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

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