Madeline Lee Gilford
| Madeline Lee Gilford | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Madeline Lederman May 30, 1923 Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 15, 2008 (aged 84) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, producer |
| Spouse(s) |
Jack Gilford (1949–1990; his death); 3 children |
Madeline Lee Gilford (May 30, 1923 – April 15, 2008) was an American film and stage actress and social activist, who later enjoyed a career as a theatrical producer. Gilford was the widow of actor Jack Gilford, whom she married in 1949. Jack Gilford died in 1990.
Gilford was born as Madeline Lederman in the New York City borough of the Bronx on May 30, 1923 to Polish Jewish immigrant parents. She began working as a child actress when she was just three years old. Her elder sister, Frances Lederman (September 28, 1910 — February 13, 2010), was an actress, known professionally as Fran Lee.
Gilford reportedly appeared in the early Our Gang episode reels, which were shot in Brooklyn in the 1920s. Copies of the original cast list are hard to verify as many records have been lost. She later worked as an actress on radio, appearing as a regular on The Henry Morgan Show in the 1946-47 season, and stage, performing in the play, Embezzled Heaven, with Ethel Barrymore in 1944.
Gilford began her social activism early in life. She organized the National Student Union at Walton High School in the Bronx, for which she was expelled from the school. Gilford met her future husband, Jack Gilford, at a political meeting for left wing causes in 1947. The couple were married in 1949 and remained together for forty years until Jack's death in 1990. (Both husband and wife had left their original spouses for each other during the late 1940s.)
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