Shirley Eder

Shirley was born and raised in New York City's Washington Square. Her father was a New York Supreme Court justice. He was quoted as saying life upon the wicked stage was no life for a girl, but at age 16 Shirley was able to secure a role in "The Women" starring her soon-to-be good friend Celeste Holm at the Adams theatre in Newark. Shirley was given 10 lines but 7 of the lines to the Producer's girlfriend. Her dreams of working in show business never faded but her acting career quickly faded away, and her ability to cover every aspect of show business became her calling card. Beginning her career on radio station WINS in New York at age 17, Shirley began doing daily radio programs focusing on women's issues, her good friend Mitzi Green was an impressionist (as Bette Davis or Katharine Hepburn) but stars finally started stopping by. In 1944 she married Edward Slotkin, an executive of Hygrade Foods, a meat packing firm. Edward was serving in the Army at the time so Shirley put her career on hold to go with him for two years. In 1946 she began at WMCA in New York as an emcee of a variety show featuring celebrity interviews. At both WMCA and then later at WOR she hosted "Mic About Town" and cultivated a wide circle of friends in show business. In 1951, Shirley started a program on WOR TV with Ilka Chase and Dorothy Ward called "Women Talk it Over". In 1956 she joined "Monitor" as a roving reporter and interviewer. By then , Shirley had moved to Detroit and began working as the Girl On The Go on WJR Radio show "Composite". In addition she also did her own show "Dear Shirley", giving advice to listeners who wrote her letters. She also wrote a weekly column in 175 newspapers throughout the country through the Bell Syndicate. And she wrote as a guest columnist for Dorothy Kilgallen. Now 20 years into her career she was courted by the Detroit Free Press and the Knight Ridder syndicate to write 4 weekly columns on Show Business. Shirley was able to form relationships with Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Sinatra, Lana Turner, Joan Crawford, Ginger Rogers, Bob Hope and many more. She was also able to stay on top of the Broadway scene by maintaining close friendships with Ethel Merman, Carol Channing. She also had great relationships with Joan Rivers, Jacqueline Susann, Kathleen Winsor, Harold Robbins, Neil Diamond, Peggy Lee, Beverly Sills and many more. She had unlimited energy and passion for getting the story right, her consistent need being to maintain integrity and the confidentiality of those stars who shared their innermost Private thoughts and dreams with her. She was able to write those stories in an entertaining and compelling way, even when the methods and meanness of the gossip industry changed right before her eyes. She reigned as a Hollywood reporter with class and longevity.