Edie McClurg
- Actress
- Writer
- Music Department
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, McClurg began her performing career at age five with the Kansas City Rhythm Kids. She retired when the dance teacher was arrested on a morals charge for "dating" the tall and lissome, yet underage, star dancer in the troupe. That girl's big number culminated with a back-bend where Edie drank a soda upside down (of course).
She earned a Bachelor's degree in Speech Education and a Master of Science degree from Syracuse University and taught radio at the University of Missouri-Kansas City for eight years. There she re-entered the entertainment field as a DJ, newswoman and producer for the NPR affiliate KCUR-FM. Her proudest moment was portrayingJohn Ehrlichmanin Conversation 26 of the NPR national broadcast of the Nixon Tape Transcripts. Her career-long devotion to satirical improvisation included an impressive tenure with The Groundlings.
She went on to create original characters, performed on the short-lived talk showThe David Letterman Show (1980):Mrs. Marv Mendenhall, Dot Duncan, Whirly June Pickens, Officer Jeanelle Archer, 105-year-old Edie, etc. Television has been a home to many of McClurg's characters -- onThe Richard Pryor Show (1977);as Lucille Tarlek, wife of brash advertising salesman Herb Tarlek onWKRP in Cincinnati (1978);and Mrs. Poole, the ever-cheery and almost omnipresent next-door neighbor onValerie (1986).Her movie career growth paralleled her ten years with The Groundlings. Her first film wasBrian De Palma's teen horror classicCarrie (1976).She did severalJohn Hughesfilms, includingFerris Bueller's Day Off (1986),Planes, Trains (1987),She's Having a Baby (1988)andCurly Sue (1991).Offbeat cult favorites areEating Raoul (1982),Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988),HBO'sThe Pee-Wee Herman Show (1981),andMartin Mull'sMartin Mull Presents the History of White People in America, Part I (1985).
In more mainstream films, she received a National Media Award for her portrayal of a mentally disabled woman inBill: On His Own (1983)(which starredMickey Rooney). She worked withRobert Redford(inA River Runs Through It (1992)), forOliver Stone(inNatural Born Killers (1994)), forDiane Keaton(inHanging Up (2000)), and was named Best Actress of the Chicago Alternative Film Festival for her portrayal of the mother of Ted Kaczynski ( "The Unabomber" ).
More recent roles include the nosy lady onFat Actress (2005),David Spade's nasty neighbor inDickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003),Dana Carvey's mother in Sony Pictures'The Master of Disguise (2002),Jane Kaczmarek's friend onMalcolm in the Middle (2000),and guest-starring onCSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000),Providence (1999),7th Heaven (1996),andCaroline in the City (1995).She had voice roles in such television series and feature films asThe Little Mermaid (1989),The Rugrats Movie (1998),A Bug's Life (1998),andCars (2006).
She earned a Bachelor's degree in Speech Education and a Master of Science degree from Syracuse University and taught radio at the University of Missouri-Kansas City for eight years. There she re-entered the entertainment field as a DJ, newswoman and producer for the NPR affiliate KCUR-FM. Her proudest moment was portrayingJohn Ehrlichmanin Conversation 26 of the NPR national broadcast of the Nixon Tape Transcripts. Her career-long devotion to satirical improvisation included an impressive tenure with The Groundlings.
She went on to create original characters, performed on the short-lived talk showThe David Letterman Show (1980):Mrs. Marv Mendenhall, Dot Duncan, Whirly June Pickens, Officer Jeanelle Archer, 105-year-old Edie, etc. Television has been a home to many of McClurg's characters -- onThe Richard Pryor Show (1977);as Lucille Tarlek, wife of brash advertising salesman Herb Tarlek onWKRP in Cincinnati (1978);and Mrs. Poole, the ever-cheery and almost omnipresent next-door neighbor onValerie (1986).Her movie career growth paralleled her ten years with The Groundlings. Her first film wasBrian De Palma's teen horror classicCarrie (1976).She did severalJohn Hughesfilms, includingFerris Bueller's Day Off (1986),Planes, Trains (1987),She's Having a Baby (1988)andCurly Sue (1991).Offbeat cult favorites areEating Raoul (1982),Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988),HBO'sThe Pee-Wee Herman Show (1981),andMartin Mull'sMartin Mull Presents the History of White People in America, Part I (1985).
In more mainstream films, she received a National Media Award for her portrayal of a mentally disabled woman inBill: On His Own (1983)(which starredMickey Rooney). She worked withRobert Redford(inA River Runs Through It (1992)), forOliver Stone(inNatural Born Killers (1994)), forDiane Keaton(inHanging Up (2000)), and was named Best Actress of the Chicago Alternative Film Festival for her portrayal of the mother of Ted Kaczynski ( "The Unabomber" ).
More recent roles include the nosy lady onFat Actress (2005),David Spade's nasty neighbor inDickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003),Dana Carvey's mother in Sony Pictures'The Master of Disguise (2002),Jane Kaczmarek's friend onMalcolm in the Middle (2000),and guest-starring onCSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000),Providence (1999),7th Heaven (1996),andCaroline in the City (1995).She had voice roles in such television series and feature films asThe Little Mermaid (1989),The Rugrats Movie (1998),A Bug's Life (1998),andCars (2006).
