About GL: Who's Who in Springfield | Gracie Middleton

"You know, I have to admit, Nola. I really had my doubts about you taking this job, but now I think you really lucked out. I mean you got a great job and a generous boss that buys you things like that."

Brief Character History

Gracie Middleton was first introduced in August 1981 as Nola Reardon's best friend and a very ditzy hairdresser. By ditzy you would have to consider that at one point in their friendship she talked Nola in to letting her dye Nola's hair a wonderful shade of bubblegum pink, very ditzy! Bea Reardon, Nola's mom, didn't consider bubblegum pink hair on her daughter very wonderful thought and really blew her top and yelled at Nola unmercifully until Nola got her hair re-dyed it's proper original shade. Gracie had also dated, briefly, Nola's older brother Tony while all three were in high school, Tony even took her to one of the proms.

But, Nola sought her best bud, Gracie, out in August 1981 because her mom, Bea, had thrown her out of the Reardon Boarding House because Bea had just found out that Nola had lied that the baby she was carrying was not Kelly Nelson's, but actually Floyd Parker's. Nola also decide to say "I don't!", to Floyd, at an impromptu wedding ceremony, at the justice of the peace, a couple of days before she crashed with Gracie. Although Gracie was very helpful to her best bud and even went on Nola's interview in October 1981 at Quinton R. McCord's house on Thornway Road, Gracie was as ditzy as ever. Consider that at both Gracie's apartment and Gracie's hairstyling salon, that Gracie thought a great haircut for Nola's job search might be one of those spiked haircuts that the punks of the early 1980's would have! Nola actually tried that kind of haircut to go on an interview at Spaulding Enterprises, in September 1981, for deceased Diane Ballard's old position and let's just say it didn't work! Nola had Gracie promptly change her hair back to it's original style. Gracie herself was definitely into the lifestyle of the early 1980's, long before most people heard of such bands as the Go-Go's ("Our Lips Are Sealed", "We Got The Beat"), Soft Cell ("Tainted Love"), Duran Duran ("Girls On Film") and the B-52's ("Rock Lobster"), Gracie would have them cranked up (and when you say cranked up, for Gracie that was loud!) on her stereo both at her apartment and at her hairstyling salon.

It was probably a great idea that Nola did change her hair back to it's original style, because the interview for the yet to be defined job at Quinton R. McCord's house went surprisingly well. Surprisingly because Violet Renfield, Nola's household manager was quite surprised when Nola brought her best ditzy friend, Gracie to the interview. Gracie had also shared Nola's passion for old films and sometimes was responsible for some of the odd dreams Nola would have and some of the problems Nola would find herself getting into. Gracie mentioned to Nola during the interview, while Violet Renfield excused herself to get some tea for the young ladies, that Mrs. Renfield reminded her of Frankenstein's bride which promptly led to Nola to have a wild dream where Mrs. Renfield was Frankenstein's bride! No one could really blame Gracie or Nola for feeling that way, because Quinton R. McCord's house was very spooky (and besides both felt that it was very unbecoming of Quinton to leave shortly after introducing himself and have Mrs. Renfield conduct the job interview.) Nola and Gracie early on in Nola's employment at Quinton's rather large house (can you say mansion?) went exploring the place and found plenty of secret passageways and mysterious golden cradles. Quinton would soon explain to Nola and Gracie (whom Quinton in turn found to be quite bizarre) that he was an archaeologist and much of what they were finding in his house was needed for his studies. Of course Gracie totally didn't buy what Quinton was telling Nola and told Nola he was a man not on the "up-and-up" and that Violet Renfield was probably a witch. While Gracie was making all this noise about Quinton and Mrs. Renfield, Nola herself was fighting off Floyd wanting to have more of an involvement in the soon to come baby's life yet Nola wanted Floyd to just shut up about the whole thing, because she had already told Quinton that the baby she was caring was Kelly Nelson's and was extremely worried if Quinton found out the truth as her mother had Quinton might fire her! With both Floyd's pressure plus Gracie's wild accusations about Quinton and Mrs. Renfield, Nola asked Gracie to take Floyd out on some dates, to take the pressure off her. Gracie would, but Floyd would get a wondering eye for Hillary Bauer and then for beautiful blonde nurse, Lesley Ann Monroe. Oh! Lesley Ann, that's right she was introduced to Nola and Gracie as Quinton's personal nurse because of the constant headaches that man seemed to have! Gracie also talked Nola into the idea that Gracie was some kind of soothe sayer and said she could hold a seance at Quinton's house to find out it's many secrets and the mystery of Quinton's headaches and Nola went along with Gracie. Lesley Ann humorously went along with the idea of holding a seance (Lesley Ann started calling Gracie a flake behind Gracie's back, you don't even want to know what Gracie said right on back.) Mrs. Renfield just thought that all three young ladies were all nuts and didn't participate, besides she was worried when Quinton had suddenly disappeared after one of his headaches after he had taken Nola out on the town (to cheer her up) to Trish Lewis' restaurant, The Hideout, and ended up running into one of his old lovers, Blanche Bouvier (a friend of Trish's.) It also didn't help matters none that Quinton overheard a telephone conversation of Blanche's where she was talking to the mysterious "great man" where Blanche was telling him that Quinton was now living in Springfield. So, Gracie and Nola and Lesley Ann held the seance on of all days Christmas Eve! During the seance Lesley Ann got bored and left, Gracie got frightened and left, Mrs. Renfield had gone out earlier in a snowstorm to look for Quinton who had left the mansion during one of his "headaches" and Nola was left alone to go into labor. Fortantely, Kelly Nelson who was by now a young doctor showed up and helped deliver the baby (that Nola named Kelly Louise) and Lesley Ann showed back up, with Quinton and Mrs. Renfield, at the mansion to help take care of the child. What happened to the frightened young Gracie? Gracie ended up running into rich oil man, Joshua Lewis (whom Nola had turned down for dating back in September 1981) and Joshua asked Gracie out on a couple of dates, until Joshua got annoyed with her flakiness as well!

Gracie would last be seen in the arms of Tony Reardon in the spring of 1983 at the gala wedding of Nola to now, Quinton Chamberlain as one of Nola's bridesmaids. Of course what Gracie was unaware of at that time was that her date, Tony had just learned that his lover at the time, Vanessa Chamberlain had nearly gotten away with blackmailing Quinton (Nola spilled the beans about that) and was about to get ready to dump Vanessa, literally, but hadn't done so yet! When Vanessa saw what Vanessa termed, the "snippity" Gracie on Tony's arms, Vanessa got confused and just a little hurt, but Gracie just had a grand time rubbing it into Vanessa's face! After Nola and Quint's wedding, she moved to L.A. and became actress Joan Bennett's personal hairdresser.

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