Vivian Smolen (March 7, 1916 â€" June 11, 2006) was an actress in the
era of old-time radio. She is best known for her work in soap operas,
especially portraying Sunday Brinthrope, the title character in Our
Gal Sunday and Laurel, the daughter of the title character in Stella
Dallas.Decades after those roles ended, an article in the Chicago
Tribune said: "When Vivian Smolen Klein speaks, people listen. There
is something in her voice, a memory, a hint of something bygone,
something that once was very important."Smolen was born in New York
City. As an elementary school student, she auditioned and won a part
in The Children's Hour in New York. That work brought her $2 per
program. She recalled later: "They liked me. I stayed with them a long
time." While she was still in school, she also performed on the
children's program The Lady Next Door. She graduated from James
Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York, in 1933 and attended
Brooklyn College.In 1941, Smolen was picked to play Laurel Dallas in
Stella Dallas. Her work on that program helped her to obtain the lead
in Our Gal Sunday, a role that she played from 1946 to 1959. The two
programs were on the air concurrently, but Smolen said, "It wasn't
uncommon to have two big parts at once. I did many parts on many radio
programs all the time." Smolen's other work on radio included playing
Veronica Lodge on Archie Andrews and Marge Barclay in Doc Barclay's
Daughters.:100. Vivian Smolen Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter