Eddie graduated from UCLA with a BA in Theatre Arts and was honored to be the only student athlete OR Fine Arts student to ever be selected as the Candidates’ Speaker for a UCLA Commencement Ceremony.
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Eddie Frierson, made his first claim to fame helping pitch his Hillwood High School baseball team to a State Championship before migrating west to throw collegiately for the UCLA Bruins. Eddie by-passed his dream of a professional baseball career in order to pursue his love for acting. The first student athlete and Fine Arts major to be honored as the Candidates’ Speaker for a UCLA Commencement Ceremony, Eddie graduated from UCLA with a BA in Theatre Arts.
One great summer, decades ago, Eddie Frierson began his research on the life and career of one of baseball’s greatest pitchers, Christy Mathewson. His in-depth study, extensive travel miles, countless interviews and innumerable hours in college, library and museum archives led to his creation of “MATTY: AN EVENING WITH CHRISTY MATHEWSON,” combining both his love of baseball and acting. MATTY was the first outside event ever invited to perform at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. In 2011, he and his family were honored to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Hall’s Inaugural Class with the families of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Walter Johnson. As a “Honorary Inductee” into the Hall of Fame, Eddie has gone farther in baseball on stage than he ever would have on the field.
Outside of his career on stage as Christy Mathewson, Eddie coached eight seasons and was head varsity baseball coach at Santa Monica High School. He kept his baseball connection alive as the radio broadcaster of Bakersfield Blaze Baseball. Eddie has performed on both coasts in dozens of theatrical productions receiving numerous awards including a New England Drama Critic’s Award for his portrayal of the dim-witted Tank in Steve Kluger‘s hilarious baseball comedy, BULLPEN. He is a founding company member of Nevada Shakespeare In The Park and for 14 years was the voice of PETCO Pet Stores. Eddie and his voice have been featured in hundreds of television shows, cartoons and feature films. Yet, his fondest childhood memory is of he and his sisters singing with the famed gospel BILL GAITHER TRIO.
Currently, Eddie has partnered with The Mathewson Foundation to re-publish Christy Mathewson’s “MATTY BOOKS” including PITCHING IN A PINCH — more to be released in the near future in print and audio format. Explore IMDB, Wikipedia or Google for more information and credits of the versatile Eddie Frierson. However, don’t miss visiting the site of his universally-acclaimed one man play, MATTY.
