Florence Eldridge

• Name — Florence Eldridge • Birth Name — Florence McKechnie • Born — 5 September 1901 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 1 August 1988 • Place of death — Long Beach, California, U.S. • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1918–1978 • Spouse — Howard Rumsey (m. married 1921; div. divorced 192?) • Children — 2

Eldridge was born Florence McKechnie in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Charles J. McKechnie. She attended public schools, including P.S. 85 and Girls' High School.

Eldridge made her Broadway debut at age 17 as a chorus member of Rock-a-Bye Baby at the Astor Theatre. The reference book American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1930–1969 noted, "In the 1920s she won major attention in such plays as The Cat and the Canary and Six Characters in Search of an Author." In 1965, she and her husband Fredric March did a world tour under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. Eldridge wrote that they were "experimenting to see if an acting couple doing excerpts from plays on a bare stage could reach and appeal to a worldwide audience."

On March 19, 1921, Eldridge married Howard Rumsey, who owned the Empire Theater and the Knickerbocker Players (both in Syracuse) and the Manhattan Players of Rochester. They were wed at her aunt's home in Maplewood, New Jersey. In 1926, Eldridge was the leading lady in the summer stock cast at Elitch Theatre, and the leading man was Fredric March. They fell in love and were married in 1927. They remained married until his death in 1975, and she appeared alongside him on stage and in seven films. They adopted two children, Penelope and Anthony. Like her husband, she was a liberal Democrat.

• The Cat and the Canary • Six Characters in Search of an Author • An Enemy of the People • Long Day's Journey Into Night • The Skin of Our Teeth • The Autumn Garden

• Six Cylinder Love (1923) as Marilyn Sterling • The Studio Murder Mystery (1929) as Blanche Hardell • The Greene Murder Case (1929) as Sibella Greene • Charming Sinners (1929) as Helen Carr • The Divorcee (1930) as Helen • The Matrimonial Bed (1930) as Juliet Corton • Thirteen Women (1932) as Grace Coombs • The Great Jasper (1933) as Jenny Horn • Dangerously Yours (1933) as Jo Horton • The Story of Temple Drake (1933) as Ruby Lemarr • A Modern Hero (1934) as Leah Ernst • Les Misérables (1935) as Fantine • Mary of Scotland (1936) as Elizabeth Tudor • Another Part of the Forest (1948) as Lavinia Hubbard • An Act of Murder (1948) as Catherine Cooke • Christopher Columbus (1949) as Queen Isabella • Inherit the Wind (1960) as Sarah Brady

• Year — Program — Episode/source • 1953 — Star Playhouse — There Shall Be No Night

Florence Eldridge is recorded as actress.