Eleanor Charles

Charles, Eleanor
Eleanor Charles, who covered Fairfield and Westchester Counties for more than four decades for newspapers and radio, died at her home in Kennebunk, Me., on Nov. 21 after a brief illness. She was 89 years old. Charles began her career at what was then the Macy chain of newspapers, which later became Gannett, covering Port Chester, Harrison and Greenwich in the late 60s. She later became a reporter and news director for radio station WGCH in Greenwich. From 1978 until her retirement in 2006 she covered Connecticut and Westchester for The New York Times. In addition to news, real estate and feature articles, her coverage for The Times included compilations of cultural and other events for the weekly Connecticut and Westchester sections. Newsgathering was a second career, one she embarked on in the late 1960s, when her children were in junior high school. Her first, after graduation from Syracuse University in 1943, was as a costume designer for theater and television. As Eleanor Goldsmith, she designed costumes for Strindberg's "The Father," starring Grace Kelly and Raymond Massey, the original production of "Finian's Rainbow" in 1947, and a number of other Broadway shows. The 1948 Times review by Brooks Atkinson of "Inside U.S.A.", which starred Beatrice Lillie, called its costumes "lovely and fresh." Charles retired in 2006 to Kennebunk, Me., where her family had summered since 1917. She is survived by her son, David, who lives in France, his three children and three grandchildren; and by her daughter, Rebecca, who lives in Manhattan and is the chef and owner of Pearl Oyster Bar in Greenwich Village, named for Eleanor's mother. Condolence notes may be sent to Rebecca Charles at 14 West 17th St. #4S New York, N.Y. 10011.