Virginia Graham
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
Virginia Graham | |
|---|---|
| File:Virginia Graham 1972.JPG Graham in 1972 | |
| Born | Virginia Komiss July 4, 1912 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 22, 1998 (aged 86) New York City, U.S. |
Virginia Graham, born Virginia Komiss, (July 4, 1912 – December 22, 1998)[1][2] was an American daytime television talk show host from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. On television, Graham hosted the syndicated programs Food for Thought (1953–1957),[3] Girl Talk (1963–1969) and The Virginia Graham Show (1970–1972).[4] She was also a guest on many other programs.
Biography
[edit | edit source]Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Graham was born and raised in Chicago. Her father, an immigrant from Germany, became a successful businessman who owned the Komiss department-store chain.[5] She graduated from the private Francis Parker School in Chicago, and in 1931, received her degree from the University of Chicago, where she had studied anthropology. She later earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.
Marriage
[edit | edit source]In 1935, Graham married Harry William Guttenberg, who owned a theatrical costume company. They remained married until his death in 1980. The couple had one daughter, Lynn Guttenberg Bohrer.[6] Graham's book about her husband's death, Life After Harry: My Adventures in Widowhood, became a bestseller in 1988.
Career
[edit | edit source]After World War II, Graham wrote scripts for radio soap operas such as Stella Dallas, Our Gal Sunday and Backstage Wife. She hosted her first radio talk show in 1951.[7] Graham was a panelist on the DuMont panel show Where Was I? (1952–53). She succeeded Margaret Truman in 1956 as cohost of the NBC radio show Weekday, teamed with Mike Wallace.[8]
She played "Mrs.Walter" in "The Love Boat" S2 E16 storyline "Second Chance" which aired 1/26/1979. In 1982, Graham played fictional talk show host Stella Stanton in the final episodes of the soap opera Texas.
She was described by writer Howard Thompson in The New York Times as "a bright, alert, talkative woman of ripe, tart-edged candor."[7] Another writer, Richard L. Coe, said she looked like "Sophie Tucker doing a Carol Channing performance."[9]
Graham, a cancer survivor, was a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. A former smoker, she denounced smoking, but when asked on her program what she would do if she knew that the world would end tomorrow, she confessed that she would smoke.[citation needed]
Graham died of a heart attack on December 22, 1998.
Filmography
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | A Face in the Crowd | Herself | Uncredited |
| 1964 | The Carpetbaggers | Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1977 | A Secret Space | Grandma | |
| 1982 | Slapstick of Another Kind | Gossip Specialist | |
| 1982 | Hart To Hart | Morgana | |
| 1986 | The Perils of P.K. |
Books
[edit | edit source]- There Goes What's Her Name: The Continuing Saga of Virginia Graham (with Jean Libman Block), 1965.
- Don't Blame the Mirror (with Jean Libman Block), 1967. Self-improvement, beauty advice.
- If I Made It, So Can You, 1978.
- Life After Harry: My Adventures in Widowhood, 1988.
- Look Who's Sleeping in My Bed!, 1993. Memoir.
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "On Television." The New York Times, March 11, 1953, p. 41.
- ^ "Program Shifts Set on Channel 7." Boston Herald, January 4, 1963, p. 13
- ^ Christy, Marian (July 7, 1974). "Yes, Virginia, There's Always An Audience." The Boston Globe, p. 56.
- ^ Christy, Marian (May 18, 1988). "Straight Talk From Virginia Graham", The Boston Globe, p. 29
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Coe, Richard L. (September 30, 1977). "Virginia Graham in 'Wednesday' at the Hayloft," The Washington Post, p. C28.
External links
[edit | edit source]- Virginia Graham at IMDb
- "Cackleklatsch", Time, June 7, 1968.
- Clips from final Texas episodes
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- 1912 births
- 1998 deaths
- American television talk show hosts
- American women television personalities
- Television personalities from Chicago
- University of Chicago alumni
- Northwestern University alumni
- American radio hosts
- American radio writers
- American women radio writers
- 20th-century American writers
- 20th-century American women writers
- Writers from Chicago
- Francis W. Parker School (Chicago) alumni
- American people of German descent