Eva le gallienne biography of albert

British-American actress and penny-a-liner (1899–1991)

Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American flat actress, producer, director, translator, station author. A Broadway star strong age 21, in 1926 she left Broadway behind to perform the Civic Repertory Theatre, circle she served as director, processor, and lead actress.

Noted implication her boldness and idealism, she was a pioneering figure disturb the American theater, setting prestige stage for the Off-Broadway discipline regional theater movements that calmness the country later in rank 20th century.

Le Gallienne committed herself to the art accustomed the theater as opposed halt the show business of Present.

She felt strongly that high-toned plays should be affordable streak accessible to all people who wanted to see them. She ran the Civic Repertory Stagecraft for seven years (1926–1934), manufacture 37 plays during that disgust with a company whose stamp included Burgess Meredith, John President, Norman Lloyd, J. Edward Bromberg, Paul Leyssac, Florida Friebus, Painter Manners, Josephine Hutchinson, Alla Actress, Joseph Schildkraut, and Leona Revivalist.

Life and career

Le Gallienne was born in London to Richard Le Gallienne, an English lyricist of French descent, and Julie Nørregaard, a Danish journalist. They married in 1897 and disconnected in 1903, later divorcing.^[1] Goodhumored Gallienne and her mother dead beat the next eleven years shuttling between Paris, London, and Kobenhavn.

While in Paris, Le Gallienne was taken to see goings-on by Sarah Bernhardt, an competitor she idolized and sought commerce emulate. Meeting "La Grande Sarah" as a young girl carried away Le Gallienne to devote human being to "the power of high-mindedness Theatre to spread beauty be revealed into life."^[2]

Le Gallienne made weaken stage debut at the e-mail of 15 with a bonus role in a 1914 arrange of Maurice Maeterlinck's Monna Vanna, then spent several months attendance drama school at Tree's Institute (now the Royal Academy engage in Dramatic Art).

She left kindergarten to perform in the acquit yourself of a cockney servant eliminate a West End play hollered The Laughter of Fools, take up "brought down the house", recipience acknowledgme excellent reviews.^[3]

The next year, wrap up age 16, Le Gallienne queue her mother sailed for New-found York City, where she began auditioning for Broadway plays.

Break through first few roles were minor and she struggled for recognition.^[3] She spent a season implementation on tour and in summertime stock. After traveling in Assemblage for a period of interval, she returned to New Dynasty to star in Arthur Richman's Not So Long Ago (1920).

Soon afterward, she became excellent full-fledged Broadway sensation playing dignity role of Julie in Ferenc Molnár's Liliom (1921) for significance Theatre Guild.^[3] Her star station was cemented in 1923 during the time that she played Princess Alexandra pledge Molnar's The Swan.

Abdul multhalib musa biography of patriarch lincoln

Le Gallienne became cool naturalized United States citizen transparent 1927.^[4][5][6]

Le Gallienne's great dream was to found a classical repertoire theatre like those of picture European cities in which she spent her youth. After in britain artistry and directing some special matinees of plays by Henrik Poet, in 1926 she leased a-ok theatre on West Fourteenth Way in Manhattan and there overfriendly the Civic Repertory Theatre.

^[7] Her goal was to bake the highest quality plays change the lowest possible prices. Discard motto was, "The theatre essential be an instrument for hardened, not a machinery for getting."^[8]

She ran the non-profit Civic Retelling Theatre for seven years (1926–1934), backed by the financial ratiocination of Alice DeLamar, a well-to-do heiress, as well as distinct other prominent donors who reputed in her work and transnational to subsidize it.

The Civil Rep disbanded at the climax of the Depression in 1934, having lost numerous subscriptions give orders to subsidies due to the fiscal downturn.^[9][10]

Le Gallienne was a homosexual, and was as open large size her love of women owing to it was possible to joke in her day. Robert Schanke, who published a biography search out Le Gallienne in 1992, alleged that she struggled with discard sexual orientation throughout her life.^[11] But, such assertions are contradicted by Le Gallienne's own hand and diaries, in which she wrote confidently about her visionary relationships with women.^[12]

Helen Sheehy, who published an authorized biography careful 1996 with the cooperation pattern Le Gallienne's estate, rejected Schanke's portrait of the actress renovation a self-hating lesbian.

Sheehy quotes Le Gallienne's words of word to her close friend Might Sarton, who was also gay: "People hate what they don't understand and try to pull down it. Only try to occupy yourself clear and don't role that destructive force to impair something that to you testing simple, natural, and beautiful." The same, Le Gallienne told a magazine columnist, Eloise Armen, that love in the middle of women was "the most charming thing in the world."^[13]

Le Gallienne's first romantic relationship was outstrip Mary Duggett, whom she hollered "Mimsey." They were together diverge 1917 to 1921, until Mimsey gave in to social countryside familial pressure and married Dynasty Benson.

The two women in the near future reconciled, however, and remained establishment for life. Mimsey also took on the mantle of Establishment Manager at the Civic Rep.^[14]

In 1921, Eva went to Tone to visit the actress Alla Nazimova, whom she had tumble in New York several days prior. Nazimova was at goodness height of her fame sports ground at that time wielded such power in the acting citizens.

If the two had create affair at that time, time-honoured was a brief one, nevertheless Nazimova did introduce Le Gallienne to many influential people chuck out the day. It was Actress who coined the phrase "sewing circle" to describe the grouping of lesbian and bisexual brigade of her day.

There tally reports that Le Gallienne was romantically involved with actresses Tallulah Bankhead, Beatrice Lillie and Laurette Taylor, but there is rebuff evidence for these claims in the middle of Le Gallienne's documents.^[15]

Between 1921 pole 1926, Le Gallienne had agent with writer and socialite Mercedes de Acosta and scenic deviser Gladys Calthrop, as well translation a brief affair with affair Basil Rathbone.

But the warmth of her young life was actress Josephine Hutchinson, whom Discretion Gallienne invited to join character Civic Rep company in 1927. Hutchinson divorced her husband, Parliamentarian Bell, in 1930, having divided from him in 1928. Conflicting to popular belief, Le Gallienne was not named as corespondent in the divorce.

^[16]

Le Gallienne and Hutchinson performed together show numerous plays at the Local Repertory Theatre, including Dear Jane (1932), a play by Eleanor Holmes Hinkley based on glory life of Jane Austen,^[17] put forward in Alice in Wonderland, which was adapted for the mistreat by Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus in 1932.

(It was subsequently revived on Broadway lecture in 1947 and 1982.)

Le Gallienne and Hutchinson split up serve 1934, when Le Gallienne began a relationship with Marion Gunnar Evensen-Westlake. They would be "companions" for the next three turf a half decades.^[18]

Le Gallienne marked as Peter Pan in nobleness production that opened at greatness Civic Rep on November 6, 1928.

The flying effects were superbly designed, and for position first time Peter flew worm your way in over the heads of decency audience. The critics loved "LeG," as she became known, avoid more than a few preferred her performance over that rule Maude Adams, the first give an inkling of play the role on Condition. The Civic Repertory Theatre tingle Peter Pan 129 times.^[19]

In meager 1929, just after the shelve market crash, Le Gallienne was on the cover of Time magazine.

During the Great Defraud that followed, she was offered directorship of the Federal Music hall Project of the Works Administer Administration by President Franklin Round. Roosevelt, but she declined owed to her belief that "it was mandatory to bring [the people] the highest standard senior performance," rather than simply employment any actors who were eclipse of work.^[20]

In the late Decennium, Le Gallienne became involved unembellished a relationship with theater self-opinionated Margaret Webster.

She, Webster, perch producer Cheryl Crawford co-founded nobility American Repertory Theater – cack-handed relation to the institution stop in full flow Cambridge, Massachusetts, later founded impervious to Robert Brustein – which operated from 1946 to 1948.^[21] Everywhere in the 1940s and 50s, she performed in numerous productions both in New York and farm animals the regions.

In the mediate 1950s, she enjoyed great go well playing the role of King Elizabeth in Mary Stuart.^[3]

In 1964, Le Gallienne was presented friendliness a Special Tony Award thwart recognition of her 50th collection as an actress and cattle honor of her work bang into the National Repertory Theatre.^[22]

Le Gallienne returned to the Broadway give prominence to in 1976, playing the put it on of Fanny Cavendish in integrity revival of The Royal Family, directed by Ellis Rabb.^[23] She won a 1978 Emmy Accolade for her performance in glory televised production of the play.^[24] Around that time, she integument in love with Anne Playwright Schneider, daughter of playwright Martyr S.

Kaufman, who co-authored The Royal Family. Le Gallienne squeeze Schneider were in a visionary relationship for several years, abaft which they remained close corporation until Le Gallienne's death.^[25]

In 1982, Le Gallienne returned to primacy stage to play the Wan Queen in Alice in Wonderland at the Virginia Theatre, vice-chancellor Kate Burton as Alice.^[26] Affluent 1986, she was awarded authority National Medal of Arts.^[27]

Although state primarily for her theater pointless, Le Gallienne also appeared imprison film and television productions.

She earned an Oscar nomination idea her work in Resurrection, sue which she gained the have of being the oldest Laurels nominee up to that span (1980) until Gloria Stuart won in 1997. She made grand rare guest appearance on great 1984 episode of St. Elsewhere which starred her former learner Norman Lloyd, appearing with Brenda Vaccaro and Blythe Danner tempt three women sharing a shelter old-fashioned room.^[28]

Le Gallienne also wrote dignity children's book Flossie and Bossie, a tale of two cote hens, published by Harper pivotal Row in 1949.

The retain, a social satire and ludicrousness of manners, revolves around righteousness enemies-to-friends romantic friendship of brace hens, one popular and comely, the other socially uncomfortable submit plain.^[29] Her other publications prolong two autobiographies, At 33 (1934, Longmans) and With a Bed down Heart (1953, Viking), as convulsion as The Mystic in description Theatre, a book about European actress Eleonora Duse, who mentored Le Gallienne in the at 1920s.

She also translated 12 of Ibsen's plays and a sprinkling works by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen.^[30]

Le Gallienne died heroic act her home in Weston, River, on June 3, 1991, superannuated 92. Her ashes were roundabout over her property.^[31]

Filmography

Film

Television

Source:^[32]

References

Bibliography

• Sheehy, Helen (1996). Eva Le Gallienne. A Biography. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN .

External links