Actress Eve Arden Of `Our Miss Brooks' Dies Of Heart Failure

LOS ANGELES - Actress Eve Arden, the wise-cracking ``other woman'' from scores of movies who achieved her greatest fame as the saucy schoolteacher on TV's ``Our Miss Brooks,'' died today of heart failure, her manager said. She was 83.

Miss Arden died of heart failure, but she also had cancer, said Glenn Rose, the manager. The comedienne appeared in poor health when she attended the Warner Bros. studio rededication last summer and was forced to leave the celebration early.

Miss Arden was best known for her role of the teacher with the sharp tongue and big heart in ``Our Miss Brooks,'' which she played for five years on radio and then four on television in 1952-56.

``The Eve Arden'' show followed, but lasted only a season. She appeared in ``The Mothers-in-Law'' with Kaye Ballard in 1967-69.

An actress since age 7, Miss Arden was discovered for Broadway by producer Lee Shubert, who signed her for the 1936 Ziegfeld Follies in New York, starring the late Fannie Brice.

After two years with the Follies, Miss Arden won a Hollywood contract to appear in the film ``Stage Door,'' which propelled her to a career in several dozen films.

She later appeared in several dinner-theater productions around the country, including Seattle.