Elliott Lewis

Who was Elliott Lewis?

Elliott Lewis was active during the Golden Age of Radio as an actor, producer and director, proficient in both comedy and drama. These talents earned him the nickname "Mr Radio".

Elliott Lewis was born in New York City, New York, on November 28, 1917. He headed west to Los Angeles to take a pre-law course in his twenties but found himself drawn to acting. During WW-II, Lewis was a master sergeant who supervised shows for the Armed Forces Radio Network.

In 1943, while on leave from the Army, Lewis married Cathy Lewis, his first wife; they shared the common surname before their marriage. Cathy Lewis, who began in radio as a singer on Kay Kyser's radio program, was best known to audiences as Jane from My Friend Irma, both on radio and television. Together, the couple produced such old time radio classics as Voyage of the Scarlet Queen and Suspense. The couple divorced in 1958. In 1959, Lewis married actress Mary Jane Croft, and the couple remained together until Lewis' death from cardiac arrest in Gleneden Beach, Oregon, on May 23, 1990. His stepson, from Croft's first marriage, was killed in Vietnam. Mary Jane Croft died in 1999 at 83.