Who is Edie McClurg?
Edie McClurg was born on 23 July 1945, in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She is an actress, comedian, opera singer, and voice actress, best known for her long career in the entertainment industry spanning over four decades. Some of her most notable projects include voice roles in “Cars”, “A Bug’s Life”, and “Wreck-It Ralph”.
The Net Worth of Edie McClurg
As of early-2020, Edie McClurg’s net worth is estimated to be over $6 million, earned through success in the entertainment industry.
Come meet Edie McClurg at the upcoming Hollywood Show in Los Angeles on June 28-29! She has appeared in numerous films…
Posted by The Hollywood Show on Wednesday, April 17, 2019
She’s consistently gained work in various fronts of the industry, including acting and comedy which have all helped in building her financial position. Apart from this, she is also a radio personality.
Early Life, Education, and Career Beginnings
Edie grew up in Kansas and is the daughter of a secretary of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and a mailman. She grew up alongside an older brother who would also pursue a career in acting. At a young age, both siblings aspired to find success in the performing arts. After matriculating from high school, she then enrolled at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she completed an undergraduate degree.
The university is known to be a part of the much larger University of Missouri System, and the largest university in the Kansas metropolitan area. Following her graduation, she didn’t immediately pursue an acting career but began teaching radio classes at the university while pursuing postgraduate studies. She enrolled at Syracuse University where she completed a master’s degree. She spent some time in New York due to this, though she later returned to her alumna to resume teaching. During this time, she became associated with the radio station KCUR-FM, which is an affiliate of the National Public Radio (NPR).
Professional Work
During her time at the radio station, she worked as a program producer, news anchor, and disc jockey (DC), building her experience in the field. She was a part of a broadcast of “Conversation 26” in which she portrayed John Ehrlichman in a broadcast of the transcripts of the Nixon tapes from his secret recordings that ultimately led to his resignation. In the mid-1970s, she became interested in trying out acting roles, and made her debut in 1976 in the film “Carrie”. It is an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name following the story of a woman who discovers she has telekinetic powers, and proceed to use them at her bullies in school.
It is one of the most popular and widely adapted stories of King.
At around the same time, she became a regular comedy performer in the variety show “Tony Orlando and Dawn”, featuring the music group of the same name. She continued working as a regular supporting cast member of other comedy-related shows such as “The Kallikaks”, which starred David Huddleston as a man who runs an out of shape gas station. She also had a regular role in “The Richard Pryor Show”.
Continued Acting Work
In 1980, Edie became a regular performer in “The David Letterman Show”, a morning talk show, in which she portrayed the character, Mrs. Marv Mendenhall. Away from television, she honed her skills with improvisational comedy, and seeking more opportunities she moved to Los Angeles, where she became a part of the well-known comedy troupe, the Groundlings. This led her to become involved in the first iteration of “The Pee-wee Herman Show”, a character that would define Paul Reubens’ career.
With her relocation to Los Angeles she found more acting projects, working on “She’s Having a Baby”, “A River Runs Through It”, and “The Hogan Family”. She was also a part of the film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” which starred Matthew Broderick, one of the most successful during that period, with praise for the performance of the actors and the film’s direction, and is considered one of the most culturally significant films in the US. Aside from films, she also regularly found work on television, and for a time she was a regular contributor to game shows as a contestant. including “Match Game” and “Super Password”.
Voice Acting and Recent Projects
McClurg had developed her vocal skills for many years thanks to her experience in radio, and throughout her career contributed her voice to many animated projects. These include “The Jetsons” and one of Pixar’s earliest releases, “A Bug’s Life”. She also became a part of the “Cars” franchise, working on the first two films. In 2012, she voiced the character Mary in the animated film “Wreck-It Ralph”, one of her many Disney projects. The film tells the story of the titular video arcade character, who begins to travel to other games through interconnected power cables.
Other voice roles she’s had during her career include in “Nightmare Ned”, “The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius”, and “Fish Hooks”. In live-action projects, she’s known for guest roles in “The Golden Girls”, “Hannah Montana”, and “Rules of Engagement”. Some of her most recent television projects include “Transformers: Robots in Disguise” and “NCIS”. Her last animated film was “Zootopia”, another Disney project set in a world filled with animals taking on roles in a society akin to humans. She hasn’t taken any new projects in the last couple of years, and this is attributed to her advancing age and a medical problem.
Personal Life
It is not known if Edie has ever married, though she has admitted to having long term relationships. In 2019, it was revealed that she hasn’t been working due to being diagnosed with dementia. The news became public when her family filed for her conservatorship as they grew increasingly concerned with her live-in partner. She was said to have been living with a male friend or partner who had allegedly started to take advantage of her with the onset of her sickness. Doctors diagnosed Edie as one no longer able to live on her own due to her condition.