Edie McClurg began her performing career at age five with the oxymoronic Kansas City Rhythm Kids. She retired when the dance teacher was arrested on a morals charge for "dating" the tall and lissome, yet underage, star dancer in the troupe. That girl's big number culminated with a back-bend where Edie drank a soda upside down (of course).
Edie has a Master of Science from Syracuse and taught radio at the University of Missouri/Kansas City for eight years. There she re-entered the entertainment field as a DJ, newswoman and producer for the NPR affiliate KCUR-FM. Her proudest moment was portraying John Ehrlichman in Conversation 26 of the NPR national broadcast of the Nixon Tape Transcripts. Thus did Edie contribute to the peaceful overthrow of the government of an unindicted co-conspirator.
Her career-long devotion to satirical improvisation included an impressive tenure with The Groundlings. She went on to create original characters, performed on the daytime The David Letterman Show (1980): Mrs. Marv Mendenhall, Dot Duncan, Whirly June Pickens, Officer Jeanelle Archer, 105-year-old Edie, etc. TV has been a home to many of Edie's characters--on The Richard Pryor Show (1977); as Lucille Tarlek, wife of mega-obnoxious ad salesman Herb Tarlek on WKRP in Cincinnati (1978); and as Mrs. Poole on Valerie (1986).
Her movie career growth paralleled her ten years with The Groundlings. Her first film was the teen horror favorite Carrie au bal du diable (1976). She did several John Hughes films, including La folle journée de Ferris Bueller (1986), Un ticket pour deux (1987), La vie en plus (1988) and _Curly Sue (1990)_. Offbeat cult faves are Eating Raoul (1982), Elvira, Maîtresse des Ténèbres (1988), HBO's The Pee Wee Herman Show (1981) and Martin Mull's The History of White People in America (1985).
In more mainstream films, she received a National Media Award for her portrayal of a mentally disabled woman in Bill: On His Own (1983), starring Mickey Rooney. She's acted for Robert Redford in Et au milieu coule une rivière (1992), for Oliver Stone in Tueurs nés (1994), for Diane Keaton in Raccroche! (2000) and she was named Best Actress of the Chicago Alternative Film Festival for her portrayal of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski's mother.
A few of Edie's most recent accomplishments: Fat Actress (2005)' Rude Lady in Restroom, David Spade's nasty neighbor in Dickie Roberts: Ex-enfant star (2003), Dana Carvey's mother in Sony Pictures' The Master of Disguise (2002), Jane Kaczmarek's friend in Malcolm (2000), guest-starring on Les experts (2000), NBC's Providence (1999), WB's 7 à la maison (1996), Lea Thompson's mother on Caroline in the City (1995) and several animation roles for TV and in features, such as La petite sirène (1989), Les razmoket, le film (1998) and as Dr. Flora in 1001 pattes (1998). She also did the voice of a Midwestern minivan for Pixar's Cars - Quatre roues (2006).
