Shirley Booth

An Oscar-winning Best Actress for her tour-de-force role in Come Back, Little Sheba, Shirley Booth would ultimately win every major acting award that could be bestowed on an actress. Awarded three Tony Awards, two Emmys, and a Golden Globe, Booth was described by the judges at the Cannes Film Festival as “The World’s Best Actress.” Yet today fans know her best as the warm-hearted, busybody maid of television’s Hazel.
This, the first biography of the beloved star, provides complete coverage of a career that encompassed theater, film, radio, and television, and co-stars such as Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. It begins with Shirley’s childhood in Brooklyn, and her rebellious decision to become an actress against the wishes of her strict father. Included is complete coverage of her tumultuous marriage to radio comedian Ed Gardner (of “Duffy’s Tavern” fame), and a second, happier union that ended abruptly with her husband’s death of a heart attack. Readers of this exhaustively researched biography will come to know a versatile and gifted star whose career spanned almost 60 years. Appendices provide extensive details of her Broadway, film, radio and television (episode-by-episode) credits.

David C. Tucker is the author of numerous books about classic film and television history. A retired public library administrator, he lives just outside Atlanta, Georgia.

David C. Tucker
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 220
Bibliographic Info: 66 photos, filmography, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3600-2
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8205-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Introduction      1

1. Thelma Takes Stock      3

2. Opening Nights      15

3. Mr. Gardner and Miss Duffy      29

4. G.I. Bill      41

5. Queen of Sheba      54

6. The World’s Best Actress      68

7. Hot and Cold Spells      87

8. Here Comes Hazel      101

9. Hanging Up the Uniform      116

10. Living with Grace      130

Appendix A: Broadway Performances      141

Appendix B: Radio Log      154

Appendix C: Filmography      161

Appendix D: Hazel Episode Guide      166

Appendix E: A Touch of Grace Episode Guide      193

Chapter Notes      195

Bibliography      203

Index      205

“David C. Tucker is one of McFarland’s very best authors. Not only does he write well, his research skills are impeccable.”—Classic Images.