Edith Meiser

Writing career Meiser authored many radio scripts including Helen Hayes's first radio serial, The New Penny.

Sherlock Holmes At age fifteen, Meiser traveled to Europe on the SS Bremen. The ship's purser provided Meiser with a copy of a Sherlock Holmes book which sparked her interest in the character.

Year later, Meiser and then-husband Tom McKnight made the leap from writing for the stage to writing for radio. After forming a company and finding some success in radio, Mesier decided that Sherlock Holmes would make for a very good radio program but she was unable to interest NBC in a series unless she found herself a sponsor. It took more than a year for Meiser to interest a sponsor in the idea. George C. L. Washington, inventor of the first instant coffee, and also a Holmesian, agreed to sponsor the series which became The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

The premiere episode featured an adaptation of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" on October 20, 1930, and starred William Gillette as Sherlock Holmes and Leigh Lovell as Dr Watson. Further episodes featured Richard Gordon in the role of Holmes until 1933 and Louis Hector from 1934 to 1935 with Richard Gordon again taking over for the last season in 1936.

All episodes were adapted or devised by Meiser and at the end of the first season a survey of American radio editors found that 94% said The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was the best radio program.

In 1935, Meiser authored a radio adaptation of Gillette's play, Sherlock Holmes. Gillette returned to the role opposite Reginald Mason as Dr Watson.

Three years after the end of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the success of the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes film series prompted Meiser to begin adapting and authoring stories for The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson. From 1939 until 1943, all episodes were written by Meiser. Meiser left the show after disagreements with a sponsor over the amount of violence in the program.

Beginning in 1953, Meiser with co-writer Frank Giacoia authored a comic strip series of Sherlock Holmes adventures for the New York Herald Tribune Syndicate.

Later life

In 1987, University of Minnesota Libraries purchased the "Edith Meiser Collection" which consisted of original scripts, tapes, and other material.

In 1991 at age 93, Meiser was invested as a member of The Baker Street Irregulars for her work in maintaining interest in Sherlock Holmes throughout her career.

Death Meiser died at age 95 in Roosevelt Hospital.