Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the man who had been President longer than anyone else in history, and the world’s champion against the Great Depression and the Second World War, was to die several days later while sitting for an Elizabeth Shoumatoff portrait on April 12, 1945.
While looking directly at a smiling Lucy Mercer Rutherford, FDR reached for his forehead and said, "I have a terrific headache." He died soon thereafter of a cerebral hemorrhage. In the room with him that day, his beloved Lucy was ushered quickly away from the Little White House.

His death brought gasps of disbelief from not only Americans but also peoples around the world…Franklin Delano Roosevelt had been President for more than twelve years. Many could not remember anyone else in the White House. Hundreds of thousands lined the railroad route as FDR’s body was brought back to Washington, DC, then millions mourned as he was laid to rest in his beloved estate in Hyde Park, NY.

FDR died just days before Adolf Hitler...just weeks before the first organizational gathering of the United Nations…just months before the Atomic Bomb was used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan,..and ultimate victory in World War II. Yet few doubted who was the principal person responsible for ultimate victory and a vision of peace for the world.

Eleanor Roosevelt, the tall, gangly, insecure woman who was to marry this political giant, was to grow into America’s greatest woman. After FDR’s death she continued to write her column, "My Day," and served for President Harry S. Truman at the United Nations, the institution first conceived by her husband. It was Eleanor Roosevelt who secured the "Human Rights Bill,” a document that was to impact the world in profound ways.

Their lives combined to serve as a unique, yet powerful team as together they sought the ideas and actions for America and the world. A disabled President and a gangly helpmate were the most powerful people on earth for 12 years. America was dramatically altered because they did lead during those intense and critical years.

Basis for the Franklin and Eleanor Presentation
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There are few couples whose lives have been of such interest to the American public, the world public for that matter, as Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

FDR, portrayed by Dr. Gary M. Gray, was the image of courage and vision as the world faced the two great threats of the Depression and World War II. Tall, handsome, and articulate, his leadership seemed natural, inspired, and millions pinned their future hopes upon him. Others found him to be a traitor to his class.

Eleanor , portrayed by Erma Stewart, was the tall, awkward, and plain niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was surprised when FDR sought her for courtship. Never comfortable as a wife, she felt overshadowed by her mother-in-law, Sara Delano Roosevelt. Never comfortable with children, she was to be the mother of five. Never comfortable in speech making, she learned to control her nerves and a high-pitched voice to become Franklin’s voice when polio took his legs.

Two people, both Roosevelts by birth, but very different in looks, temperament, and needs…became the most significant couple in American history. This was not on the horizon when Franklin and Eleanor were married in 1905. Franklin was seen as a potential heir to the political Roosevelt throne, but Eleanor was at best perceived as an intelligent helpmate and mother, a person destined to live her life on the sidelines of greatness.

Their lives were to be public during an unsuccessful campaign for the Vice Presidency in 1920, the New York Governorship in 1929-33, and, of course, the Presidency from 1933-45.

Yet the personal stories underneath the public view are not only fascinating, but also critical in understanding this unique, flawed couple as they served as the central focal point in the world during two great crises: the Great Depression and World War II.

The two-person Chautauqua presentation seeks that understanding. Members of the audience witness two extremely rare moments as both Eleanor and FDR are in reflective moods…thinking about their hopes and dreams, both together and separately.

The date for President Franklin D. Roosevelt is April 8, 1945. He is exhausted from a long and frustrating meeting with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in Yalta, but now he has arrived at his beloved "Little White House" in Warm Springs, Georgia for a few days of rest. Despite his weariness, his spirits are high because Lucy Mercer Rutherford is driving to Warm Springs to meet him tomorrow along with the painter Elizabeth Shoumatoff. Tonight he is writing letters…and thinking of Lucy…and Eleanor.

Eleanor Roosevelt’s date is December 23, 1948. She has just returned from Paris where she served as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations and as Chairman of the Committee that wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On December 10, the United Nations had ratified this Declaration.

It is here that our two separate stories are told.

Award-winning Erma Stewart brings Eleanor Roosevelt to audiences with humor, inspiration, and insight. Audiences proclaim: "I feel as if I have been in the presence of Eleanor Roosevelt."

Mother, Grandmother, and retired High School Media Director, Erma Stewart has been invited to take her performances to many parts of Oklahoma, Missouri, California, North Carolina, and Michigan. She presently resides in Edmond, Oklahoma. Erma also depicts Carrie Nation, the hatchet wielding temperance crusader.

All Americans will find refreshing the ideals that Eleanor Roosevelt championed and courageously lived. Whether they are politicos, businessmen, history buffs, civic groups, church groups, or housewives, audiences are inspired by Erma Stewart’s portrayal of Eleanor Roosevelt and are grateful for what the former First Lady still symbolizes for our nation.

Visit Erma Stewart's website at: www.encore-performances.com

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