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Arlene Harris Biography

Birth Name:Arlene Harris

Birth Place:Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Profession Actress

Fast Facts

  • Toured with "The Al Pearce Show" in 1945 to put on shows for troops stationed in the Pacific
  • Was named an honorary member of the Zeta Phi Eta national speech fraternity in 1937 because of her perfect diction
  • Started out as a vaudeville and stage actress before becoming involved in radio and film
  • Began her career in entertainment while still living in Canada, where she performed at clubs and church events
  • Made her screen acting debut in the film "The Hit Parade" in 1937
  • Quote: "(On marrying the physician who treated her after an automobile accident in 1927): "His bill was so big that after I paid it, I thought I might as well get the money back somehow․""
  • Best known as an actress and for her comedy "Chatterbox" skits on "The Al Pearce Show․"
  • Despite her monologues on "The Al Pearce Show" consisting of upwards of 200 words per minute, she never read from a script and always memorized her lines, which she wrote herself
  • Has appeared on several television series, including "Dragnet," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," and "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis․"
  • Once estimated that she had written and performed 700 of her famous monologues for "The Al Pearce Show," earning her the nicknames "Chatterbox" and "Wagging Tongue․"