Bragdon, Helen C.

Helen Bragdon and Caroline Fisher Rathbone on the set of "Present Laughter," Fish Creek, Wis., 1953

Helen "Casey" Cushman Bragdon was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She studied drama at Smith College and graduated in l933. She was an actor in summer stock in Wisconsin, coached drama, and joined the Actor's Workshop in New York City. In 1943, Bragdon joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACS). She was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, and was in the first contingent of WAACS sent to the Southwest Pacific in 1944. Returning to New York after the war, Helen Bragdon continued her work in summer stock, wrote plays ("Almost Crazy," l955) and lyrics, and contributed in various ways to musicals off and on Broadway. In the late l960s, she moved with her mother from Connecticut to North Carolina, where she was active in summer theater for a number of years. She died in Arden, North Carolina, 6 January 1998.

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