# Edith Meiser

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{{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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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 drama](/source/radio_drama)s. She is perhaps best known for bringing adaptations of [Sherlock Holmes](/source/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](/source/Actors_Equity) board of governors as well as the chairwoman of the [Equity Library Theater](/source/Equity_Library_Theater).<ref name="nyt"/>

==Early life==
Born in [Detroit](/source/Detroit),<ref name="nyt"/> Meiser studied at the Liggett School,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} Kox Schule in [Dresden](/source/Dresden), Germany,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} and the Ecole de la Cour de St. Pierre in [Geneva](/source/Geneva), Switzerland,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} before eventually attending [Vassar College](/source/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](/source/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](/source/American_Shakespeare_Festival),{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} The Theater Guild,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} [Edward Albee](/source/Edward_Albee)'s vaudeville circuit,{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} and [Jessie Bonstelle](/source/Jessie_Bonstelle)'s Summer Stock Company{{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} before making her [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) 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](/source/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](/source/New_York_Public_Library)|access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref> ''[Sabrina Fair](/source/Sabrina_Fair)''<ref name="nyt"/> and the 1960 production of ''[The Unsinkable Molly Brown](/source/The_Unsinkable_Molly_Brown_(musical))''.<ref name="playbill">{{cite web|title=Edith Meiser|url=http://www.playbill.com/person/edith-meiser-vault-0000018651|work=[Playbill](/source/Playbill)|access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref>

Meiser also appeared in films such as ''[Middle of the Night](/source/Middle_of_the_Night_(film))'', ''[It Grows on Trees](/source/It_Grows_on_Trees)'' and ''[Queen for a Day](/source/Queen_for_a_Day_(film))''.<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](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)|date=September 29, 1993|access-date=January 2, 2019}}</ref>

==Writing career==
Meiser authored many radio scripts including [Helen Hayes](/source/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](/source/purser) provided Meiser with a copy of a [Sherlock Holmes book](/source/Canon_of_Sherlock_Holmes) 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](/source/Sherlock_Holmes) would make for a very good radio program{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=186-187}} but she was unable to interest [NBC](/source/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](/source/George_Washington_(inventor)), inventor of the first [instant coffee](/source/instant_coffee), and also a [Holmesian](/source/Holmesian), agreed to sponsor the series{{sfn|Boström|2018|pp=186-187}} which became ''[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes](/source/The_Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes_(1930_radio_series))''.

The premiere episode featured an adaptation of "[The Adventure of the Speckled Band](/source/The_Adventure_of_the_Speckled_Band)" on October 20, 1930, and starred [William Gillette](/source/William_Gillette) as [Sherlock Holmes](/source/Sherlock_Holmes) and Leigh Lovell as [Dr Watson](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Sherlock_Holmes_(play))''.{{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](/source/Sherlock_Holmes_(1939_film_series)){{sfn|Simanaitis|2016}} prompted Meiser to begin adapting and authoring stories for ''[The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes](/source/The_New_Adventures_of_Sherlock_Holmes)'' starring [Basil Rathbone](/source/Basil_Rathbone) as Sherlock Holmes and [Nigel Bruce](/source/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](/source/Frank_Giacoia) authored a [comic strip series of Sherlock Holmes adventures](/source/Adaptations_of_Sherlock_Holmes) for the [New York Herald Tribune Syndicate](/source/New_York_Herald_Tribune_Syndicate).{{sfn|Boström|2018|p=302}}

==Later life==

In 1987, [University of Minnesota Libraries](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Roosevelt_Hospital).<ref name="nyt"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=nb}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Boström|first=Mattias|title=[From Holmes to Sherlock](/source/From_Holmes_to_Sherlock)|publisher=[Mysterious Press](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Simon_%26_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](/source/Harper_(publisher)) |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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/University_of_Minnesota_Libraries)
*[http://www.alhirschfeldfoundation.org/type/edith-meiser Sketches of Meiser] by [Al Hirschfeld](/source/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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edith Meiser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Meiser) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Meiser?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.