Florence Eldridge

Florence Eldridge (born Florence McKechnie, September 5, 1901, Brooklyn, New York – August 1, 1988, Long Beach, California) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in Play in 1957 for her performance in Long Day's Journey into Night.

Early years

Born Florence McKechnie in Brooklyn, Eldridge attended public schools there.

Stage

Eldridge made her Broadway debut at age 17 as a chorus member of Rock-a-Bye Baby at the Astor Theatre.

In 1965, she and husband Fredric March did a world tour under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. Eldridge wrote that they were "experimenting to see if an acting couple doing excerpts from plays on a bare stage could reach and appeal to a worldwide audience."

Personal life

Eldridge was married to March from 1927 until his death in 1975, and often appeared alongside him on stage and in films.

Death

She died of a heart attack aged 86. She was buried alongside her husband at the March Estate in New Milford, Connecticut.

Partial credits

Stage

• The Cat and the Canary
• Six Characters in Search of an Author
• An Enemy of the People
• Long Day's Journey Into Night
• The Skin of Our Teeth

Screen

• Six Cylinder Love (1923) - Marilyn Sterling
• The Studio Murder Mystery (1929) - Blanche Hardell
• The Greene Murder Case (1929) - Sibella Greene
• Charming Sinners (1929) - Helen Carr
• The Divorcee (1930) - Helen
• The Matrimonial Bed (1930) - Juliet Corton
• Thirteen Women (1932) - Grace Coombs
• The Great Jasper (1933) - Jenny Horn
• Dangerously Yours (1933) - Jo Horton
• The Story of Temple Drake (1933) - Ruby Lemarr
• A Modern Hero (1934) - Leah Ernst
• Les Misérables (1935) - Fantine
• Mary of Scotland (1936) - Elizabeth Tudor
• Another Part of the Forest (1948) - Lavinia Hubbard
• An Act of Murder (1948) - Catherine Cooke
• Christopher Columbus (1949) - Queen Isabella
• Inherit the Wind (1960) - Sarah Brady

Radio appearances