{{short description|American author and actress (1898–1993)}} {{Infobox writer | name = Edith Meiser | image = Edith Meiser RD1130 (cropped).jpg | caption = From a 1930 ''Radio Digest'' magazine | birth_date = May 9, 1898 | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.<ref name="nyt"/> | death_date = {{death date and age|1993|09|26|1898|05|09}}<ref name="nyt"/> | death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.<ref name="nyt"/> | pseudonym = | occupation = Writer | language = English | genre = Crime, mystery }}
'''Edith Meiser''' (May 9, 1898{{sfn|Ellett|2017|p=139}} – September 26, 1993<ref name="nyt">{{cite web|title=Edith Meiser, 95, Dies; Actress and a Writer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/27/obituaries/edith-meiser-95-dies-actress-and-a-writer.html|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618160808/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/27/obituaries/edith-meiser-95-dies-actress-and-a-writer.html|archive-date=June 18, 2009|date=September 27, 1993|access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref>) was an American author and actress, who wrote mystery novels, stage plays, and numerous radio dramas. She is perhaps best known for bringing adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories to radio in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Edith Meiser |url=https://archive.org/details/Radio-Stars-1936-02-Vol-7-No-5/page/82/mode/2up?q=%22Edith+Meiser%22+%22Sherlock+Holmes%22 |magazine=Radio Stars |page=82 |location= |publisher= |date=February 1936 |access-date=April 29, 2023}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Quote - "On this day, Oct. 20, in 1930, Sherlock Holmes premiered on NBC radio, introducing the adventures of The Worlds Greatest Detective into Americas living rooms. Few figures loom larger in old-time radio mystery than Holmes, which featured some of the era's finest actors. The half-hour drama was the inspiration of Edith Meiser, an actress and mystery lover who was convinced the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classics would make great listening."{{sfn|McCabe|2010|p=8}}}}
Meiser had been a member of the Actors Equity board of governors as well as the chairwoman of the Equity Library Theater.<ref name="nyt"/>
==Early life== Born in Detroit,<ref name="nyt"/> Meiser studied at the Liggett School,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} Kox Schule in Dresden, Germany,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} and the Ecole de la Cour de St. Pierre in Geneva, Switzerland,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} before eventually attending Vassar College.<ref name="nyt"/>
==Acting career== At Vassar, Meiser began performing with the college drama society{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} appearing in such plays as ''L'Aiglon'',{{sfn|Harrison|1920}} ''Jezebel'',{{sfn|Kitchell|1920}} and ''Punishment,''{{sfn|Buck|1920}} the last of which she authored herself.{{sfn|Civitello|1977}}
After graduating college, Meiser began performing with such groups as the American Shakespeare Festival,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} The Theater Guild,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} Edward Albee's vaudeville circuit,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} and Jessie Bonstelle's Summer Stock Company{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} before making her Broadway debut in 1923 in ''The New Way''.<ref name="nyt"/> She went on to appear in over 20 Broadway shows, including ''Fata Morgana'',<ref name="nyt"/> ''The Guardsman'',<ref name="nyt"/> ''Garrick Gaieties'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Philip Loeb & Edith Meiser featured in the "Garrick Gaieties" (1930).|url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dc-3c29-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99|publisher=New York Public Library|access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref> ''Sabrina Fair''<ref name="nyt"/> and the 1960 production of ''The Unsinkable Molly Brown''.<ref name="playbill">{{cite web|title=Edith Meiser|url=http://www.playbill.com/person/edith-meiser-vault-0000018651|work=Playbill|access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref>
Meiser also appeared in films such as ''Middle of the Night'', ''It Grows on Trees'' and ''Queen for a Day''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Edith Meiser; Actress and Radio Script Writer|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-29-mn-40101-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 29, 1993|access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref>
==Writing career== Meiser authored many radio scripts including Helen Hayes's first radio serial, ''The New Penny''.<ref name="nyt"/>
===Sherlock Holmes=== At age fifteen, Meiser traveled to Europe on the ''SS Bremen''.{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=179-180}} The ship's purser provided Meiser with a copy of a Sherlock Holmes book which sparked her interest in the character.{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=179-180}}
Year later, Meiser and then-husband Tom McKnight made the leap from writing for the stage to writing for radio.{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=186-187}} After forming a company and finding some success in radio, Mesier decided that Sherlock Holmes would make for a very good radio program{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=186-187}} but she was unable to interest NBC in a series unless she found herself a sponsor.{{sfn|Wien|2018}} It took more than a year for Meiser to interest a sponsor in the idea.{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=186-187}} George C. L. Washington, inventor of the first instant coffee, and also a Holmesian, agreed to sponsor the series{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=186-187}} which became ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''.
The premiere episode featured an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" on October 20, 1930, and starred William Gillette as Sherlock Holmes and Leigh Lovell as Dr Watson.{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=196-199}} Further episodes featured Richard Gordon in the role of Holmes until 1933{{sfn|Eyles|1986|pp=132-133}} and Louis Hector from 1934 to 1935{{sfn|Eyles|1986|pp=132-133}} with Richard Gordon again taking over for the last season in 1936.{{sfn|Eyles|1986|pp=132-133}}
All episodes were adapted or devised by Meiser{{sfn|Eyles|1986|pp=132-133}}{{sfn|Bunson|1997|p=5}} and at the end of the first season a survey of American radio editors found that 94% said ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' was the best radio program.{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=196-199}}
In 1935, Meiser authored a radio adaptation of Gillette's play, ''Sherlock Holmes''.{{sfn|Eyles|1986|pp=132-133}} Gillette returned to the role opposite Reginald Mason as Dr Watson.{{sfn|Eyles|1986|pp=132-133}}
Three years after the end of ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'', the success of the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes film series{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} prompted Meiser to begin adapting and authoring stories for ''The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson.{{sfn|Eyles|1986|p=135}} From 1939 until 1943, all episodes were written by Meiser.{{sfn|Eyles|1986|p=135}} Meiser left the show after disagreements with a sponsor over the amount of violence in the program.{{sfn|Boström|2018|p=259}}
Beginning in 1953, Meiser with co-writer Frank Giacoia authored a comic strip series of Sherlock Holmes adventures for the New York Herald Tribune Syndicate.{{sfn|Boström|2018|p=302}}
==Later life==
In 1987, University of Minnesota Libraries purchased the "Edith Meiser Collection" which consisted of original scripts, tapes, and other material.{{sfn|Overmier|Harris Taylor|2014|p=132}}
In 1991 at age 93, Meiser was invested as a member of The Baker Street Irregulars for her work in maintaining interest in Sherlock Holmes throughout her career.{{sfn|Boström|2018|p=429}}
==Death== Meiser died at age 95 in Roosevelt Hospital.<ref name="nyt"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Notes== {{reflist|group=nb}}
==Sources== *{{cite book|last=Boström|first=Mattias|title=From Holmes to Sherlock|publisher=Mysterious Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-8021-2789-1}} *{{cite journal|last=Buck|first=Gertrude| title =The Community Theater's First Season| journal =Vassar Quarterly| volume = 5–6 | pages = 197 | publisher = Vassar College | date = 1920 | language = en | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Jp9GAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Edith+Meiser%22&pg=PA199 | access-date = January 2, 2019}} *{{cite book |last=Bunson|first=Matthew|author-link=Matthew Bunson |title=Encyclopedia Sherlockiana |year=1997 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-02-861679-0}} *{{cite journal|last=Civitello|first=Michael|title=Edith Meiser McKnight|journal =Vassar Quarterly| volume = LXXIII| issue =2|date= January 1, 1977| language = en | url =https://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=vq19770101-01.2.14| access-date = January 2, 2019}} *{{cite book|last=Ellett |first=Ryan |title=Radio Drama and Comedy Writers, 1928-1962|publisher=McFarland |year=2017 |isbn=9781476629803}} *{{cite book |last=Eyles|first=Allen|title=Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration |url=https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle|url-access=registration|year=1986 |publisher=Harper & Row |isbn=0-06-015620-1}} *{{cite journal|last=Harrison|first=Geneva W.| title =Second Hall in Retrospect| journal =Vassar Quarterly| volume = 5–6 | pages = 199 | publisher = Vassar College | date = 1920 | language = en | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Jp9GAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Edith+Meiser%22&pg=PA199 | access-date = January 2, 2019}} *{{cite journal|last=Kitchell|first=Anna T.| title =The First Workshop Plays of 1919–1920| journal =Vassar Quarterly| volume = 5–6 | pages = 133–134 | publisher = Vassar College | date = 1920 | language = en | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Jp9GAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Edith+Meiser%22&pg=PA199 | access-date = January 2, 2019}} *{{cite news|last=McCabe|first=Scott|title=Crime History: Sherlock Holmes makes radio debut|date=October 20, 2010|work=Washington Examiner|id={{ProQuest|759106946}}}} *{{cite book|last1=Overmier|first1=Judith A.|last2=Harris Taylor|first2=Rhonda|title=Managing the Mystery Collection: From Creation to Consumption|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn=978-1317717805}} *{{cite web|last=Simanaitis|first=Dennis|title=Edith Meiser – Sherlockian Extraordinaire|url=https://simanaitissays.com/2016/05/26/edith-meiser-sherlockian-extraordinaire/|website=Simanaitis Says|date=May 26, 2016|access-date=January 2, 2019}} *{{cite web|last=Wien|first=Gary|title=Relive The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes With East Lynne Theater's Radio Play|url=https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/2018/03/15/relive-the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-with-east-lynne-theaters-radio-play/|publisher=NJ Stage Magazine|date=March 15, 2018|access-date=January 2, 2019}}
==External links== {{commons category|Edith Meiser}} *{{IMDb name|0577047|Edith Meiser}} *{{IBDB name|edith-meiser-52691|Edith Meiser}} * {{Playbill person}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20190103060015/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2baa1048e6 Edith Meiser] at British Film Institute *[http://archives.nypl.org/the/21651 Edith Meiser papers, 1902–1985], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts *[https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/12/resources/2480 The Edith Meiser Collection] at the University of Minnesota Libraries *[http://www.alhirschfeldfoundation.org/type/edith-meiser Sketches of Meiser] by Al Hirschfeld
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meiser, Edith}} Category:American stage actresses Category:American mystery writers Category:20th-century American novelists Category:American radio writers Category:American women radio writers Category:1993 deaths Category:1898 births Category:20th-century American women novelists Category:American film actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:American women mystery writers Category:Writers from Detroit Category:Writers of Sherlock Holmes pastiches Category:Actresses from Detroit Category:Vassar College alumni