# Arlene Harris > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Arlene_Harris > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Arlene_Harris.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlene_Harris > Source revision: 1284347236 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) This article is about the actress. For the inventor, see [Arlene Harris (inventor)](/source/Arlene_Harris_(inventor)). **Arlene Harris** (July 7, 1896 – June 12, 1976) was a Canadian-born American radio, film, and television actress. (Another source gives her date of birth as July 7, 1898.)[1] She was best known for her role as "the human chatterbox" on Al Pearce's [radio program](/source/The_Al_Pearce_Show).[1] ## Early years Harris was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was educated primarily in England.[2] During the first three years of Harris's life, she was unable to hear.[3] At age 5, she was entertaining her family with comedy sketches. When she was older, she "branched out into the art of impersonating."[4] ## Vaudeville Harris toured in vaudeville as **Arlene Francis** in the 1920s.[1] She had to retire after being injured in an automobile accident, but the [Great Depression in the United States](/source/Great_Depression_in_the_United_States) caused her to return to entertaining—this time in radio.[1] ## Radio Before her career in film, Harris was well known as a comic actress on the radio program, *The Chatterbox*. She first appeared on radio on [KFWB](/source/KFWB) in Hollywood, California.[1] She was a regular on *Al Pearce and His Gang*,[5] where she was known as "The Human Chatterbox" in monologues that involved telephone conversations with an unheard friend.[6] A [CBS](/source/CBS) statistician once calculated that she averaged four words per second during one of her rapid-fire monologues.[3] She also co-starred with Pearce in *Here Comes Elmer*.[7] Harris played Mummy Higgins on *[The Baby Snooks Show](/source/The_Baby_Snooks_Show)*[1] and was heard on [Ina Ray Hutton's](/source/Ina_Ray_Hutton) program[6] and *Fare for Ladies*.[8] ## Television Harris played herself in an episode of *[The Dick Van Dyke Show](/source/The_Dick_Van_Dyke_Show)* in 1964,.[9][10] She also appeared on *Panorama Pacific* and made guest appearances on several TV programs.[11] ## Recognition Harris has a star at 6250 Hollywood Boulevard in the Radio section of the [Hollywood Walk of Fame](/source/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame). It was dedicated February 8, 1960.[12] ## Personal life Harris was married to Dr. Harry G. Harris.[4] ## Death Harris died June 12, 1976, at the [Motion Picture Country Home](/source/Motion_Picture_%26_Television_Country_House_and_Hospital) in Woodland Hills, California.[6] She is entombed in [Chapel of the Pines Crematory](/source/Chapel_of_the_Pines_Crematory) at [Los Angeles, California](/source/Los_Angeles,_California).[13] ## References 1. DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). *Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960*. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 121. 1. Dache, Dorothy (February 16, 1937). ["What About Arlene, the Chatterbox of 'Al Pearce's Gang'?"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5251162/harrisburg_telegraph/). *Harrisburg Telegraph*. p. 23. Retrieved May 13, 2016. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. Nicoll, Bruce (February 28, 1937). ["Behind the Mike"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5251072/the_lincoln_star/). *The Lincoln Star*. p. 38. Retrieved May 13, 2016. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. ["Radio Riddle Answer"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5250813/washington_ch_recordherald/). *Washington Court House Record-Herald*. January 19, 1938. p. 7. Retrieved May 13, 2016. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. Sies, Luther F. (2014). *Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition*. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. P. 15. 1. ["Arlene Harris Tribute Sunday; Willson In Anaheim Friday"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5250608/santa_ana_register/). *Santa Ana Register*. June 17, 1976. p. 28. Retrieved May 13, 2016. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. ["Here Comes Elmer"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5251123/harrisburg_telegraph/). *Harrisburg Telegraph*. December 23, 1944. p. 23. Retrieved May 13, 2016. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. ["Arlene Harris to Present 'Talk of the Town' for Club"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5250729/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/). *The San Bernardino County Sun*. April 6, 1969. p. 39. Retrieved May 13, 2016. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. ["(TV listing)"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5251007/independent_presstelegram/). *Independent Press-Telegram*. March 29, 1964. p. 118. Retrieved May 13, 2016. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. [The Return of Edwin Carp](http://www.hulu.com/watch/114065/the-dick-van-dyke-show-the-return-of-edwin-carp#x-0,vepisode,1,0) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120410200026/http://www.hulu.com/watch/114065/the-dick-van-dyke-show-the-return-of-edwin-carp#x-0,vepisode,1,0) 2012-04-10 at the Wayback Machine - Season 3 : Ep. 27 of the Dick Van Dyke Show 1. ["Woman's Club Monday Meeting Time Advanced"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5250975/redlands_daily_facts/). *Redlands Daily Facts*. November 18, 1961. p. 3. Retrieved May 13, 2016. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) 1. ["Arlene Harris"](http://www.walkoffame.com/arlene-harris). *Hollywood Walk of Fame*. Retrieved 13 May 2016. 1. Wilson, Scott. *Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons*, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition. ## External links - [Arlene Harris](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0364441/) at IMDb --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Arlene Harris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlene_Harris) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlene_Harris?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.