Ethel Waite Owen
Encyclopedia
Ethel Waite Owen was an American
actress with a lengthy career on stage as well in radio and television. In her early sixties, during the mid-1950s, she had a well-remembered recurring role on television as Mrs. Gibson, Ralph Kramden's sharp-tongued, interfering mother-in-law on The Honeymooners
.
, Waite started acting in 1900s, while still in her teens. She had made some appearances in vaudeville, but her primary venue was the legitimate stage, touring with regional theatre groups. In her twenties, she married a Wisconsin
physician, Raymond G. Owen and they became the parents of three daughters, Mary, who would decide on a career as a social worker in Fort Worth, and Virginia and Armilda Jane, both of whom would follow their mother into show business as actresses. Armilda Owen would become known as the actress Pamela Britton
.
, the Owen family settled in New York City
, where Ethel Owen, now in her late thirties and early forties, found steady work in regional theatre, radio plays and even the black operetta, Africana, with a mixed cast, which had its November 26, 1934 opening night disrupted by a man claiming to be the story's uncredited co-author. Saddled with negative reviews (The New York Times called it "Whimper of the Jungle"), the show closed on the 28th. Much and, eventually, most of her work came from radio, the prime home entertainment medium of the 1930s and 40s. The tens of thousands of broadcast hours, especially those featuring dramatic presentations, required a constant supply of voice professionals and the list of Edith Owen's credits runs into the thousands. Dr. Raymond Owen died in 1942 and the now-widowed actress continued her non-stop working schedule during the World War II
years, while still looking after her nearly-grown daughters. In 1943–44 and in 1946, she was in two Broadway shows, the Phoebe
and Henry Ephron
comedy Three's a Family and the revival of Show Boat
. The three-act comedy, which Henry Ephron also directed, opened at the Longacre Theatre
on May 5, 1943 and ran for 497 performances, transferring to the Belasco Theatre
on May 28, 1944 and closing there on July 8. Showboat, with music by Jerome Kern
and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
, opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre
on January 5, 1946, eight weeks after Kern's death on November 11, 1945. The production, with 115 cast members, including Edith Owen in the non-singing role of Parthy Hawks, the mother of Magnolia, played by Jan Clayton
, counted 418 performances, closing on January 4, 1947 — the longest-running revival of a stage musical at that point in Broadway history.
's hour-long series Kraft Television Theatre
. Also in the presentation, in her first screen appearance, was eighteen-year-old Grace Kelly
. Owen's other dramatic roles included roles in shows such as Inner Sanctum, Armstrong Circle Theatre
and the two-part December 20-27, 1954 Robert Montgomery Presents
Christmastime production of David Copperfield
, in which she portrayed Aunt Betsey. The various mid-1950s appearances she made on CBS
's very popular Jackie Gleason Show in its various incarnations between 1952 and 1957 made her face more recognizable than any of her previous acting roles. Particularly memorable were her stints as Ralph Kramden's insult-dispensing mother-in-law who specialized in acid-tinged putdowns of her daughter Alice's husband, especially regarding his "fat behind".
's initial films caused studios to conduct searches for other talented performing youngsters, but her mother decided against the move. Ultimately, Armilda Jane, using the stage name, Gloria Jane Owen, became a teenage musical comedy actress and, following another name change, to Pamela Britton
, appeared in a few films, including two classics, the musical Anchors Aweigh
, in which she played Frank Sinatra
's girlfriend, and the 1950 noir
, D.O.A.
. Armilda Jane subsequently moved to television in the early 1950s, portraying scatterbrained characters in the 1957 series Blondie, where she had the title role, and the 1963–66 My Favorite Martian
, as the inquisitive landlady, Mrs. Brown.
Virginia, using her real name, Virginia Owen, had a very brief film career in 1946–47, which included the second lead in Thunder Mountain, the first title in Tim Holt
's 1947–52 western series.
port city of Savannah
six weeks before her 104th birthday, outliving by more than two decades her daughter, Pamela Britton, who died in 1974 at the age of 51, as well as her TV son-in-law, Jackie Gleason
and daughter, Audrey Meadows
who died in 1987 and 1996, respectively. Four days before her death, a story entitled, "A Family Tradition", in the February 12, 1997 issue of the San Francisco Bay Area
publication, Contra Costa
Sun, reported on the local production of Brigadoon at the Contra Costa Musical Theatre. One of the chorus members, Kathy Ferber, is described as taking center stage at the final bows as a tribute to her mother, Pamela Britton, who lived in the area for over twenty years, played Meg Brockie in Brigadoons original 1947–48 Broadway production and, between other work during the 1950s and 60s, starred in many of the theatre's musical productions. Kathy Ferber also mentioned "my grandmother, Ethel Owen, who appeared on Broadway in a production of 'Showboat' and is 103, living in Savannah, Georgia".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress with a lengthy career on stage as well in radio and television. In her early sixties, during the mid-1950s, she had a well-remembered recurring role on television as Mrs. Gibson, Ralph Kramden's sharp-tongued, interfering mother-in-law on The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
.
Early years, marriage and three daughters
A native of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Waite started acting in 1900s, while still in her teens. She had made some appearances in vaudeville, but her primary venue was the legitimate stage, touring with regional theatre groups. In her twenties, she married a Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
physician, Raymond G. Owen and they became the parents of three daughters, Mary, who would decide on a career as a social worker in Fort Worth, and Virginia and Armilda Jane, both of whom would follow their mother into show business as actresses. Armilda Owen would become known as the actress Pamela Britton
Pamela Britton
Pamela Britton was an American actress best known for appearing as "Loralee Brown" in the television series My Favorite Martian . She also starred in the film noir classic D.O.A. .-Early career:...
.
As a New York actress, on Broadway and in radio
At the start of the Depression 1930sGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the Owen family settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where Ethel Owen, now in her late thirties and early forties, found steady work in regional theatre, radio plays and even the black operetta, Africana, with a mixed cast, which had its November 26, 1934 opening night disrupted by a man claiming to be the story's uncredited co-author. Saddled with negative reviews (The New York Times called it "Whimper of the Jungle"), the show closed on the 28th. Much and, eventually, most of her work came from radio, the prime home entertainment medium of the 1930s and 40s. The tens of thousands of broadcast hours, especially those featuring dramatic presentations, required a constant supply of voice professionals and the list of Edith Owen's credits runs into the thousands. Dr. Raymond Owen died in 1942 and the now-widowed actress continued her non-stop working schedule during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
years, while still looking after her nearly-grown daughters. In 1943–44 and in 1946, she was in two Broadway shows, the Phoebe
Phoebe Ephron
Phoebe Ephron was a playwright and screenwriter who often worked with her husband, Henry Ephron. She was active as a writer from the early 1940s through the early 1960s...
and Henry Ephron
Henry Ephron
Henry Ephron was a playwright, screenwriter and film producer who often worked with his wife Phoebe Wolkind Ephron.Born in Bronx, New York, He was active as a writer from the early 1940s through the early 1960s...
comedy Three's a Family and the revival of Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
. The three-act comedy, which Henry Ephron also directed, opened at the Longacre Theatre
Longacre Theatre
The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 220 West 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.-Theatre History:Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts in 1912, it was named for Longacre Square, the original name for Times Square...
on May 5, 1943 and ran for 497 performances, transferring to the Belasco Theatre
Belasco Theatre
The Belasco Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 111 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan.-History:Designed by architect George Keister for impresario David Belasco, the interior featured Tiffany lighting and ceiling panels, rich woodwork and expansive murals by American artist...
on May 28, 1944 and closing there on July 8. Showboat, with music by Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
, opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre
Ziegfeld Theatre
The Ziegfeld Theatre was a Broadway theater located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1927 and, despite public protests, was razed in 1966....
on January 5, 1946, eight weeks after Kern's death on November 11, 1945. The production, with 115 cast members, including Edith Owen in the non-singing role of Parthy Hawks, the mother of Magnolia, played by Jan Clayton
Jan Clayton
Jan Clayton was a film, musical theatre, and television actress.-Career:...
, counted 418 performances, closing on January 4, 1947 — the longest-running revival of a stage musical at that point in Broadway history.
On television
At the dawn of TV, Edith Owen, then in her mid-fifties, began appearing in the numerous live drama series emanating from New York. One of her earliest performances was in the title role of "Old Lady Robbins", the November 3, 1948 episode of NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's hour-long series Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
. Also in the presentation, in her first screen appearance, was eighteen-year-old Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
. Owen's other dramatic roles included roles in shows such as Inner Sanctum, Armstrong Circle Theatre
Armstrong Circle Theatre
Armstrong Circle Theatre is an American anthology drama television series which ran from 1950 to 1957 on NBC, and then until 1963 on CBS. It alternated weekly with The U.S. Steel Hour.-Synopsis:...
and the two-part December 20-27, 1954 Robert Montgomery Presents
Robert Montgomery Presents
Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its seven-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example,...
Christmastime production of David Copperfield
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
, in which she portrayed Aunt Betsey. The various mid-1950s appearances she made on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's very popular Jackie Gleason Show in its various incarnations between 1952 and 1957 made her face more recognizable than any of her previous acting roles. Particularly memorable were her stints as Ralph Kramden's insult-dispensing mother-in-law who specialized in acid-tinged putdowns of her daughter Alice's husband, especially regarding his "fat behind".
Acting careers of daughters
As a young mother, while attending to her family, Ethel Owen continued to perform in summer stock, and Armilda Jane, born in Milwaukee in 1923, began as a child actress in her mother's plays. Well-known in local theatre by her tenth birthday, she was even offered a film contract at a time when the success of Shirley TempleShirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
's initial films caused studios to conduct searches for other talented performing youngsters, but her mother decided against the move. Ultimately, Armilda Jane, using the stage name, Gloria Jane Owen, became a teenage musical comedy actress and, following another name change, to Pamela Britton
Pamela Britton
Pamela Britton was an American actress best known for appearing as "Loralee Brown" in the television series My Favorite Martian . She also starred in the film noir classic D.O.A. .-Early career:...
, appeared in a few films, including two classics, the musical Anchors Aweigh
Anchors Aweigh (film)
Anchors Aweigh is a 1945 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney in which two sailors go on a four-day shore leave in Hollywood, accompanied by music and song, meet an aspiring young singer and try to help her get an audition at MGM...
, in which she played Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's girlfriend, and the 1950 noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
, D.O.A.
D.O.A. (1950 film)
D.O.A. , a film noir drama film directed by Rudolph Maté, is considered a classic of the genre. The frantically paced plot revolves around a doomed man's quest to find out who has poisoned him – and why – before he dies.Leo C...
. Armilda Jane subsequently moved to television in the early 1950s, portraying scatterbrained characters in the 1957 series Blondie, where she had the title role, and the 1963–66 My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
, as the inquisitive landlady, Mrs. Brown.
Virginia, using her real name, Virginia Owen, had a very brief film career in 1946–47, which included the second lead in Thunder Mountain, the first title in Tim Holt
Tim Holt
Tim Holt was an American film actor perhaps best known for co-starring in the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.-Early life:...
's 1947–52 western series.
Final years
Ethel Owen more-or-less retired from acting around the age of seventy, in the mid-1960s. She died in the GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
port city of Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
six weeks before her 104th birthday, outliving by more than two decades her daughter, Pamela Britton, who died in 1974 at the age of 51, as well as her TV son-in-law, Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
and daughter, Audrey Meadows
Audrey Meadows
Audrey Meadows was an American actress best known for her role as the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy The Honeymooners.-Early life:...
who died in 1987 and 1996, respectively. Four days before her death, a story entitled, "A Family Tradition", in the February 12, 1997 issue of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
publication, Contra Costa
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
Sun, reported on the local production of Brigadoon at the Contra Costa Musical Theatre. One of the chorus members, Kathy Ferber, is described as taking center stage at the final bows as a tribute to her mother, Pamela Britton, who lived in the area for over twenty years, played Meg Brockie in Brigadoons original 1947–48 Broadway production and, between other work during the 1950s and 60s, starred in many of the theatre's musical productions. Kathy Ferber also mentioned "my grandmother, Ethel Owen, who appeared on Broadway in a production of 'Showboat' and is 103, living in Savannah, Georgia".