Truly Shattuck
Encyclopedia
Truly Shattuck was a soubrette
star of vaudeville, music halls and Broadway whose career began in tragedy and ended in relative obscurity.
. Her birth name was said to Clarice Etrulia de Burchards (or Burcharde) which has proven difficult to verify through public records. Shattuck was the surname of her stepfather, who like her birthfather, nothing here is known. Truly’s mother was Jane Shattuck.
Killing Of Harry Poole by Jane Shattuck.
During the month of November, 1892, Miss Truly Shattuck was employed in a store called the "Vienna Bazaar," at 1132 Market street. She was a girl of striking appearance and had admirers galore, but her favorite seemed to be a young man named Harry Poole, who, on the death of his grandfather, Mr. Gerlack, expected to inherit $100,000.00.
In 1893 Truly secured an engagement as a chorus girl in the Tivoli Opera House. She and Poole gradually became more intimate and on June 4, 1894, Mrs. Jane Shattuck, the mother of Truly, addressed a note to Poole, in which she requested him to declare his intentions toward Truly. This note resulted in a bitter quarrel between Poole and Mrs. Shattuck.
On Sunday morning, July 7, 1894, Truly Shattuck returned to her home at 413 Stevenson street. She admitted to her mother that she had spent the night with Harry Poole, but attempted to pacify her by saying that they were to be married on the following Monday.
Mrs. Shattuck then ordered Truly to write a note to Poole, which the mother dictated as follows:
‘’"Dear Harry:—For God's sake come down at once for Mama is dying and wants to see you. My darling, if you love me, come quickly, or you may not see her alive.
"P. S.—Harry, you can afford to forgive her, and for love of heaven come quickly."
"With love, Truly.’’
This note was sent by a messenger and Poole called immediately. He found Mrs. Shattuck propped up on pillows in her bed. She told Poole that he and Truly had done wrong. Poole began stroking her left hand, which was outside of the bed covers, and admitted that the accusation was true, but stated that on the following day he would make amends for the evil he had done by making Truly his wife.
Truly left the room at this moment, and the next instant a pistol shot rang out. She rushed back to the room and found Poole lying on the floor dying, with a bullet hole in his temple, while Mrs. Shattuck had a revolver in her right hand which she had previously concealed in the bed. She was hysterical and declared she had killed Poole because he had taken her "baby girl."
She was tried before Judge E. A. Belcher, and was found guilty of murder. On June 4, 1894, she was sentenced to life imprisonment.* Her defense was insanity and a new trial was subsequently granted by the Supreme Court, with the result that on December 15, 1895, she was acquitted.
Truly took advantage of the notoriety she gained following this tragedy and procured an engagement as a singer on the vaudeville stage. Her beautiful face and figure, and fairly good voice, made her quite an attraction both in America and Europe, but a critic has recently referred to her as "Truly Shattuck, with a voice truly shattered."
theater in 1896. Her first major role came the following year playing Mephisto in "Very Little Faust and Much Marguerite", staged at Hammerstein's Olympia Theatre
. Shattuck went on to tour for a number of seasons as a lead performer in several traveling burlesque and vaudeville companies. When John Philip Sousa's
marches were the rage in the 1890s, Truly caused a bit of controversy by putting words to his music and singing them at music halls such as Koster & Bial's in New York. Shattuck spent the last year or so of the 19th century in Germany performing at Berlin and Dresden before supporting Edna May
in the 1900 London production of An American Beauty,
In 1904 she went from vaudeville to Broadway to play Celestine in the musical An English Daisy, at the Casino Theatre
and later that year in George M. Cohan’s
Little Johnny Jones
at the Liberty Theatre
. In the 1906 she played Mrs. Franklin-Jones-Berrymore in the musical farce The Governor's Son staged at the Aerial Gardens (now the New Amsterdam Roof). She created the role of Violette in Parisian Model at the Broadway Theatre
in 1906 and the following year in the George Broadhurst play The Lady from Lane's she played Adelaide Forster (the lady), staged at the Lyric Theatre and Casino Theatre. Her last Broadway roles cam in 1910 as Trixie Stole in Judy Forgot at the Broadway Theatre and as Alma in “Alma, Where Do You Live?” with Weber and Fields
She was the first to sing Ernest R. Ball’s 1913 song Love Me, and the World Is Mine and the following year began an extensive European tour performing at music halls in St. Petersburg, Vienna, Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg, Frankfort and London. Throughout her early career she was a frequent performer with Weber and Fields
in shows like Hip! Hip! Hooray! as Vera Shapeleigh at Joe Weber’s Theatre in November, 1907.
In 1910 Shattuck declared bankruptcy in a New York court with nearly $2,800 liabilities and no assets It was reported in the press at the time that her extravagant lifestyle, expensive cars, clothes and a yacht, caused her downfall. Her husband, Stephen A. Douglas, claimed that she went through a half-million dollars in four years. The two wed in 1899, and according to the press spent very little time together over their marriage. Douglas, who was salesman, was granted a divorce in 1914 some four years after he filed on the grounds of desertion.
On October 13, 1911 Shattuck was rushed to John Hopkins Hospital suffering from a brain abscess
. She had been in Baltimore performing at the Academy of Music in Alma, Where Do You Live? and would be absent from the stage for nearly two years. She returned to vaudeville in 1913 with a new partner, Thomas A. Wise, a comedian who played in The Lady From Lane's. In 1919 she received positive reviews with Emma O'Neil in their vaudeville skit Punctuating Life's Manuscript.
Shattuck turned to Hollywood in 1915 and over the next twelve years would appear in some sixteen silent films. Her first known movie was the Iron Gate in which she played Mrs. Van Ness. Her last was in 1927 as Mrs. P. Belmont-Fox in Rubber Heels. At the time of the taking of the 1920 US Census Shattuck was recorded as a house guest of Rudolph K Hynicka and his young wife Dorothy at their Los Angeles residence. Hyincka was a journalist who rose to control virtually every political appointments in Cincinnati over some two decades.
In 1930 Dr. Henry J. Shireson, a cosmetic surgeon, lost his medical license after one his patients had to have her legs amputated after he attempted to correct her genu varum (bow-leggedness)condition. It came out in the investigation that a decade earlier he had performed weight loss surgeries on Shattuck, Sophie Tucker
and several other celebrities of the day.
Shattuck was among the over two hundred mourners to attend Fatty Arbuckle’s
funeral in New York.
Over the remainder of her life, Shattuck would periodically return to the stage and on occasion perform in radio productions. In 1935, Hollywood reporter Alan McElwain listed her among a group of once-popular performers working at the time for $7.50 a-day as a movie bit player.
in Woodland Hills, California
.
Soubrette
A soubrette is a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".-Theater:...
star of vaudeville, music halls and Broadway whose career began in tragedy and ended in relative obscurity.
Early Life
Truly Shattuck was born at San Miguel, San Luis Obispo County, California in an adobe house adjoining the historic Mission San Miguel ArcángelMission San Miguel Arcángel
Mission San Miguel Arcángel was founded on July 25, 1797 by the Franciscan order, on a site chosen specifically due to the large number of Salinan Indians that inhabited the area, whom the Spanish priests wanted to evangelize. It is located at 775 Mission Street, San Miguel, in San Luis Obispo...
. Her birth name was said to Clarice Etrulia de Burchards (or Burcharde) which has proven difficult to verify through public records. Shattuck was the surname of her stepfather, who like her birthfather, nothing here is known. Truly’s mother was Jane Shattuck.
Harry Poole
Transcribed from Celebrated Criminal Cases of America’’ - by Thomas Samuel Duke (1910)Killing Of Harry Poole by Jane Shattuck.
During the month of November, 1892, Miss Truly Shattuck was employed in a store called the "Vienna Bazaar," at 1132 Market street. She was a girl of striking appearance and had admirers galore, but her favorite seemed to be a young man named Harry Poole, who, on the death of his grandfather, Mr. Gerlack, expected to inherit $100,000.00.
In 1893 Truly secured an engagement as a chorus girl in the Tivoli Opera House. She and Poole gradually became more intimate and on June 4, 1894, Mrs. Jane Shattuck, the mother of Truly, addressed a note to Poole, in which she requested him to declare his intentions toward Truly. This note resulted in a bitter quarrel between Poole and Mrs. Shattuck.
On Sunday morning, July 7, 1894, Truly Shattuck returned to her home at 413 Stevenson street. She admitted to her mother that she had spent the night with Harry Poole, but attempted to pacify her by saying that they were to be married on the following Monday.
Mrs. Shattuck then ordered Truly to write a note to Poole, which the mother dictated as follows:
‘’"Dear Harry:—For God's sake come down at once for Mama is dying and wants to see you. My darling, if you love me, come quickly, or you may not see her alive.
"P. S.—Harry, you can afford to forgive her, and for love of heaven come quickly."
"With love, Truly.’’
This note was sent by a messenger and Poole called immediately. He found Mrs. Shattuck propped up on pillows in her bed. She told Poole that he and Truly had done wrong. Poole began stroking her left hand, which was outside of the bed covers, and admitted that the accusation was true, but stated that on the following day he would make amends for the evil he had done by making Truly his wife.
Truly left the room at this moment, and the next instant a pistol shot rang out. She rushed back to the room and found Poole lying on the floor dying, with a bullet hole in his temple, while Mrs. Shattuck had a revolver in her right hand which she had previously concealed in the bed. She was hysterical and declared she had killed Poole because he had taken her "baby girl."
She was tried before Judge E. A. Belcher, and was found guilty of murder. On June 4, 1894, she was sentenced to life imprisonment.* Her defense was insanity and a new trial was subsequently granted by the Supreme Court, with the result that on December 15, 1895, she was acquitted.
Truly took advantage of the notoriety she gained following this tragedy and procured an engagement as a singer on the vaudeville stage. Her beautiful face and figure, and fairly good voice, made her quite an attraction both in America and Europe, but a critic has recently referred to her as "Truly Shattuck, with a voice truly shattered."
Career
Truly Shattuck made her first New York vaudeville appearance at Tony Pastor’sTony Pastor
Tony Pastor was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late nineteenth century...
theater in 1896. Her first major role came the following year playing Mephisto in "Very Little Faust and Much Marguerite", staged at Hammerstein's Olympia Theatre
Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I was a businessman, theater impresario and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America...
. Shattuck went on to tour for a number of seasons as a lead performer in several traveling burlesque and vaudeville companies. When John Philip Sousa's
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....
marches were the rage in the 1890s, Truly caused a bit of controversy by putting words to his music and singing them at music halls such as Koster & Bial's in New York. Shattuck spent the last year or so of the 19th century in Germany performing at Berlin and Dresden before supporting Edna May
Edna May
Edna May Pettie , known on stage as Edna May, was an American actress and singer. A popular postcard beauty, May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian Musical Comedies.- Life and career :...
in the 1900 London production of An American Beauty,
In 1904 she went from vaudeville to Broadway to play Celestine in the musical An English Daisy, at the Casino Theatre
Casino Theatre
The Casino Theatre was a Broadway theatre from 1882 to 1930 in New York City. It was located at 1404 Broadway, at W. 39th Street. It originally seated approximately 875 people, but after a fire in 1903 and rebuilding in 1905, it seated 1,300...
and later that year in George M. Cohan’s
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
Little Johnny Jones
Little Johnny Jones
For the blues pianist, see Little Johnny Jones Little Johnny Jones is a musical by George M. Cohan. The show introduced Cohan's tunes "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "The Yankee Doodle Boy." The "Yankee Doodle" character was inspired by real-life Hall of Fame jockey Tod Sloan.-Background:The...
at the Liberty Theatre
Liberty Theatre
The Liberty Theatre was a Broadway theater from 1904 to 1933, located at 236 West 42nd Street in New York City.In 1996 it was used for a staged reading of T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land, with actress Fiona Shaw, directed by Deborah Warner. The New York Times review described the theater as...
. In the 1906 she played Mrs. Franklin-Jones-Berrymore in the musical farce The Governor's Son staged at the Aerial Gardens (now the New Amsterdam Roof). She created the role of Violette in Parisian Model at the 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...
in 1906 and the following year in the George Broadhurst play The Lady from Lane's she played Adelaide Forster (the lady), staged at the Lyric Theatre and Casino Theatre. Her last Broadway roles cam in 1910 as Trixie Stole in Judy Forgot at the Broadway Theatre and as Alma in “Alma, Where Do You Live?” with Weber and Fields
Weber and Fields
Weber and Fields refers to the vaudeville team of:* Joe Weberand:* Lew Fields....
She was the first to sing Ernest R. Ball’s 1913 song Love Me, and the World Is Mine and the following year began an extensive European tour performing at music halls in St. Petersburg, Vienna, Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg, Frankfort and London. Throughout her early career she was a frequent performer with Weber and Fields
Weber and Fields
Weber and Fields refers to the vaudeville team of:* Joe Weberand:* Lew Fields....
in shows like Hip! Hip! Hooray! as Vera Shapeleigh at Joe Weber’s Theatre in November, 1907.
In 1910 Shattuck declared bankruptcy in a New York court with nearly $2,800 liabilities and no assets It was reported in the press at the time that her extravagant lifestyle, expensive cars, clothes and a yacht, caused her downfall. Her husband, Stephen A. Douglas, claimed that she went through a half-million dollars in four years. The two wed in 1899, and according to the press spent very little time together over their marriage. Douglas, who was salesman, was granted a divorce in 1914 some four years after he filed on the grounds of desertion.
On October 13, 1911 Shattuck was rushed to John Hopkins Hospital suffering from a brain abscess
Brain abscess
Brain abscess is an abscess caused by inflammation and collection of infected material, coming from local or remote infectious sources, within the brain tissue...
. She had been in Baltimore performing at the Academy of Music in Alma, Where Do You Live? and would be absent from the stage for nearly two years. She returned to vaudeville in 1913 with a new partner, Thomas A. Wise, a comedian who played in The Lady From Lane's. In 1919 she received positive reviews with Emma O'Neil in their vaudeville skit Punctuating Life's Manuscript.
Shattuck turned to Hollywood in 1915 and over the next twelve years would appear in some sixteen silent films. Her first known movie was the Iron Gate in which she played Mrs. Van Ness. Her last was in 1927 as Mrs. P. Belmont-Fox in Rubber Heels. At the time of the taking of the 1920 US Census Shattuck was recorded as a house guest of Rudolph K Hynicka and his young wife Dorothy at their Los Angeles residence. Hyincka was a journalist who rose to control virtually every political appointments in Cincinnati over some two decades.
Later Years
After her vaudeville and film career closed, Shattuck was reduced to working as a waitress and later as a seamstress, but was unable to hold on to either job for very long. In September, 1929, after several months of unemployment, Shattuck was arrested in Chicago for trying to shoplift a $16.50 green dress. She later pled guilty, but was released after the department store dropped the charges. One paper quoted her saying, “A woman must dress if she wants to work.” A year later it was reported that she had been appointed personal secretary to Mrs. A. L. Erlanger.In 1930 Dr. Henry J. Shireson, a cosmetic surgeon, lost his medical license after one his patients had to have her legs amputated after he attempted to correct her genu varum (bow-leggedness)condition. It came out in the investigation that a decade earlier he had performed weight loss surgeries on Shattuck, Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
and several other celebrities of the day.
Shattuck was among the over two hundred mourners to attend Fatty Arbuckle’s
Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
funeral in New York.
Over the remainder of her life, Shattuck would periodically return to the stage and on occasion perform in radio productions. In 1935, Hollywood reporter Alan McElwain listed her among a group of once-popular performers working at the time for $7.50 a-day as a movie bit player.
Death
Truly Shattuck died at at the age 79 after an extended illness at the Motion Picture Country Home on Mulholland DriveMulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after Los Angeles pioneer civil engineer William Mulholland...
in Woodland Hills, California
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...
.