Jane Morgan (I)
Encyclopedia
Jane Morgan was a British-born American entertainer whose career encompassed concert halls, vaudeville, the legitimate stage, radio, television and film.
she began performing with the Boston Opera Company
as a singer and violin player earning $25 per week. By 1900 she was living with her widowed father and a brother in Anaconda, Montana
, where she became a frequent performer in amateur theater productions and community events. Her father, Roderick “Rod” Morgan worked as a blacksmith in Anaconda while her older brother, Charles, supported his family as a machinist.
, who taught music and headed the Margaret Theater Orchestra in Anaconda. The following month the Bryants opened a music school in Butte, Montana
, teaching piano and violin. A few years later they moved their business to Nampa, Idaho
and shortly thereafter began performing on the vaudeville
circuit. Leo Bryant would eventually become known as a pioneer symphony violinist and innovative music teacher. The couple had a daughter, Aline (aka Alice), and would remain together until Leo’s death in Los Angeles on March 20, 1955.
, Her Temporary Husband (1926), She Couldn’t Say No (1930) with Charlotte Greenwood
, and Tattle Tales (1933) with Barbara Stanwyck
.
In 1930 she began working on radio plays and series. Jane Morgan became a stock performer on the Lux Radio Theater
and was remembered for her work on such radio plays as House Undivided as Mother Adams, The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1941) with Keenan Wynn
, and The Horn Blows at Midnight (1949) with Jack Benny
. She made regular appearances on The Jack Benny
and Bob Hope
radio shows, but it was her portrayal of Mrs. Davis, Eve Arden
's scheming landlady on Our Miss Brooks
, for which generations of radio and television audiences best remembered her .
Early life
Jennie “Jane” Morgan was born in England to Welsh parents on December 6, 1880 and within a year would cross the Atlantic to be raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Upon her graduation from the New England Conservatory of MusicNew England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
she began performing with the Boston Opera Company
Boston Opera Company
The Boston Opera Company was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active from 1909 to 1915.-History:The company was founded in 1908 by Bostonian millionaire Eben Dyer Jordan, Jr. and impresario Henry Russell...
as a singer and violin player earning $25 per week. By 1900 she was living with her widowed father and a brother in Anaconda, Montana
Anaconda, Montana
Anaconda, county seat of Anaconda City/Deer Lodge County, is located in mountainous southwestern Montana. The Continental Divide passes within 8 miles of the community with the local Pintler Mountain range reaching 10,379 feet...
, where she became a frequent performer in amateur theater productions and community events. Her father, Roderick “Rod” Morgan worked as a blacksmith in Anaconda while her older brother, Charles, supported his family as a machinist.
Marriage
On Sunday, February 17, 1901 Morgan married Leo Cullen Bryant, a 23-year-old native of Albion, WisconsinAlbion, Wisconsin
Albion is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Wisconsin:*Albion, Dane County, Wisconsin, a town**Albion , Wisconsin, an unincorporated community*Albion, Jackson County, Wisconsin, a town*Albion, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, a town...
, who taught music and headed the Margaret Theater Orchestra in Anaconda. The following month the Bryants opened a music school in Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
, teaching piano and violin. A few years later they moved their business to Nampa, Idaho
Nampa, Idaho
Nampa is the largest and the fastest growing city in Canyon County, Idaho, USA. The population of Nampa was 81,557 at the 2010 census. Nampa is located about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles west of Meridian. Nampa is part of the Boise metropolitan area...
and shortly thereafter began performing on the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuit. Leo Bryant would eventually become known as a pioneer symphony violinist and innovative music teacher. The couple had a daughter, Aline (aka Alice), and would remain together until Leo’s death in Los Angeles on March 20, 1955.
Career
By the 1910s and probably earlier Morgan was touring in dramas and musical comedies such as The Master Mind (1914) with Carl Rickert, The Silent Voice (1914) with Otis SkinnerOtis Skinner
Otis Skinner was an American actor.He was the son of a Universalist minister; his brother, Charles Montgomery Skinner, was a noted journalist and critic in New York. Skinner was educated in Hartford, Connecticut, with an eye towards a career in commerce. A visit to the theater left him stage-struck...
, Her Temporary Husband (1926), She Couldn’t Say No (1930) with Charlotte Greenwood
Charlotte Greenwood
Frances Charlotte Greenwood was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and eventually starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing around six feet tall, she was best known for her long legs and high kicks...
, and Tattle Tales (1933) with Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
.
In 1930 she began working on radio plays and series. Jane Morgan became a stock performer on the Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
and was remembered for her work on such radio plays as House Undivided as Mother Adams, The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1941) with Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
, and The Horn Blows at Midnight (1949) with Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
. She made regular appearances on The Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
radio shows, but it was her portrayal of Mrs. Davis, Eve Arden
Eve Arden
Eve Arden was an American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she may be best-remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging title character, a high school teacher, on Our Miss Brooks, and as the Rydell High School principal in...
's scheming landlady on Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits...
, for which generations of radio and television audiences best remembered her .