Louise Winslow

Louise Winslow
Born
Louise Marjorie Otterman

(1917-08-19)August 19, 1917
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Died(2001-05-16)May 16, 2001
Evergreen, Colorado, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, director, TV and radio star
Years active1937–1960
Spouse(s)Morris Winslow and Charles Hutaff

Louise Winslow Hutaff (19 August 1917 – 16 May 2001), the Martha Stewart of early daytime television,[1] wrote, directed, and starred in radio and TV programs in the United States from 1948 to 1960.[2]

She became a nationally known home economist in 1950 when her Adventures in Sewing[3] and Food Is Fun TV shows[4] were syndicated.[5] These programs led to print and TV appearances sponsored by Westinghouse Electric, Sherwin Williams, Kroger Supermarkets, Wear-ever Aluminum Foil, and Scotch Tape.[6]

TV and Radio Career

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Frame from an episode of the 1948-1950 filmed TV series, "Through the Kitchen Window" starring Louise Winslow. Image courtesy of Hagley Library Digital Archives

In 1948, Winslow originated and starred in Through the Kitchen Window, " a live and later filmed daytime TV program broadcast on WNKB-TV (now WKYC) in Cleveland.[7][8] The program was one of the first filmed TV programs to capture the program using three cameras filming simultaneously. Cinécraft Productions, the studio producing the shows, called the technique Cinescope.[9][10] The multi-camera setup preserved picture and sound qualities, cut costs and permitted staggered television showings and the re-use of films.[11]

In 1949, Winslow originated At Home and How, a weekly 30-minute daytime program on WNBT TV in New York City.[12] Her program demonstrated how to perform various household tasks such as cooking and sewing. The series was originally aired on Saturdays before it was moved to run opposite Arthur Godfrey and His Friends on Wednesday nights.[13] Also in 1949, her sewing program called Domestic Designs aired on WNBK-TV in Cleveland.[14]

In 1950 Winslow created Food Is Fun, a TV series sponsored by the American Gas Association.[15]

In the early 1950s, Winslow wrote and starred in Adventures in Sewing a nationally syndicated TV series. An article in Variety on the series noted that the "filmed program amounts to a one-woman stint since Louise Winslow works unassisted for a full 30 minutes to point out tailoring hints and demonstrate the strong points of the Domestic Sewing Machine." The series was produced by Ray Culley of Cinécraft Productions, Inc. through Fuller, Smith & Ross, Inc. ad agency.[16] The new series was modeled after the Domestic Designs program Winslow developed for the Cleveland TV market.[17]

From 1955 to 1959, Winslow hosted the morning radio program Brunch Time on WERE in Cleveland. The show was broadcast from the Tea Room of the Halle Brothers Department Store.[18][19]

In 1960, Winslow hosted the TV show Louise Winslow for WEWS in Cleveland her last regular TV series.[20]

Winslow Made-for-TV programs

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Personal life

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Winslow was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1917.[21] Raised in Indiana and Michigan, she married Morris Winslow in 1937.[22] Though she divorced and remarried, she kept the Winslow name as her stage name for her broadcast career.[23]

Winslow joined the Women's Army Corps shortly after America entered World War II. In 1943, she was the Commanding Officer of the Allied Service Women's Club in Caserta, Italy. She was known as "Ruffles" Winslow throughout the European theatre when she insisted that servicewomen deserved ruffled bedspreads and curtains even in wartime.[24]

Winslow married Charles Hutaff (1916–1998), an advertising executive, in 1950.[25] Louise Winslow and Charles Hutaff are buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. They had two children.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Irvin, Richard (23 February 2018). The Early Shows: A Reference Guide to Network and Syndicated Prime-time Television Series from 1944 to 1949. BearManor Media. ISBN 9781629332420. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  2. ^ Culley, Jim (2022). "'But wait! There's more.' Papa Bernard and the first TV Infomercial". Academia Letters. doi:10.20935/AL4676. S2CID 246057682. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. ^ Bundy, June "Adventures in Sewing TV series," The Billboard, 15 April 1950, p. 11 and "New Show on Television: Adventures in Sewing," The Wittier News (Wittier California), 11 March 1950, p. 7
  4. ^ A.G.A. Offers Gas Industry a Television 'Scoop,' American Gas Association monthly, 1950-12 (December), vol. 32, issue 12, p. 28
  5. ^ Culley, Jim (2 August 2021). "WINSLOW, LOUISE". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  6. ^ York, Jack "Aerial Housekeeper," The Indianapolis Star Magazine, Sunday, Feb. 13, 1949, p. 13 and Lohman, Sidney "News and Notes of Television," New York Times, 1 May 1949
  7. ^ "The Kitchen Window: Radio and Television Program Reviews," The Billboard, 27 August 1949, p. 13
  8. ^ "Through the Kitchen Window". Hagley Library Digital Archives. Cinecraft Productions. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  9. ^ "The Kitchen Window: Radio and Television Program Reviews," The Billboard, 27 August 1949, p. 13
  10. ^ "Through the Kitchen Window". Hagley Library Digital Archives. Cinecraft Productions. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  11. ^ Barnum, Dodge E. "Three-Camera Technique Used To Shoot TV Film'". Hagley Library Digital Archives. Printers' Ink Publishing Company. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  12. ^ Sidney Lowman, News and Notes of Television, New York Times, 1 May 1949
  13. ^ Irvin, Richard. The Early Shows: A Reference Guide to Network and Syndicated PrimeTime Television Series from 1944 to 1949. BearManor Media.
  14. ^ Culley, Jim (2 August 2021). "WINSLOW, LOUISE". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  15. ^ A.G.A. Offers Gas Industry a Television 'Scoop,' American Gas Association monthly, 1950-12 (December), vol. 32, issue 12, p. 28
  16. ^ "Adventures in Sewing, Variety March 22, 1950, p. 34". Internet Archive. Variety. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  17. ^ "New Show on TV 'Adventures in Sewing,'" The Whittier News (Whittier, California), March 11, 1950, p. 7
  18. ^ "Radio-TV Backstage: Louise Winslow Heads WERE Audience-participation Show," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 16 January 1955
  19. ^ Bundy, June "D.J. Exec., Format Switches Upheave Local Radio Scene," The Billboard, 13 July 1959, p. 1
  20. ^ Culley, Jim (2 August 2021). "WINSLOW, LOUISE". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  21. ^ Culley, Jim (2 August 2021). "WINSLOW, LOUISE". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  22. ^ Ohio U.S. County Marriage Records, Morris W. Winslow, 11 July 1937, Wood, Ohio #541, p. 270
  23. ^ "WINSLOW, LOUISE". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University. 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  24. ^ "'Ruffles' Winslow Helps TV Draw Audience in Daytime," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 25 June 1950
  25. ^ "Louise Winslow Is Bride of Charles Hutaff," The Bronxville Reporter, 7 September 1950
  26. ^ Culley, Jim (2 August 2021). "WINSLOW, LOUISE". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
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