LUNCHEON Niles Historical Society's program will feature 'Dorothy Fuldheim'

The annual luncheon is set for May 15.
NILES -- Carol Starre-Kmiecik makes a living playing dress-up.
The Lakewood resident routinely dons a period costume, applies her makeup and takes the stage as any number of famous women: Amelia Earhart, Clara Barton, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and more.
Starre-Kmiecik will bring her talents to Niles, portraying former Cleveland television personality Dorothy Fuldheim for the annual Niles Historical Society Spring Luncheon.
The event is set for May 15 at the McKinley Memorial Auditorium, 40 N. Main St. The luncheon begins at noon, and Starre-Kmiecik will begin her performance around 1 p.m.
Tickets are $15, and can be ordered by calling (330) 652-5927 or (330) 544-2143. Reservations are required by Thursday, and no tickets will be sold at the door.
Fuldheim
Dorothy Fuldheim entered the world of television reporting at the age of 55. The Cleveland woman, known previously for her careers in lecturing and radio, joined that city's first TV station, WEWS, in 1947, two months before the station aired its first broadcast.
Fuldheim was the first woman in the country with her own news show and became known for her interviews. Notable subjects she interviewed included Helen Keller and the Duke of Windsor.
In her 37 years in television, Fuldheim was seen on TV sets in more than 14 counties in northeast Ohio.
Her career ended when she was 92, when she suffered a stroke in 1984 while interviewing President Ronald Reagan.
Fuldheim is a character Starre-Kmiecik has portrayed more than 700 times at libraries, schools and civic clubs across the state.
Preparation
Starre-Kmiecik prides herself on her attention to detail. Rather than simply lecturing about the lives of impressive women, she researches thoroughly, looking for unique details. From there, she drafts a performance, where she morphs -- through dress and makeup -- into the historical woman and delivers the information in a first-person dialogue.
For Fuldheim, she has a vintage 1940s suit and hat she dons while portraying the newswoman. The experience, Starre-Kmiecik says, allows her to use her theatrical training to make a living.