Obituary: Screen/stage Actor Eddie Bracken.

Entertainment Editors/City Desks

OBIT...

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 15, 2002

Born in Astoria, Queens, in 1915, American comedic icon Edward Vincent (Eddie) Bracken died yesterday in New Jersey after a decades-long career spanning Hollywood's Golden Age, the advent of television and the Great White Way.

A child actor in Hal Roach's "Kiddie Troupers" films, Eddie got his big break when director George Abbott cast him in the national tour of "Brother Rat" and on Broadway in "What a Life." During his national tour, Eddie met and married leading lady Constance Nickerson (Bracken), his late wife of 62 years. The two headed to Hollywood in 1939, when Paramount took "Life with Henry" - and Eddie -- to the silver screen.

Over more than a decade as a Paramount player, Eddie starred with some of the century's greatest celebrities, including: Bob Hope ("Caught in the Draft," 1941); Judy Garland and Gene Kelly ("Summer Stock," 1950); Ronald Reagan ("The Girl from Jones Beach," 1949); Mitzi Gaynor and Marilyn Monroe ("We're Not Married," 1952) and Mickey Rooney ("A Slight Case of Larceny," 1953).

Of dozens of major film credits, however, Eddie is best remembered as the reluctant hero of Preston Sturges' enduring "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" (with Betty Hutton, 1944) and "Hail the Conquering Hero" (1944). He also produced and hosted radio series "The Eddie Bracken Show," earning one of his two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The second star honors small-screen performances over the course of his career, which include the Dick Van Dyke Show, Rawhide, Tales of the Darkside, Murder She Wrote, Conduct Unbecoming on Showtime, and, most recently, NBC's "Ed" and opposite Ashley Judd on "The Ryan Interview" for PBS.

Eddie returned to New York and the stage in the 1950s, earning a Tony nomination for his co-starring role with Carol Channing in "Hello, Dolly;" originating the role of Archie in "Shinbone Alley" opposite Eartha Kitt and touring internationally with Anne Miller and others in "Sugar Babies." His more than forty years of stage credits - also including Show Boat, The Seven Year Itch and The Odd Couple - add up to a record 15,000 stage performances, recognized in 2002 by Eddie's home state of New Jersey.

Younger generations recognize Eddie as Mr. Wally in "National Lampoon's Vacation" (with Chevy Chase), a role that marked his return to the big screen in 1983. Subsequent films include "Oscar" (with Sylvester Stallone, 1991); "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (with MaCaulay Culkin, 1992); "Baby's Day Out" (1994) and "Rookie of the Year" (1993).

Eddie always said his greatest productions are the five children who survive him -- Judy, Carolyn, Michael, Susan and David ("I did it the hard way," he'd say: "One wife.) - nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He is remembered as Esquire Magazine celebrated him in 1966, as one of the twentieth century's "Unknockables."

The family is planning a memorial service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Paper Mill Playhouse, Brookside Drive; Millburn, NJ; 07041 or The Actors Fund of America, 729-Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019.