![]() Spread out a little.”įinally reaching the platform where W.G. “Please look around and be sure a small child isn’t next to you,” he told the audience. It was a rush hour Manhattan subway mob and a World Series throng rolled into one.”īoone, riding with his wife, Shirley, was worried that someone might get hurt as giddy fans pressed around the convertible. “And when Pat Boone came - the last of three Soap Box Derby celebrities to be paraded Saturday to the hotel - the crowd was an explosive thing. “It built up into a big crowd, then a mass and finally a living blanket of humanity covering the sidewalks and street in front of the Sheraton Hotel. 16, 1958: “It started with a handful of bobby soxers hopefully clutching autograph books and giggling at whatever girls giggle at. The procession inched toward a platform in front of the hotel where the stars were introduced one by one to the cheering throngs.īeacon Journal reporter William Schlemmer described the chaotic scene Aug. ![]() “It was just magnificent, and it stands out in my memory,” said Boone, 87, chatting Friday by telephone from his home in Beverly Hills, California. It was exhilarating and a little bit frightening. Teen idol Pat Boone, Western star Guy Madison and comic actor Eddie Bracken couldn’t believe the huge turnout. Spectators flooded streets, jammed sidewalks and crowded windows. The triumphant arrival of celebrity guests for the 1958 All-American Soap Box Derby looked like an epic scene from a Cecil B. The sea of humanity barely parted as Akron police officers escorted three Chevrolet convertibles down South Main Street in a slow parade toward the Sheraton Mayflower Hotel. for his contribution to the television industry.Tens of thousands of people swarmed downtown Akron to catch a glimpse. Together Eddie and Connie had five children: two sons (Michael and David) and three daughters (Judy, Carolyn and Susan).įor his contribution to radio, Eddie Bracken has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1651 Vine Street and a second star at 6751 Hollywood Blvd. ![]() Connie was his leading lady in the Broadway production of What a Life in 1938. His wife of 63 years, Connie, a former actress, died in August 2002, just three months before his death. On November 14, 2002, Bracken died in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, of complications from an undisclosed surgery at the age of 87. This production was broadcast on PBS in 1990. One high point was their production of Show Boat in which he played Cap'n Andy Hawkes. Bracken also had a long career with Papermill Playhouse in New Jersey, starring in dozens of productions in the 1980s–early 2000s. Duncan in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. After nearly 30 years out of feature films, he returned to perform character roles, including the sympathetic Walley World theme park founder Roy Walley in National Lampoon's Vacation, and Duncan's Toy Chest toy store owner Mr. Olaf, as well as an episode of Tales from the Darkside playing a stubborn old man who refuses to believe that he has died. His last appearance on Broadway was in the musical Dreamtime, directed by David Niles at the Ed Sullivan Theater at the age of 77.īracken's extensive television roles between 19 include an episode of The Golden Girls as Rose Nylund's ex-childhood boyfriend from St. He appeared on Broadway in Shinbone Alley, Hello, Dolly!, The Odd Couple and Sugar Babies. He made numerous radio broadcasts during this era, notably on The Eddie Bracken Show. Due to the popularity of these films, Eddie Bracken was a household name during World War II. In the 1940s, director Preston Sturges cast Bracken in two of his best-loved films, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, opposite Betty Hutton, and Hail the Conquering Hero. The military drama, co-starring Richard Cromwell, opened to much fanfare but closed after 14 performances at the 46th Street Theater. In 1936, Bracken pursued success on Broadway with his starring run in the Joseph Viertel play So Proudly We Hail. He had performed in a short film series called The Kiddie Troupers (one of many Our Gang-like series) prior to that, but that film was his big break. Bracken performed in vaudeville at the age of nine and gained fame with the Broadway musical Too Many Girls in a role he reprised for the 1940 film adaptation. ![]() ![]() Edward Vincent "Eddie" Bracken (Febru– November 14, 2002) was an American actor.īracken was born in Astoria, Queens, New York, the son of Catherine and Joseph L. ![]()
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