 EDITOR'S
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| This is the eleventh in a continuing feature at IndustryCentral profiling "The Working Actor". William Shakespeare said "There are no small parts.....". William Shatner may have said it too, but the longhair with the tights was first, or so the reports go. In this feature we will explore what it really means to be an actor working in Motion Pictures and Television. Broad public acknowledgment may have eluded some who find their way to these pages, or perhaps they may have brushed against what is referred to as stardom by virtue of one or more remarkable performances. However for many, the rewards of plying their craft in a field which has allowed them to earn a living may exceed the burdens of public acclaim. Given the chance, some in this clan might prefer the longevity offered by anonymity over the potential for short lived fame. These individuals, either by design or fate, have managed to sustain a career by crafting performances which rendered them a good casting choice. They are usually thought of as a face you recognize, but you just can't get the name past the tip of your tongue. Most of these folks have spent countless hours on stage in theaters ranging from 20 seats to 2000, building characters from the works of Ibsen, to Eliot, to Williams, to yes even Shakespeare, and so many of the modern Playwrights. They have rounded their skills doing drama, comedy, & musicals. Their work is a serious venture. These people have given us screen performances which quite often were the catalyst that brought an Oscar or Emmy to another and yet they continue to work as "Characters" or "Co-Stars" without the trophies and plaques adorning their mantle. |
| Edie McClurg |
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Edie McClurg began her performing career at age five with the oxymoronic Kansas City Rhythm Kids. She retired when the dance teacher was arrested on a morals charge for "dating" the tall and lithesome, yet underage star dancer in the troup. That girl's big number culminated with a backbend where she drank a coca-cola backwards, of course. Edie has a Master of Science from Syracuse and taught radio at the University of Missouri-Kansas City for eight years. there she re-entered the entertainment field as a D.J., newswoman, and producer for the National Public Radio affiliate KCUR-FM. Her proudest moment was portraying John Erlichmann in Conversation 26 on the NPR national broadcast of the NIXON TAPE TRANSCRIPTS. Thus did Edie contribute to the peaceful overthrow of the government of an unindicted co-conspirator. Her career-long devotion to satirical improvisation began with the Pischel Players in San Francisco and Los Angeles. It closed on Saturday. Then she did a stint as one of the stand-up comediennes working for free at the Comedy Store. When she started, the other two women were Shirley "What's Happening" Hemphill and a protege' of Redd Foxx's who had woven bells into her braids. Edie made a lasting mark on LA Improvisation with "The Groundlings". From there she went on to write and perform her original characters Mrs. Marv Mendenhall, Dot Duncan, Whirly June Pickens, Officer Jeanelle Archer, 105-year-old Edie, etc. on the Daytime David Letterman Show. Television has been a home to many of Edie's characters on "The Richard Pryor Show" on NBC, as Lucille Tarek on "WKRP in Cincinatti" and Mrs. Poole on "Valerie"", Valerie's Family", "The Hogan Family", and many other series with and without Valerie Harper Her movie career growth paralleled her ten years with "The Groundlings". Her first film was the teen horror favorite "Carrie". She did several John Hughes films including "Ferris Bueller's Day Off","Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", "She's Having A Baby", and "Curly Sue". Offbeat cult favs are "Eating Raoul", "Elvira", HBO "Pee Wee Herman" Special, and Martin Mull's "History of White Man in America". She has also had success in more mainstream films. She received a National Media Award for her portrayal of a mentally disabled woman in "Bill: On His Own" starring Mickey Rooney. Plus she has acted for Director Robert Redford in "A River Runs Through It" and Oliver Stone in "Natural Born Killers". She was named Best Actress of the Chicago Alternative Film Festival for the role of Ted Kasczynski's Mother. In the late 80's Edie studied with the Mother-Creator of all Improv Comedy, Viola Spolin and continues to improvise satiric comedy with the Second City Alumni at the Arcadia Restaurant on the Santa Monica Pier most Wednesday nights. Edie studies acting with Milton Katselas and through this work she has written and performed a one woman show "Whirly June: A Midwestern Woman". She starred in "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" at Tim Busfield's "B" Street Theater in Sacramento. She made her LA dramatic stage debut in the critically acclaimed "Never in My Lifetime" by Shirley Gee about the troubles in Northern Ireland. Most recently on-camera Edie has appeared as an inept Irish maid on "Nash Bridges", a noisy parishioner Mrs. Beeker on "Seventh Heaven", and Lea Thompson's mother on "Caroline in the City". Currently she is voicing characters on Nickelodeon in the series "Kids on 402" and "Rocket Beach", on HBO's "Crashbox", and "Clifford, The Big Red Dog" for PBS. Her most recent animated voices were in "The Little Mermaid", "The Rugrats Movie", and as Dr. Flora in "A Bug's Life". She also recently recorded a voice for Disney's "Atlantis" with Michael J. Fox. Representation: Edie McClurg's advice to the aspiring actor: Edie McClurg's Credits (partial)
For more info and credits see
IMDb -- ---End |
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