
  • Peyton Place as Miss Martha
  • O.K. Crackerby! as Mrs. Ameila Willoughby
  • The Lucy Show as The Columnist
  • The Big Valley as Mother Callahan
  • My Brother the Angel as Mrs. Evelyne Ettinger
  • Green Acres as Mother Eunice Douglas
  • Honey West as Mrs. Juniper Carlton Murdock
  • Summer Fun as Mother-in-law
  • The Phyllis Diller Show as Mrs. Elsa Fenwick
  • Pistols 'n' Petticoats as Mrs. Jenny Teasley
  • My Three Sons as Mrs. Beatrice Vincent
  • The Wonderful World of Disney as Lady Tremaine /Maleficent
  • Disney's Wonderful World as Matron
  • Walt Disney as Lady Tremaine /Maleficent
  • The Wonderful World of Disney as Maleficent