Cheerio Meredith

Cheerio Meredith (born Edwina Lucille Hoffmann; July 12, 1890 – December 25, 1964) was an American character actress. She was described in a 1963 newspaper article as having "a face like a wrinkled rosebud."^[1]

Cheerio Meredith
Meredith in A Fig Leaf for Eve (1944)
Born	Edwina Lucille Hoffmann (1890-07-12)July 12, 1890 Missouri, U.S.
Died	December 25, 1964(1964-12-25) (aged 74) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1944–1964
Spouses	Conde Thompson Mosley ​ ​ (m. 1910; died 1949)​ Chester Morrison
Children	4

Early life

Meredith was born in 1890;^[2] her mother was an elocutionist in the Chautauqua movement, and one of her grandmothers was an evangelist. Meredith made her own debut on stage with a monologue at age 3. The name Cheerio resulted from her cheerful attitude as a child.^[1]

As a teenager, Meredith sought to play older characters. At age 15, she asked a producer to give her the part of an old woman, and he made her a witch in the play.^[3]

Film and television

Films in which Meredith appeared included Brand of Courage (1958), The Long Count (1962),^[4] The Fat Man (1951), I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), I Married a Woman (1958), The Legend of Tom Dooley (1958), The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962), The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)^[2] and Sex and the Single Girl (1964).

On television, Meredith portrayed Lovey Hackett on One Happy Family (1961).^[5] She also was seen regularly on The Ames Brothers Show (1955) and had the role of Emma Brand (later Emma Watson) on The Andy Griffith Show.^[2] Mary Lou Gedman wrote about Meredith's role on the Griffith show, "During her two-year stint on the show, she only appeared in six episodes but somehow, to the American people, she made a lasting impression."^[6] She also had roles in other programs such as Petticoat Junction, December Bride, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Tom Ewell Show, McHale's Navy, Perry Mason and Bonanza.^[7]

Personal life and death

Meredith was twice married and had four children, three of whom acted on Broadway before going into other careers. The fourth became a producer of plays.^[1]

In December 1964, "after a long illness", Meredith died at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.^[8] She was 74 years old.^[8] Meredith was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California.^[9]