Eleanor and Franklin
Encyclopedia
Eleanor and Franklin is a television movie
released on January 11, 1976, starring Edward Herrmann
as Franklin D. Roosevelt
(FDR) and Jane Alexander
as Eleanor Roosevelt
. It is the first part in a two-part biopic based on Joseph P. Lash
's Pulitzer Prize
-winning and best-selling biography with the same title. Joseph Lash was Eleanor's personal secretary and confidant. He wrote several books on the Roosevelts including some on both Eleanor and Franklin individually.
Directed by Daniel Petrie
, the film follows the lives of President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor told in flashback from her perspective after her husband's death, from the time they were children until his election to the presidency.
A second film was made which detailed Roosevelt's term as president (Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
) (1977).
The film won numerous awards, including 9 Emmys, a Golden Globe, and the Peabody Award
. Daniel Petrie
won the Emmy for best director, as he would again the next year with the White House years. The film is noted for being almost entirely historically accurate.
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
released on January 11, 1976, starring Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann
Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
as Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
(FDR) and Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
as Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
. It is the first part in a two-part biopic based on Joseph P. Lash
Joseph P. Lash
Joseph P. Lash was an American radical political activist, journalist, and author. A close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, Lash won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the National Book Award in 1972 for Eleanor and Franklin, the first of two volumes he wrote about the former First Lady.-Early...
's Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning and best-selling biography with the same title. Joseph Lash was Eleanor's personal secretary and confidant. He wrote several books on the Roosevelts including some on both Eleanor and Franklin individually.
Directed by Daniel Petrie
Daniel Petrie
Daniel Mannix Petrie was a Canadian television and movie director.Petrie was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Mary Anne and William Mark Petrie, a soft-drink manufacturer. He moved to the United States in 1945...
, the film follows the lives of President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor told in flashback from her perspective after her husband's death, from the time they were children until his election to the presidency.
A second film was made which detailed Roosevelt's term as president (Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years is a made-for-television movie that was a sequel to the previous year's Eleanor and Franklin. Originally airing on March 13, 1977, it was part of a two-part biopic directed by Daniel Petrie based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer prize-winning biography...
) (1977).
The film won numerous awards, including 9 Emmys, a Golden Globe, and the Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
. Daniel Petrie
Daniel Petrie
Daniel Mannix Petrie was a Canadian television and movie director.Petrie was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Mary Anne and William Mark Petrie, a soft-drink manufacturer. He moved to the United States in 1945...
won the Emmy for best director, as he would again the next year with the White House years. The film is noted for being almost entirely historically accurate.
Cast
- Edward HerrmannEdward HerrmannEdward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
— Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) - Jane AlexanderJane AlexanderJane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
— Eleanor RooseveltEleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international... - Rosemary MurphyRosemary MurphyRosemary Murphy is an American actress of stage, film, and television.Murphy was born in Munich, Germany, the daughter of American parents Mildred and Robert D. Murphy, a diplomat...
— Sara Delano Roosevelt, FDR's mother - Pamela FranklinPamela FranklinPamela Franklin is a British actress who appeared in feature films from 1961 until 1976, and on American television throughout the 1970s.-Early life and career as a child actress:...
— Anna Hall RooseveltAnna Hall RooseveltAnna Rebecca Livingston Ludlow Hall Roosevelt was the mother of First Lady of the United States, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt....
, Eleanor's mother - David HuffmanDavid HuffmanDavid Huffman was a longtime character actor with many television, film and stage credits. He was married to award winning casting director Phyllis Huffman until he was murdered in 1985.-Murder:...
— Elliott Roosevelt IElliott Roosevelt IElliott Bulloch Roosevelt was the father of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and the brother of US President Theodore Roosevelt. Elliott and Theodore were of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts. Eleanor later married their Hyde Park cousin and future US President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.Elliott was the third of...
, Eleanor's father - Irene TedrowIrene TedrowIrene Tedrow was an American character actress in stage, film, television and radio. Tedrow is also the mother of actress Enid Kent.-Career:...
— Mary Ludlow Hall, Eleanor's grandmother who raised her - John BurnettJohn BurnettJohn Burnett may refer to:* John Burnett , American judge on the Oregon Supreme Court*John Burnett , Aberdeen merchant*John Burnett , Scottish advocate and judge...
— Hall RooseveltHall RooseveltGracie Hall Roosevelt was the youngest brother of former First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt and the nephew of Theodore Roosevelt. He was usually called Hall....
, Eleanor's brother and nephew to Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity... - Linda KelseyLinda KelseyLinda Kelsey is an American television actress.Kelsey's professional career began with stage appearances in her home of Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her good looks and striking mane of red hair winning her success that ultimately landed her in Los Angeles in 1972, with appearances in small roles...
— Lucy MercerLucy Page Mercer RutherfurdLucy Page Mercer Rutherfurd was a mistress and long time friend of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She was with Roosevelt on the day he died in 1945.-Background:...
, FDR's mistress - William PhippsWilliam PhippsWilliam Edward "Bill" Phipps is a retired American actor and producer, perhaps best known for his roles in dozens of classic sci-fi and westerns, both film and television, from the late 1940s through the mid 1960s. From then, until his retirement in 2000, his work was mainly in...
— Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, Uncle to Eleanor, 5th cousin once removed of FDR and 26th President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.... - Linda PurlLinda PurlLinda Purl is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for portraying Ben Matlock's daughter Charlene Matlock in season one of Matlock.-Early life and education abroad:...
— Alice Roosevelt LongworthAlice Roosevelt LongworthAlice Lee Roosevelt Longworth was the oldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. She was the only child of Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee....
, daughter of Teddy, Eleanor's 1st cousin - Devon Ericson — Corinne Roosevelt RobinsonCorinne Roosevelt RobinsonCorinne Roosevelt Robinson was the younger sister of former President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt and an aunt of former First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt.-Early years:...
, Teddy's sister and aunt to Eleanor - Teresa Steenhoek — Anna Roosevelt Halsted, FDR's daughter
- Lilia SkalaLilia Skala-Early life:Skala was born Lilia Sofer in Vienna, Austria. Her mother, Katharina Skala, was Catholic, and her father, Julius Sofer, was Jewish and worked as a manufacturers representative for the Waldes Koh-i-noor Company. In the late 1930s, she was forced to flee her Nazi-occupied homeland with...
— Marie SouvestreMarie SouvestreMarie Souvestre was a feminist educator who sought to develop independent minds in young women.-Biography:Souvestre was born on April 28, 1830, in Brest, France, the daughter of French novelist Émile Souvestre....
, Teacher, mentor, close friend of Eleanor's from Allenswood - Ed FlandersEd FlandersEdward Paul Flanders was an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Donald Westphall in the television series St. Elsewhere.- Biography :...
— Louis Howe, intimate friend and political advisor to FDR and Eleanor - Arthur Adams — Arthur Prettyman, FDR's personal valet
- Helen KleebHelen KleebHelen Kleeb was an American film and television actress. In a career covering nearly fifty years, she may be best-known for her role as "Miss Mamie Baldwin" on CBS's The Waltons .In 1956-57, she guest-starred on CBS's Hey, Jeannie!, starring Jeannie Carson...
— Margaret Daisy SuckleyMargaret SuckleyMargaret Suckley was a close friend and confidant of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as well as archivist at the first American presidential library . Generally called 'Daisy' by those who knew her, she was born December 20, 1891 at Wilderstein in the Hudson Valley, and died June 29, 1991 in...
, neighbor, friend, 6th cousin of FDR - Peggy McCayPeggy McCayPeggy McCay is a long-time American actress with a career lasting over sixty years in film and television...
— Grace TullyGrace TullyGrace Tully was private secretary to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt .Grace Tully was born on 9 August 1900 in Bayonne, New Jersey. Her father was a businessman and a loyalist to the Democratic Party. He died when she was young, and Tully and her two sisters and brother were raised by their...
, private secretary of FDR - Anna LeeAnna LeeAnna Lee, MBE was an English actress.-Career:Lee studied at the Royal Albert Hall, then debuted with a bit part in the film His Lordship...
— Laura Delano, FDR's cousin at the Little White HouseLittle White HouseThe Little White House, in the Warm Springs Historic District in Warm Springs, Georgia, was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's personal retreat. He first came to Warm Springs for treatment of his paralytic illness, and liked the area so much that, as Governor of New York, he had a home built on nearby...
when he passed - Harry Holcombe — Steve EarlyStephen EarlyStephen Tyree Early was a U.S. journalist and government official. He served as White House Press Secretary under Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945 and again under President Harry S. Truman in 1950.-Career:...
, political advisor to FDR and future White House Press SecretaryWhite House Press SecretaryThe White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration.... - Ned Wilson — Endicott PeabodyEndicott Peabody (educator)The Reverend Endicott Peabody was the American Episcopal priest who founded the Groton School for Boys , in Groton, Massachusetts in 1884. Peabody served as headmaster at the school from 1884 until 1940, and also served as a trustee at Lawrence Academy at Groton...
, FDR's headmaster at Groton's School for BoysGroton SchoolGroton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
and officiated his wedding - Len Wayland — Admiral Ross McIntire, FDR's personal doctor
- Lindsay CrouseLindsay Crouse-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
— Marjorie Bennett, Eleanor's roommate at Allenswood - Edward Winter — Joe McCall, reporter on funeral train with Eleanor
- Mackenzie PhillipsMackenzie PhillipsMackenzie Phillips is an American actress and singer best known for her roles in American Graffiti and as rebellious teenager Julie Cooper Horvath on the sitcom One Day at a Time...
— Eleanor, age 14