Miriam Wolfe

Miriam Wolfe (January 2, 1922 – September 29, 2000) was an American actress, director, producer and writer, who worked in theatre, television and radio from the 1920s to the 1950s. She is mainly remembered for her character roles on radio's weekly Let's Pretend.

She was born Miriam Wolff in Brooklyn, New York on January 2, 1922 to Belarusian and Ukrainian immigrant parents. She made her professional acting debut at age four, reciting poems and reading stories on The Uncle Gee Bee Kiddie Hour on WGBS, one of New York's first radio stations.

Wolfe is best remembered for her diverse roles on Nila Mack's WCBS Saturday morning children's program, Let's Pretend. She joined the repertory acting company in 1934 and remained with the program well into her adult years, playing spooky witches, wicked and wise queens, good and bad spirits, kind and cruel mothers and stepmothers.

At 12, Wolfe auditioned to succeed the 79-year-old Adelaide Fitz-Allen in the part of the ancient witch-narrator Old Nancy on Alonzo Deen Cole's The Witch's Tale (on the Mutual Broadcasting System). Cole, puzzled at first when he saw a young girl in a straw hat and Buster Brown haircut, hired her as soon as he heard the spine-chilling, cackling laugh which became her trademark. She played this part for five years, also doubling as other characters and leading women on the show.

Later, Wolfe was heard regularly from New York and Hollywood on Fletcher Markle's Studio One and Ford Theater (CBS Network). There, she worked with actors such as Lucille Ball, Ingrid Bergman, Montgomery Clift and Marlene Dietrich. She was also heard on American School of the Air, Mystery Hall, Casey, Crime Photographer and Suspense. In the early 1940s, she directed and starred in numerous radio soap operas on WGR and WKBW in Buffalo.

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