Harless, Meredith (Florence Meredith Howard), 1909-1996

Florence Meredith Howard was born to Samuel J. and Florence Howard in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on September 6, 1909. She was one of four children, including her twin, Virginia (Howard) Hayes (1909-1990); William (1911-); and Mary (Howard) de Liagre (1914-2009). In 1927, she and her twin sister tied for first place in the Miss Tulsa beauty pageant. A winning coin flip earned Meredith Howard a trip to the 1928 Miss America Pageant, where she finished as a runner-up. Howard went on to perform with the Ziegfeld Follies, where she worked with such stars as Eddie Cantor, Fred Astaire, and Ed Wynn, for five years.

Howard married Albert Russell Erskine, Jr. in January of 1934. She soon became disenchanted with her marriage and moved to Hollywood to work directly with Louis B. Mayer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios on public relations, advertising, and fashion in 1935. While at MGM, she continued to model with her sisters Virginia and Mary, who starred in several MGM films. Howard divorced her husband in November of 1937 and moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked in Crowell-Collier's advertising department and wrote two syndicated columns, At Random (under her own name) and Selective Tuning (under the name Jean Abbey). On November 28, 1948 Howard married Arizona Congressman Richard F. Harless.

With the outbreak of World War II, Harless concentrated on her writing and radio career with the Hecht Broadcasting Company. In 1940, she became the first woman to broadcast a presidential inauguration and the first woman to have her own radio commentary show, News and Personalities in the News . In addition to her broadcasting work, Harless volunteered with the Treasury Department to raise a total of $250 million dollars worth of war bonds and worked with the Civilian Defense Home Hospitality Committee, the Stage-Door Canteen, and the Russian War Relief Committee. She also helped to found the United Nations Club in December of 1941. With the participation of ambassadors from 58 countries, the United Nations Club became one of the major social organizations promoting the allied war effort and the United States' post-war charitable initiatives.

In 1948, Harless returned to Arizona support her husband's gubernatorial campaign. After working briefly for KTAR radio, she became the producer of CBS's A Look Behind the News and worked as a regular commentator. During the next several years, Harless wrote, produced, and starred in several radio and television programs for stations in the valley, including Arizona Close-Ups for NBC and Arizona Caravan for ABC, where she also worked as Public Relations Director. In 1951, Harless was honored with Arizona's Outstanding Woman award.

Harless continued to work in local Arizona broadcasting and participated in local charities like the Salvation Army (where she served as Vice President for the national organization) and Washington D.C. organizations including the Washington Fashion Group, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Business and Professional Women's Club. Although Harless was married and widowed twice after Richard Harless' death in 1970, she continued to use the Harless name professionally because she believed that it was the name that she was best known by. Meredith (Howard) Harless died on June 19, 1996 at the age of 87.

From the guide to the Meredith Harless Papers, 1925-1970, (Arizona State University Libraries Arizona Collection)