1. Faye Margaret Emerson was an American film and stage actress and television interviewer who gained fame as a film actress in the 1940s before transitioning to television in the 1950s and hosting her own talk show.
35 Facts About Faye Emerson
1. 2.
Faye Emerson became interested in theater while attending San Diego State College and then pursued an acting career, appearing in stock theater in California.
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Faye Emerson starred in several films noir, including Lady Gangster and Howard Hawks's war film Air Force.
4.
In 1949, Emerson began hosting The Faye Emerson Show, a late-night talk show series.
5.
Faye Emerson formally retired from show business in 1963 and retired to Europe.
6.
Faye Emerson lived there until 1983, when she died of stomach cancer in Deia, Spain, aged 65.
7.
Faye Margaret Emerson was born July 8,1917, in Elizabeth, Louisiana, the fifth child of Lawrence L and Jean Emerson.
8.
Faye Emerson's parents separated when Emerson was three years old, and she went to Chicago in 1924 to live with her father and stepmother.
9.
Faye Emerson became interested in dramatics during her two years attending the Academy of San Luis Rey, a Roman Catholic convent and boarding school in Oceanside, California.
10.
Faye Emerson attended Point Loma High School, and for one year, San Diego State College.
11.
In 1941, while appearing in a stage production of Here Today at the San Diego Municipal Theater, Faye Emerson was spotted by a talent agent from Warner Bros.
12.
Faye Emerson subsequently signed a contract with the studio, appearing in bit parts before having supporting roles in Bad Men of Missouri and Nine Lives Are Not Enough.
13.
Faye Emerson had her first starring role in a low-budget remake of the Barbara Stanwyck crime melodrama Ladies They Talk About ; Emerson took the Stanwyck role in Lady Gangster.
14.
In 1943, Emerson met President Franklin D Roosevelt's son Colonel Elliott Roosevelt.
15.
Faye Emerson later asserted that despite her doubts, Hughes urged her to advance the relationship, and she could not defy him.
16.
Faye Emerson has appeared in a number of crime dramas, co-starring with Zachary Scott in three: The Mask of Dimitrios, Danger Signal, and Guilty Bystander.
17.
Faye Emerson co-starred with John Garfield in the film noir Nobody Lives Forever and opposite Jane Wyman in Crime by Night.
18.
In late 1948, after having made her Broadway debut in The Play's the Thing, Faye Emerson attempted suicide on Christmas Day 1948 by slitting her wrists, and was hospitalized.
19.
In 1948, Faye Emerson had transitioned to television and had begun acting in various anthology series, including The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, The Philco Television Playhouse, and Goodyear Television Playhouse.
20.
Faye Emerson was hostess and narrator of NBC's Cavalcade of Fashion from August 13 to December 16,1948.
21.
The Faye Emerson Show debuted on October 24,1949 and ended, April 12,1952.
22.
In November 1948, Faye Emerson hosted Paris Cavalcade Of Fashions, filmed for movie theaters and aired on NBC.
23.
In 1949, Emerson began hosting The Faye Emerson Show, a 15-minute show, sometimes appearing on CBS and NBC simultaneously, which, though it lasted only one season, gave her wide exposure.
24.
Fifteen with Faye Emerson aired from June to August 1950 on NBC.
25.
In 1950, Faye Emerson married bandleader and conductor Lyle "Skitch" Henderson in Cuernavaca.
26.
Faye Emerson made numerous guest appearances on various variety shows and game shows.
27.
Faye Emerson hosted or appeared on many talk shows, usually wearing elaborate evening gowns.
28.
Faye Emerson was such a frequent panelist on game shows like To Tell The Truth and I've Got a Secret that she was known as "The First Lady of Television".
29.
However, the teenage incident happened before Carson's Tonight Show, which didn't begin until 1962, and Faye Emerson had divorced Henderson in 1957.
30.
Faye Emerson was married to writer Elliott Roosevelt, the son of President Franklin D Roosevelt, from 1944 until 1950.
31.
Faye Emerson was married to Skitch Henderson from 1950 until 1957.
32.
In 1963, Faye Emerson made her final television appearance and formally retired from show business.
33.
Faye Emerson moved to Europe, residing for a time in Switzerland and then settling in Spain in 1975.
34.
Faye Emerson rarely returned to the United States and spent much of her time in seclusion.
35.
Faye Emerson died on March 9,1983, at age 65 from stomach cancer in Deia, Spain, where she had lived since 1975.