Film She made her film debut under her real name in the
backstage musical Song of Love (1929), as a wisecracking, homewrecking showgirl who becomes a rival to the film's star, singer
Belle Baker. The film was one of
Columbia Pictures' earliest successes. In 1933, she relocated to New York City, where she had supporting parts in several
Broadway stage productions. In 1934, she was cast in the
Ziegfeld Follies revue, the first role where she was credited as Eve Arden. When she was told to adopt a stage name for the show, Arden looked at her cosmetics and "stole my first name from Evening in Paris, and the second from
Elizabeth Arden". Arden's film career began in earnest in 1937 when she signed a contract with
RKO Radio Pictures and appeared in the films
Oh Doctor and
Stage Door. Her
Stage Door portrayal of a fast-talking, witty supporting character gained Arden considerable notice and was a template for many of Arden's future roles. In 1938, she played a supporting part in the comedy
Having Wonderful Time, starring
Ginger Rogers and
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. This was followed by roles in the crime film
The Forgotten Woman (1939), and the
Marx Brothers comedy
At the Circus (1939), a role that required her to perform acrobatics. In 1940, she appeared in support of
Clark Gable and
Hedy Lamarr in
Comrade X, followed by support in the drama
Manpower (1941) opposite
Marlene Dietrich,
Edward G. Robinson and
George Raft. She also had a supporting part in the
Red Skelton comedy
Whistling in the Dark (1941) and the romantic comedy
Obliging Young Lady (1942). Her many memorable screen roles include a supporting role as
Joan Crawford's wise-cracking friend in
Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she received an
Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress; as a catty cousin turned peacemaker in
The Unfaithful (1947); and as
James Stewart's wistful but wry secretary in
Otto Preminger's mystery
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) (which also featured her husband, Brooks West). In 1946, exhibitors voted her the sixth-most promising "star of tomorrow". Arden became familiar to a new generation of filmgoers when she played Principal McGee in
Grease (1978) and
Grease 2 (1982). Arden was known for her
deadpan comedic delivery. The additional exposure of Arden's comic talent on Kaye's show led to her best-known role, that of Madison High School English teacher Connie Brooks in
Our Miss Brooks. Arden portrayed the character on radio from 1948 to 1957, in a television version of the program from 1952 to 1956, and in a 1956 feature film. Her character clashed with the school's principal, Osgood Conklin (played by
Gale Gordon) and nursed an unrequited crush on fellow teacher Philip Boynton (played originally by future film star
Jeff Chandler; and later on radio and TV by
Robert Rockwell). Except for Chandler, the entire radio cast of Arden, Gordon,
Richard Crenna (Walter Denton), Robert Rockwell (Mr. Philip Boynton), Gloria McMillan (Harriet Conklin) and Jane Morgan (landlady Margaret Davis) played the same roles on TV. Arden's portrayal of Miss Brooks was so popular that she was made an honorary member of the
National Education Association, received a 1952 award from the
Teachers College of Connecticut's Alumni Association "for humanizing the American teacher", and even received teaching job offers. Her well-established wisecracking, deadpan character ultimately became her public persona as a comedienne. Arden had a very brief guest appearance in a 1955
I Love Lucy episode titled "L.A. at Last", where she played herself. While awaiting their food at the
Brown Derby,
Lucy Ricardo (
Lucille Ball) and
Ethel Mertz (
Vivian Vance) argue over whether a certain portrait on a nearby wall is
Shelley Winters or
Judy Holliday. Lucy urges Ethel to ask a lady occupying the next booth, who turns and replies, "Neither. That's Eve Arden." As Ethel realizes she just spoke to Arden herself, Arden passes Lucy and Ethel's table to leave the restaurant while the pair gawk. for
Our Miss Brooks, February 11, 1954
Desilu Productions, jointly owned by
Desi Arnaz and Ball during their marriage, was the production company for the
Our Miss Brooks television show, filmed during the same years as
I Love Lucy. Ball and Arden met when they costarred in the film
Stage Door in 1937. Ball, according to numerous radio historians, suggested Arden for
Our Miss Brooks after
Shirley Booth auditioned for but failed to land the role and Ball—committed at the time to
My Favorite Husband—could not. Arden tried another series for
CBS in the fall of 1957,
The Eve Arden Show, but it was canceled in spring of 1958 after 26 episodes. In 1966, she played a pediatric nurse in an episode of
Bewitched and a scientist in an episode of
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. She later costarred with
Kaye Ballard as her neighbor and in-law, Eve Hubbard, in the 1967–1969
NBC situation comedy
The Mothers-in-Law, produced by Arnaz after the dissolution of Desilu Productions. In her later career, Arden made appearances on such television shows as
Maude,
Alice,
Hart to Hart, and
Falcon Crest. In 1985, she appeared as the wicked stepmother in the
Faerie Tale Theatre production of
Cinderella.
Stage Arden was one of many actresses to take on the title roles in
Hello, Dolly! and
Auntie Mame in the 1960s; in 1967, she won the
Sarah Siddons Award for her work in
Chicago theater. In 1983, Arden was cast as the leading lady in what was to be her Broadway comeback,
Moose Murders, but she withdrew and was replaced with the much younger
Holland Taylor after one preview performance, citing "artistic differences". The show went on to open and close on the same night, becoming known a legendary flop in Broadway history. ==Personal life==