Florida Friebus (1909–1988)

Florida Friebus

Adapter, Alice in Wonderland

Florida Friebus was an American writer and actor who appeared on stage, in film and television. She came from an East Coast theatrical family and first acted professionally at the Civic Repertory Theatre in 1929, where she met her Alice in Wonderland collaborator, Eva Le Gallienne. Friebus played the Cheshire Cat in the original 1932 production. In addition to her extensive theatre credits, Friebus appeared on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Bob Newhart Show, Father Knows Best, The Partridge Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, among others. She had her own children’s show, which aired on the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles. Friebus served on the council for the Actors' Equity Association and received the Phil Loeb Award for extraordinary service to her profession.