Virginia Graham

Virginia Graham

Graham in 1972
Born Virginia Komiss
(1912-07-04)July 4, 1912
Chicago, Illinois
Died December 22, 1998(1998-12-22) (aged 86)
Manhattan, New York City
Cause of death heart attack
Occupation Television personality
Spouse(s) Harry Guttenberg (1935–1980; his death); 1 daughter

Virginia Graham, born Virginia Komiss, (July 4, 1912 – December 22, 1998)[1][2] was a daytime television talk show host from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. On television, Graham hosted the syndicated programs Food for Thought (1953–1957),[3] Girl Talk, which debuted in January 1963 and ran until 1969;[4] and The Virginia Graham Show (1970–72). She was also a guest on many other programs.

Personal life/education

Graham was born and raised in Chicago. Her father, an immigrant from Germany, was a successful businessman who owned the Komiss department store chain.[5] She graduated from the Frances Parker School in Chicago. She attended the University of Chicago, where she majored in anthropology, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She then studied journalism at Northwestern University, and received a master's degree.

Marriage

In 1935, she married Harry William Guttenberg, who owned a theatrical costume company. They remained married until his death in 1980. The couple had one daughter, Lynn Guttenberg Bohrer .[6]

She was described as "a bright, alert, talkative woman of ripe, tart-edged candor."[7] Another writer said she looked like "Sophie Tucker doing a Carol Channing performance."[8]

Career

After World War II, she wrote scripts for such radio soap operas as Stella Dallas, Our Gal Sunday, and Backstage Wife. She hosted her first radio talk show in 1951.[9] Graham was a panelist on the DuMont panel show Where Was I? (1952–53). She succeeded Margaret Truman in 1956 as co-host of the NBC radio show Weekday, teamed with Mike Wallace.[10]

While co-hosting Weekday, Graham read a letter from a listener that caused her to collapse into hysterics, much to Wallace's chagrin. The segment was not aired at the time, but has since become a staple of blooper records and retrospectives.[11]

In 1982, Graham played fictional talk show host "Stella Stanton" in the final episodes of the soap opera Texas. Her book about her husband's death, Life After Harry: My Adventures in Widowhood, became a bestseller in 1988. Graham, a cancer survivor, was a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. A former smoker, she denounced smoking whenever the opportunity arose.

Books

Death

Virginia had a heart attack on December 11, 1998, and died at a New York hospital on December 22. She was 86.

References

  1. ↑ Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Graham, Popular Host of Early Television Talk Shows," New York Times, Dec. 25, 1998, p. B11.
  3. ↑ "On Television," New York Times, March 11, 1953, p. 41.
  4. ↑ "Program Shifts Set on Channel 7." Boston Herald, January 4, 1963, p. 13
  5. ↑ Marian Christy. "Yes, Virginia, There's Always An Audience." Boston Globe, July 7, 1974, p. 56.
  6. ↑ Marian Christy. "Straight Talk From Virginia Graham", Boston Globe, May 18, 1988, p. 29
  7. ↑ Howard Thompson, "Life As the Girls Live It", New York Times, July 11, 1965, p. X13.
  8. ↑ Richard L. Coe, "Virginia Graham in 'Wednesday' at the Hayloft," Washington Post, September 30, 1977, p. C28.
  9. ↑ Thompson, ibid..
  10. ↑ "M-G-M Bars Use of 'Annie' on TV", New York Times, Feb. 24, 1956, p. 51.
  11. ↑ http://www.tvparty.com/70-virginia-graham.html

External links

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