Today in Wheeling History: October 18--Wheeling native Lois Kibbee, Emmy-nominated actress known for the soap opera "The Edge of Night" and the film "Caddyshack," died in New York City (1993).
Lois Kibbee was born on July 13, 1922, at Ohio Valley General Hospital in Wheeling, West Virginia, to actors Milton Kibbee and Lois Wilson Kibbee. Born into a theatrical dynasty, her grandparents performed on Mississippi showboats, and her uncle was character actor Guy Kibbee, who appeared in over seventy films. Lois spent her first three years in Wheeling, where her father partnered with Bodley Brooks to operate The Plaza, a legitimate theater.
Kibbee made her stage debut at age five in "Rip Van Winkle" and went on to appear in more than 250 stage productions nationwide. She established Playhouse, Inc., a community theater in El Paso, Texas, in 1951, and performed extensively in radio, including "Lux Radio Theatre." Her most notable television role was portraying wealthy matriarch Geraldine Whitney Saxon on the soap opera "The Edge of Night" from 1970-1971 and 1973-1984. She also appeared on "Somerset" and "One Life to Live," and played Mrs. Smails in the 1980 film "Caddyshack."
Kibbee authored biographies of Christine Jorgensen and Joan Bennett, and served as a writer for "The Edge of Night." She received five Daytime Emmy nominations. Kibbee died of a brain tumor on October 18, 1993, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan at age seventy-one. She was cremated.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/35smszn4) (https://tinyurl.com/5atzvt8k); Lois Kibbee biography on Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/52jxfutm), Lois Kibbee memorial on Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/y49bpnpa), Lois Kibbee tribute on Remembered.com (https://tinyurl.com/mr3ma4ev), Kitty's Korner in Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/2trabw4e)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wikimedia Commons, Wheeling News-Register, IMDb, Trakt.tv
Lois Kibbee was born on July 13, 1922, at Ohio Valley General Hospital in Wheeling, West Virginia, to actors Milton Kibbee and Lois Wilson Kibbee. Born into a theatrical dynasty, her grandparents performed on Mississippi showboats, and her uncle was character actor Guy Kibbee, who appeared in over seventy films. Lois spent her first three years in Wheeling, where her father partnered with Bodley Brooks to operate The Plaza, a legitimate theater.
Kibbee made her stage debut at age five in "Rip Van Winkle" and went on to appear in more than 250 stage productions nationwide. She established Playhouse, Inc., a community theater in El Paso, Texas, in 1951, and performed extensively in radio, including "Lux Radio Theatre." Her most notable television role was portraying wealthy matriarch Geraldine Whitney Saxon on the soap opera "The Edge of Night" from 1970-1971 and 1973-1984. She also appeared on "Somerset" and "One Life to Live," and played Mrs. Smails in the 1980 film "Caddyshack."
Kibbee authored biographies of Christine Jorgensen and Joan Bennett, and served as a writer for "The Edge of Night." She received five Daytime Emmy nominations. Kibbee died of a brain tumor on October 18, 1993, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan at age seventy-one. She was cremated.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/35smszn4) (https://tinyurl.com/5atzvt8k); Lois Kibbee biography on Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/52jxfutm), Lois Kibbee memorial on Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/y49bpnpa), Lois Kibbee tribute on Remembered.com (https://tinyurl.com/mr3ma4ev), Kitty's Korner in Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/2trabw4e)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wikimedia Commons, Wheeling News-Register, IMDb, Trakt.tv
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