Margaret Anglin
Encyclopedia
Mary Margaret Anglin was a Canadian
-born Broadway
actress, director and producer whom Encyclopædia Britannica
calls "one of the most brilliant actresses of her day."
Margaret Anglin was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the eldest of nine children of newspaper
editor
and politician
Timothy Warren Anglin
(1822–1896) by his second wife, Miss MacTavish. At the time of her birth in Ottawa, April 3, 1876, he was the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
. Her older brother, Francis Alexander Anglin
(1865–1933) served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1924 to 1933.
She was educated at Loretto Abbey, Toronto, and at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Montreal. She graduated from the Empire School of Dramatic Acting, New York, in 1894, where she studied under Nelson Wheatcroft. Her acting skills brought the attention of theatre impresario Charles Frohman
who provided her with the opportunity to make her professional stage debut in 1894 in the Bronson Howard
production of "Shenandoah."
An injury sustained while out riding laid her up for some months. In 1896 she became leading lady with James O'Neill, and toured with him in the United States and Canada. She subsequently played with the Sothern Company, and scored a great success as Lady Ursula. In 1896 she played Ophelia opposite James O'Neill
. She went on to make her first Broadway theatre
appearance in the 1898 production of "Lord Chumley" then achieved considerable fame in 1898 on tour portraying "Roxane" in the Edmond Rostand
play, Cyrano de Bergerac
starring Richard Mansfield
. She became leading lady with Charles Frohman, in California, in 1899. She performed with the Empire Theatre Company, New York.
By 1905 she had gained wide recognition for her acting skills and in December of that year the New York Times reported that, following a benefit matinee for the Jewish sufferers in Russia
, the doyenne of the stage Sarah Bernhardt
asked Anglin to perform with her in the Maurice Maeterlinck
play Pelléas et Mélisande
. The blessing by the great Bernhardt sealed Margaret Anglin's reputation as the new star of American theatre.
Inspired by reading the classics and a love for the Greek
tragedies
that centered on women, Margaret Anglin became the dominant dramatic actress of the first two decades of the 20th Century in Greek tragedies and acclaimed for her performances in Shakespearean
plays, acting and producing The Taming of the Shrew
, As You Like It
, and Twelfth Night in repertory at Broadway's Hudson Theatre in 1914.
In 1911, Margaret Anglin became a U.S. citizen through her marriage to fellow actor Howard Hull. In 1929, after her husband had not been cast in a Broadway production for twenty years, she insisted that producers give him a role in her plays. Balked at by the producers, she walked out on a production and did not return to until 1936 in what would be her final Broadway appearance. Like many Broadway luminaries at the beginning of the century Anglin refused to sacrifice her theatrical art by bowing to the new medium motion pictures.
Margaret Anglin returned to live in Toronto in 1953 where she died in 1958. She bore no children. She was interred there in the Anglin family plot at Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
actress, director and producer whom Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
calls "one of the most brilliant actresses of her day."
Margaret Anglin was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the eldest of nine children of newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
Timothy Warren Anglin
Timothy Anglin
Timothy Warren Anglin was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons.Born in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, Anglin emigrated at the age of 26 as part of the exodus caused by the Irish Potato Famine...
(1822–1896) by his second wife, Miss MacTavish. At the time of her birth in Ottawa, April 3, 1876, he was the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
. Her older brother, Francis Alexander Anglin
Francis Alexander Anglin
Francis Alexander Anglin PC was Chief Justice of Canada from 1924 until 1933.Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, one of 9 children of Parliamentarian Timothy Anglin, and elder brother to the renowned stage actress, Margaret Anglin, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of...
(1865–1933) served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1924 to 1933.
She was educated at Loretto Abbey, Toronto, and at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Montreal. She graduated from the Empire School of Dramatic Acting, New York, in 1894, where she studied under Nelson Wheatcroft. Her acting skills brought the attention of theatre impresario Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman was an American theatrical producer. Frohman was producing plays by 1889 and acquired his first Broadway theatre by 1892. He discovered and promoted many stars of the American theatre....
who provided her with the opportunity to make her professional stage debut in 1894 in the Bronson Howard
Bronson Howard
Bronson Howard was a well-known American dramatist and son of Detroit mayor Charles Howard. He prepared for college at New Haven, Conn., but instead of entering Yale he turned to Journalism in New York. From 1867 to 1872 he worked on several newspapers, among them the Evening Mail and the Tribune...
production of "Shenandoah."
An injury sustained while out riding laid her up for some months. In 1896 she became leading lady with James O'Neill, and toured with him in the United States and Canada. She subsequently played with the Sothern Company, and scored a great success as Lady Ursula. In 1896 she played Ophelia opposite James O'Neill
James O'Neill (actor)
James O'Neill was an actor and the father of the American playwright Eugene O'Neill....
. She went on to make her first Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
appearance in the 1898 production of "Lord Chumley" then achieved considerable fame in 1898 on tour portraying "Roxane" in the Edmond Rostand
Edmond Rostand
Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century...
play, Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
starring Richard Mansfield
Richard Mansfield
Richard Mansfield was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas and for his portrayal of the dual title roles in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
. She became leading lady with Charles Frohman, in California, in 1899. She performed with the Empire Theatre Company, New York.
By 1905 she had gained wide recognition for her acting skills and in December of that year the New York Times reported that, following a benefit matinee for the Jewish sufferers in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the doyenne of the stage Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
asked Anglin to perform with her in the Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
play Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (play)
Pelléas and Mélisande is a Symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck about the forbidden, doomed love of the title characters. It was first performed in 1893....
. The blessing by the great Bernhardt sealed Margaret Anglin's reputation as the new star of American theatre.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
tragedies
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
that centered on women, Margaret Anglin became the dominant dramatic actress of the first two decades of the 20th Century in Greek tragedies and acclaimed for her performances in Shakespearean
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
plays, acting and producing The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
, As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, and Twelfth Night in repertory at Broadway's Hudson Theatre in 1914.
In 1911, Margaret Anglin became a U.S. citizen through her marriage to fellow actor Howard Hull. In 1929, after her husband had not been cast in a Broadway production for twenty years, she insisted that producers give him a role in her plays. Balked at by the producers, she walked out on a production and did not return to until 1936 in what would be her final Broadway appearance. Like many Broadway luminaries at the beginning of the century Anglin refused to sacrifice her theatrical art by bowing to the new medium motion pictures.
Margaret Anglin returned to live in Toronto in 1953 where she died in 1958. She bore no children. She was interred there in the Anglin family plot at Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery
Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery
Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery at 305 Erskine Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada was consecrated on July 9, 1898 by Roman Catholic Archbishop John Walsh. The first burial occurred on March 27, 1900. By the end of the 20th Century, the cemetery was full, holding the remains of more than 76,000 persons...
.
External links
- Margaret Anglin photo gallery at NYP Library
- Famous Canadian Women
- Margaret Anglin and Howard Hull passport photos
- Margaret Anglin portraits ; University of Washington, Sayre collection