Esther Sullivan, née Polgar, was the wife of Charlie Sullivan, who served as speechwriter for President Joe Steele. Esther had been born to a Jewish family in Hungary. She and her parents arrived in the United States just months before the outbreak of the World War I. Charlie's Irish Catholic parents hadn't been thrilled by the match (which took the pressure off of Charlie's brother Mike, who dated the Italian Stella Morandini at the same time).