Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English actress. After starting her acting career on stage in London, she became known for her works in numerous films and Broadway productions.
Emma Dunn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Dunn in 1911 | |
| Born | 26 February 1875 Birkenhead, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 14 December 1966 (aged 91) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1902–1948 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
Career edit
Emma Dunn appeared onstage in her early teens, graduating to the London stage for several years and later became a noted Broadway actress. She appeared in the first American production of Ibsen's Peer Gynt (1906) with Richard Mansfield as Peer. She played Peer's mother, Ase, even though she was, in real life, 20 years younger than Mansfield. She appeared in three productions for theatre impresario David Belasco: The Warrens of Virginia (1907), The Easiest Way (1909) and The Governor's Lady (1912). In The Easiest Way, Dunn portrayed Annie, who was black, in blackface. In 1913 Dunn appeared in vaudeville.[1]
Dunn made her first film in 1914, a silent film of her 1910 stage success, Mother, directed by Maurice Tourneur. This was Tourneur's first American film. Dunn's second film was 1920's Old Lady 31, reprising the role she played in the 1916 Broadway play of the same name. One more silent film followed in 1924, Pied Piper Malone, and then she made her sound debut in Side Street, co-starring the Moore brothers, Matt, Owen and Tom as her sons.
Dunn wrote two books on elocution and speech: Thought Quality in the Voice (1933)[2] and You Can Do It (1947).[3]
Personal life edit
Emma Dunn was born 26 February 1875,[4] in Birkenhead, England, although she sometimes gave her year of birth as 1883.[5][6]
Dunn married Harry Beresford,[7][8] an actor who was then known professionally as Harry J. Morgan, in Chicago on 4 October 1897.[9] They divorced on 10 February 1909, in New York City. She was awarded sole custody of their young daughter, Dorothy. On 19 May 1909, Dunn married John W. Stokes[5] (John W. S. Sullivan[10]), an actor, playwright[6] and theatrical manager.[11] They subsequently adopted a second daughter, Helen.[12] The couple divorced sometime between 1923[5] and Stokes' death in 1931.[13]
After suffering a heart attack some months before, Dunn died 14 December 1966 in Los Angeles, California, aged 91.[14][15]
Theatre credits edit
| Date | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 November – 6 December 1902 | The Wrong Mr. Wright | Tillie Bird | National tour beginning at Morosco's Burbank Theatre, Los Angeles[16][17] |
| 8 January – January 1906 | The Redemption of David Corson | Majestic Theatre, New York City[18] | |
| 28 October 1906 – January 1907 | Peer Gynt | Ase | Grand Opera House, Chicago[19][20] |
| 25 February – 23 March 1907 | Peer Gynt | Ase | New Amsterdam Theatre, New York City[21][22] |
| 3 December 1907 – October 1908 | The Warrens of Virginia | Mrs. Warren | Belasco Theatre, Stuyvesant Theatre, New York City[23] |
| 19 January – June 1909 | The Easiest Way | Annie | Stuyvesant Theatre, New York City[24] |
| 7 September – 31 December 1910 | Mother | Mrs. Katherine Wetherill | Hackett Theatre, Criterion Theatre, New York City[25][26] |
| 10 September 1912 – January 1913 | The Governor's Lady | Mary Slade | Theatre Republic, New York City[27] |
| 7 January – July 1915 | Sinners | Mrs. Horton | Playhouse Theatre, New York City[28][29] |
| 30 October 1916 – March 1917 | Old Lady 31 | Angie | 38th Street Theatre, New York City[30][31] |
| 16 August – 10 September 1921 | Sonny | Mrs. Crosby | Cort Theatre, New York City[32] |
| 24 November 1924 – January 1925 | Dawn | Mary Slayton | Sam H. Harris Theatre, New York City[33] |
| 24 November 1925 – 19?? | Rip Van Winkle | Gretchen | Boston Repertory Theatre, Boston[34] |
| January 1927 | Junk | Old Sal | Garrick Theatre, New York City[35] |
Filmography edit
References edit
- ^ "Emma Dunn in Vaudeville; Appears at the 5th Avenue in New Sketch" (PDF). New York Times. 10 June 1913. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ Dunn, Emma (1933). Thought Quality in the Voice. Hollywood: Ferger. OCLC 7131895.
- ^ Dunn, Emma (1947). You Can Do It. Agoura, California: Industrial Arts Press. OCLC 4447617.
- ^ Who Was Who in the Theatre, 1912–1976. Detroit: Gale Research Company. 1978. p. 720. ISBN 9780810304062.
- ^ a b c "Emma Dunn Stokes", National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, 2 January 1906 – 31 March 1925; Roll #: 2321; Volume #: Roll 2321 - Certificates: 317850-318349, 29 June 1923 – 30 June 1923. Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007; retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Emma D. Stokes". Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012; retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ "Emma Beresford". Year: 1905; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 0611; Line: 4; Page Number: 59. Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010; retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ Fidler, Jimmie (10 August 1936). "Hollywood Shots". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Harry J. Morgan". Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; retrieved 19 April 2016.
- ^ "Emma D. Morgan". Ancestry.com. New York, New York, Marriage Index 1866-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014; retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "John Wickliffe Stokes". Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005; retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Emma Dunn as a Real Mother". The Green Book Magazine. January 1916. p. 103. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ Ancestry.com. "John W. Stokes", South Carolina, Death Records, 1821-1961 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008; retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Actress Dies at 91". Kenosha News. 19 December 1966.
- ^ "Character Actress' Rites Held". The Bakersfield Californian. 22 December 1966.
- ^ "At the Theatres". The Capital. Los Angeles: The Capital Publishing Company. 1902. p. 6. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "In the Theatres". Spokane Daily Chronicle. 22 January 1903. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "The Redemption of David Corson". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "'Peer Gynt' in English Put on by Mansfield". The New York Times. 30 October 1906. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Mansfield Falls Out with Actress". The New York Times. 24 January 1907. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Peer Gynt". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Mansfield Seen in Ibsen's Peer Gynt". The New York Times. 26 February 1907. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "The Warrens of Virginia". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "The Easiest Way". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Mother". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Mother's' Woes Win Tears at Hackett". The New York Times. 8 September 1910. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "The Governor's Lady". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Sinners". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "'Sinners' is Given at the Playhouse". The New York Times. 8 January 1915. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Old Lady 31". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "'Old Lady 31' A Play Full of Laughter". The New York Times. 31 October 1916. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Sonny". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Dawn". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Francis Wilson as Rip Van Winkle". The New York Times. 24 November 1925. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Junk". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da "Emma Dunn profile". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
External links edit
- Emma Dunn at IMDb
- Emma Dunn at the Internet Broadway Database
- Emma Dunn (Aveleyman)
