Merrill, Phyllis, 1908-

Phyllis Merrill (1908-1972) was born in Franklin, New Hampshire, graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1930, and earned an M.A. from Radcliffe in 1932. In 1942, after several years as a teacher, she took a job with the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency as a copy writer. Ms. Merrill became a radio scriptwriter, adapting plays for the Helen Hayes Theater series, writing comedy sketches for Edgar Bergen, Fred Allen, and Jackie Gleason, and writing speeches for various actors, comedians, and politicians. After a series of heart attacks, Phyllis Merrill returned to New Hampshire in 1957 and resumed work as a copy writer for a small agency in Concord. She also edited the New Hampshire Education Association magazine. She died in Concord on January 23, 1972.

From the description of Phyllis Merrill papers, 1933-1956. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122517134

Phyllis Merrill was born in Franklin, New Hampshire in 1908 and graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1930. Two years later, in 1932 she received an M.A. from Radcliffe. After her degree, she taught English for three years at Stafford Springs H.S. in Connecticut before taking a position teaching English and American History at the Barnard School for Girls. In 1942 she went to the J. Walter Thompson Co. where she worked as a writer for advertising copy. She wrote scripts for the radio program Charlie McCarthy, play adaptations for Helen Hayes programs, comedy sketches for Jackie Gleason, Fred Allen and Edgar Bergen, musical continuities for the radio programs Music America Loves Best, The Ford Show, The Robert Shaw Chorale, and the NBC Toscanini broadcasts. For television she worked on Kraft Television Theatre . She was also a researcher and a speechwriter and wrote speeches for actors, comedians and politicians.

After a series of heart attacks, Phyllis Merrill returned to New Hampshire in 1957 where she worked as a copywriter for a small agency in Concord. She also edited the New Hampshire Education Association magazine. She died in Concord, New Hampshire on January 23, 1972.

From the guide to the Phyllis Merrill papers, 1933-1956, (The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.)