Halstead, Claribel Baird, 1904-

Actress, teacher of speech and theater, professor of speech at the University of Michigan.

From the description of Claribel Baird Halstead papers, 1920-2000. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 192004682

Claribel Buford was born on December 9, 1904 in Van Alstyne, Texas. In 1925, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Oklahoma College for Women. She earned a Master of Arts in Speech from the University of Michigan in 1936. For twenty years, 1927-47, Claribel taught speech and theater in Oklahoma.

In 1948 she accepted an associate professorship with the University of Michigan Department of Speech and moved to Ann Arbor. She earned a full professorship in 1963 and continued to teach until her retirement in 1974. She directed over 40 plays and taught several courses, including a course that she created in Greek Theater.

Claribel was also a talented actress and performed in productions both at Michigan and elsewhere. She was active within the profession, serving on various boards including that of the American Educational Theater Association and the College of Fellows of the American Theater Association. She received multiple awards throughout her career, most notably the Michigan Governor's Award for Concerned Citizens of the Arts in Michigan in 1989. Claribel was a strong advocate for theater at Michigan and helped to establish the Association of Producing Artists, the first professional theater company at the University of Michigan.

Claribel was married twice and took the name of her husband each time. In 1929 she married Bernard Baird. They had one son, Jerome, together before Bernard died in 1948. Claribel remarried in 1952 to William Halstead, also a University of Michigan theater professor. William died in 1983. Claribel died of pneumonia at the age of 99 in April 2003.

From the guide to the Claribel Baird Halstead papers, 1920-2000, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)