2014 Legacy Inductee
Tedi Thurman
1923 - 2012
Dorothy Ruth Thurman was born in Midville, Georgia in Burke County. She was the youngest of four children. Her father Ben was president of a local bank and owned the local Ford dealership. Her mother Para was very active in the Methodist Church. Her family called her “Dot”; she attended Midville elementary. While in high school she and her best friend were suspended after playing as prank on one of the teachers. In defiance, they played tennis while school was in session on full few of their classmates. After graduating she attended the University of Georgia and studied art. After growing restless with the strict curriculum, she transferred to the High Museum school of art in Atlanta and then to the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C.. While in Washington she modeled for art students and that inspired her to move to New York to pursue a career in modeling using the name “Tedi”. She was soon under contract to the Ford Agency. In the late 50's Tedi appeared on several TV shows including “Today”. That turned out to be her ticket to "Monitor," where she gave weather forecasts for cities in a way that they'd never been given before -- in an alluring voice with lush music playing in the background. After Monitor Thurman moved to Los Angeles and acted in Ed Wood's cult classic “Jail Bait. She also lived in North Carolina and dabbled in real estate and traveled with Elke Schliwa, her partner of many years. She died n 2012 and was buried in her hometown of Midville.
Tedi with Bob and Ray
in an NBC publicity photo.
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