Ellie Weingardt- Bio

I remember singing "In My Sweet Little Alice Blue Gown" for my third-grade class, and as a senior in H. S., when I did a monolog in a drama class from "Joan of Arc," and the bell rang, and everyone stayed frozen in their seats. I always believed entertaining was my G-D given pursuit. My singular contribution.

Upon graduation from high school, I studied dance and acting for a year in New York with private coach nights and worked days. After a few months, I landed a part in an off-Broadway production of "Beauty and the Beast." The play was a combination of 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Cinderella.' I started in the role of one of the 'Wicked Step-Sisters' and later did the leading role of 'Beauty.'

I returned to Chicago and went to work at CBS in television. While there, I was on the "Music Wagon" radio show and later on "Ted Mack" singing "Got A Lot of Living to Do."

By that time, I was already married, with one on the way. Four kids later, I did some local community theater, and a fellow "Thespian" asked me to go to the "big city" with her for acting classes. I studied with W. C. Macy (Fargo) and learned the art of "the method." From there, I went to Second City to learn the art of "improv." I have studied television commercial and film acting from the best, and now I teach "voice-over" myself at Columbia College in Chicago." She says.

After the "method acting" class, I decided to try my luck in the profession. I got headshots, a resume, and a voice-over demo, and I have been fortunate to have worked with the tops in the business over the years, both on stage, on film, and in the booth.

I also am proud to say I was in "Save the Last Dance." I am best known for my film role as "The Charm School Teacher" in A League of Their Own, for which I was featured in "Entertainment Weekly" and "Northshore Magazine." The funniest thing is seeing yourself on screen speaking in a different language.

I have played bar-flies to Queens in my career on stage and on film. I appeared in the long-running hit "Shear Madness" on stage as Mrs. Shubert and, more recently, as Phyllis in "Follies" by Steven Sondheim.

I also perform as an improv-impressionist for corporate and social events. Joan Rivers on the Red Carpet and Lucy are my most sought-after doubles. I also won two trips to Hollywood.

One was to the Academy Awards, where I walked down the real red carpet. The other was for a Joan Rivers look-alike contest from Fox Television, where I ended up On Joan's "Late Show." I also went to Hollywood for the "Lucy-Desi Search" and was featured in Star Magazine as a Lucy look alike.

Voice-overs have been my mainstay in "show business." After winning the highly coveted "Windy Award" for best Chicago voice-actress, I find that my imagination is best served in the quiet confines of a glass booth, where you can be a talking bear or a daredevil. I still have a client of almost twenty years, for which I've done thousands of voice-over commercials.

My clients have been a who's who of companies, like Coca-Cola, Sears, Kellogg, Allstate, AT&T, and McDonald's, and my on-camera commercial work has led me all the way to Europe for Camel Cigarettes to an unforgettable spot where I'm squashed by a falling camel.