Her film and television career may have only lasted a decade, but Evelyn Rudie’s memories as a child actor in the 1950s and 60s remain vivid beginning with a small role in the Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron 1955 musical, “Daddy Long Legs.”

After meeting noted director Henry Koster through a family connection when she was just 3-years-old, young Evelyn was offered an audition at Twentieth Century Fox.

“They thought I looked exactly like Leslie Caron would have looked like as a child,” recalled Rudie, who ended up playing one of the orphan children in a scene with Caron.

Throughout the 50s, young Evelyn appeared in several movies but received special acclaim for roles in live television plays on shows such as “Playhouse 90” and “General Electric Theater.” For her performance as Eloise in the 1956 CBS “Playhouse 90” episode of the same name, Rudie became the first child nominated for an Emmy.

The TV play was based on the Eloise children’s book series from the 50s written by actress Kay Thompson and illustrated by Hilary Knight. The books portray the fictitious antics of young Eloise who lives in the New York City Plaza Hotel.

In addition to Thompson, the cast included Louis Jourdan, Monty Woolley and Ethel Barrymore who all intriguingly played themselves as residents of the hotel.

With plenty of dialogue, Rudie’s character was central to the story and her performance on live TV was flawless (portions of the 90-minute show are available on YouTube), but the original plan was for Thompson to overdub Rudie’s voice.

“At 1 a.m. on the morning of the show’s airing, my parents got a call from the producer and director who were worried that wouldn’t work,” explained Rudie. “They wanted to know if I could say my lines if I was coached all day before the broadcast. Well I’d heard those lines every day for three weeks during rehearsals, so it really wasn’t any big deal for me.”

Rudie’s role in the 1959 “General Electric Theater” episode Nobody’s Child was also memorable, mainly due to her co-star.

“I worked with Ronald Reagan who was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” she said. “He had a way of looking at you that made you feel like you were the most important person in his life. He did that with the director, the gaffer, the lady in the commissary – everyone. Whether or not it was genuine who knows, but it probably served him well when he went into politics.”

Due to her self-confidence and maturity, little Evelyn was a guest on several talk shows, including seven times on Jack Paar’s Tonight show. She even bantered with Groucho Marx in 1959 on “You Bet Your Life” informing the comedian if she didn’t remain in acting, she wanted to be President of the United States.

Her comment to Groucho that “a woman has just as much right to be president as a man does” drew modest applause from the audience mixed with a sprinkling of what sounded like disapproving “oohs” as well.

“Before the show, the director came into the makeup room and told me to just be myself and say whatever came into my mind, so I did,” she said. “At school in first grade we talked about career choices, so I only wanted to be president if my acting career didn’t work out. Fortunately, it did.”

Her last film and TV credits were in the 60s, but Rudie soon found her true acting passion – the theater. Along with husband Chris DeCarlo, the couple have been artistic directors since 1973 at the Santa Monica Playhouse, in Santa Monica, California, where they also perform. Due to celebrate its 60th anniversary in June, live cast performances with audiences have been on hold during the pandemic (see www.santamonicaplayhouse.com).

“I think we’ll probably pretend this year never happened and celebrate next year!” said Rudie.

With its strong education program for kids, teens and adults, the Playhouse has been able to offer online workshops and limited in-person theatre camps this year. Performances have also been broadcast online and other productions are planned, including their Halloween theatre tradition, “Absolutely Halloween!” that will stream live in October.

“In a way, I’m grateful I didn’t do more films or a TV series because a lot of kids who did became messed up,” says Rudie. “I got to be a normal kid and enjoy an acting career at the same time.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 850 newspapers and magazines. See www.tinseltowntalks.com.