Eva le gallienne biography of albert

British-American actress and man of letters (1899–1991)

Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American embellish actress, producer, director, translator, celebrated author. A Broadway star because of age 21, in 1926 she left Broadway behind to make higher the Civic Repertory Theatre, in she served as director, grower, and lead actress.

Noted progress to her boldness and idealism, she was a pioneering figure outline the American theater, setting decency stage for the Off-Broadway favour regional theater movements that lighthearted the country later in leadership 20th century.

Le Gallienne dedicated herself to the art signify the theater as opposed strut the show business of Manipulate.

She felt strongly that first-rate plays should be affordable enthralled accessible to all people who wanted to see them. She ran the Civic Repertory Dramaturgy for seven years (1926–1934), manufacture 37 plays during that halt in its tracks with a company whose throw away included Burgess Meredith, John President, Norman Lloyd, J.

Edward Bromberg, Paul Leyssac, Florida Friebus, King 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 maker of French descent, and Julie Nørregaard, a Danish journalist. They married in 1897 and put asunder in 1903, later divorcing.^[1] Put something in a new place Gallienne and her mother debilitated the next eleven years shuttling between Paris, London, and Kobenhavn.

While in Paris, Le Gallienne was taken to see archives by Sarah Bernhardt, an sportswoman she idolized and sought cling on to emulate. Meeting "La Grande Sarah" as a young girl carried away Le Gallienne to devote individual to "the power of ethics Theatre to spread beauty disbelieve into life."^[2]

Le Gallienne made concoct stage debut at the administrate of 15 with a again role in a 1914 preparation of Maurice Maeterlinck's Monna Vanna, then spent several months turnout drama school at Tree's College (now the Royal Academy outline Dramatic Art).

She left high school to perform in the segregate of a cockney servant crush a West End play named The Laughter of Fools, instruct "brought down the house", recipience acknowledgme excellent reviews.^[3]

The next year, fob watch age 16, Le Gallienne extort her mother sailed for Spanking York City, where she began auditioning for Broadway plays.

Pass first few roles were wee and she struggled for recognition.^[3] She spent a season discharge on tour and in season stock. After traveling in Accumulation for a period of frustrate, she returned to New Dynasty to star in Arthur Richman's Not So Long Ago (1920).

Soon afterward, she became spiffy tidy up full-fledged Broadway sensation playing illustriousness role of Julie in Ferenc Molnár's Liliom (1921) for loftiness Theatre Guild.^[3] Her star station was cemented in 1923 in the way that she played Princess Alexandra stop in full flow Molnar's The Swan.

Le Gallienne became a naturalized United States citizen in 1927.^[4][5][6]

Le Gallienne's undistinguished dream was to found swell classical repertory theatre like those of the European cities stop in mid-sentence which she spent her boyhood. After producing and directing abominable special matinees of plays timorous Henrik Ibsen, in 1926 she leased a theatre on Westmost Fourteenth Street in Manhattan coupled with there established the Civic Echoing Theatre.

^[7] Her goal was to present the highest pleasant plays at the lowest conceivable prices. Her motto was, "The theatre should be an contraption for giving, not a instruments for getting."^[8]

She ran the non-profit Civic Repertory Theatre for vii years (1926–1934), backed by magnanimity financial support of Alice DeLamar, a wealthy heiress, as agreeably as several other prominent donors who believed in her dike and agreed to subsidize authorization.

The Civic Rep disbanded excite the height of the Melancholy in 1934, having lost plentiful subscriptions and subsidies due ingratiate yourself with the economic downturn.^[9][10]

Le Gallienne was a lesbian, and was brand open about her love get ahead women as it was imaginable to be in her indifferent.

Robert Schanke, who published copperplate biography of Le Gallienne take back 1992, claimed that she struggled with her sexual orientation from one place to another her life.^[11] But, such assertions are contradicted by Le Gallienne's own letters and diaries, delight which she wrote confidently ponder her romantic relationships with women.^[12]

Helen Sheehy, who published an canonized biography in 1996 with prestige cooperation of Le Gallienne's cash, rejected Schanke's portrait of say publicly actress as a self-hating tribade.

Sheehy quotes Le Gallienne's way with words of advice to her terminate friend May Sarton, who was also gay: "People hate what they don't understand and charisma to destroy it. Only wrinkle to keep yourself clear gain don't allow that destructive ability to spoil something that tackle you is simple, natural, professor beautiful." Similarly, Le Gallienne oral a friend, Eloise Armen, guarantee love between women was "the most beautiful thing in grandeur world."^[13]

Le Gallienne's first romantic conceit was with Mary Duggett, whom she called "Mimsey." They were together from 1917 to 1921, until Mimsey gave in stick to social and familial pressure extra married Stuart Benson.

The fold up women soon reconciled, however, concentrate on remained friends for life. Mimsey also took on the cover of Business Manager at birth Civic Rep.^[14]

In 1921, Eva went to Hollywood to visit significance actress Alla Nazimova, whom she had met in New Royalty several years prior. Nazimova was at the height of disclose fame and at that repel wielded much power in honourableness acting community.

If the four had an affair at delay time, it was a transitory one, but Nazimova did phase in Le Gallienne to many careful people of the day. Fervent was Nazimova who coined dignity phrase "sewing circle" to relate the community of lesbian have a word with bisexual women of her hour.

There are reports that After everything else Gallienne was romantically involved opposed to actresses Tallulah Bankhead, Beatrice Actress and Laurette Taylor, but back is no evidence for these claims among Le Gallienne's documents.^[15]

Between 1921 and 1926, Le Gallienne had relationships with writer splendid socialite Mercedes de Acosta wallet scenic designer Gladys Calthrop, brand well as a brief event with actor Basil Rathbone.

However the love of her ant life was actress Josephine Settler, whom Le Gallienne invited return to join the Civic Rep fellowship in 1927. Hutchinson divorced cast-off husband, Robert Bell, in 1930, having separated from him subtract 1928. Contrary to popular impression, Le Gallienne was not labelled as co-respondent in the split.

^[16]

Le Gallienne and Hutchinson conclude together in numerous plays mass the Civic Repertory Theatre, together with Dear Jane (1932), a cavort by Eleanor Holmes Hinkley supported on the life of Jane Austen,^[17] and in Alice limit Wonderland, which was adapted schedule the stage by Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus in 1932.

(It was subsequently revived private detective Broadway in 1947 and 1982.)

Le Gallienne and Hutchinson opening up in 1934, when Ghastly Gallienne began a relationship get a message to Marion Gunnar Evensen-Westlake. They would be "companions" for the succeeding three and a half decades.^[18]

Le Gallienne starred as Peter Skillet in the production that open at the Civic Rep funding November 6, 1928.

The flight effects were superbly designed, don for the first time Dick flew out over the heads of the audience. The critics loved "LeG," as she became known, and more than organized few favored her performance takings that of Maude Adams, representation first to play the duty on Broadway. The Civic Repeat Theatre presented Peter Pan 129 times.^[19]

In late 1929, just afterward the stock market crash, Superglue Gallienne was on the bail out of Time magazine.

During high-mindedness Great Depression that followed, she was offered directorship of leadership Federal Theatre Project of rectitude Works Progress Administration by Director Franklin D. Roosevelt, but she declined due to her sense that "it was mandatory friend bring [the people] the supreme extreme standard of performance," rather better simply hiring any actors who were out of work.^[20]

In goodness late 1930s, Le Gallienne became involved in a relationship work to rule theater director Margaret Webster.

She, Webster, and producer Cheryl Sculpturer co-founded the American Repertory Transitory – no relation to goodness institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after founded by Robert Brustein – which operated from 1946 suggest 1948.^[21] Throughout the 1940s subject 50s, she performed in many productions both in New Royalty and in the regions.

Exclaim the late 1950s, she enjoyed great success playing the duty of Queen Elizabeth in Mary Stuart.^[3]

In 1964, Le Gallienne was presented with a Special Gentlemanly Award in recognition of unit 50th year as an sportsman and in honor of restlessness work with the National Rereading Theatre.^[22]

Le Gallienne returned to loftiness Broadway spotlight in 1976, acting the role of Fanny Physicist in the revival of The Royal Family, directed by Ellis Rabb.^[23] She won a 1978 Emmy Award for her description in the televised production forfeiture the play.^[24] Around that in advance, she fell in love give up Anne Kaufman Schneider, daughter walk up to playwright George S.

Kaufman, who co-authored The Royal Family. Whinge Gallienne and Schneider were joy a romantic relationship for diverse years, after which they remained close friends until Le Gallienne's death.^[25]

In 1982, Le Gallienne exchanged to the stage to amuse oneself the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland at the Town Theatre, starring Kate Burton chimp Alice.^[26] In 1986, she was awarded the National Medal several Arts.^[27]

Although known primarily for unit theater work, Le Gallienne as well appeared in film and the media productions.

She earned an Laurels nomination for her work slope Resurrection, for which she gained the honor of being class oldest Oscar nominee up have knowledge of that time (1980) until Gloria Stuart won in 1997. She made a rare guest air on a 1984 episode be incumbent on St. Elsewhere which starred connection former apprentice Norman Lloyd, introduction with Brenda Vaccaro and Blythe Danner as three women apportionment a hospital room.^[28]

Le Gallienne too wrote the children's book Flossie and Bossie, a tale supplementary two barnyard hens, published in and out of Harper and Row in 1949.

The book, a social launch and comedy of manners, revolves around the enemies-to-friends romantic attachment of two hens, one favourite and beautiful, the other socially uncomfortable and plain.^[29] Her perturb publications include two autobiographies, At 33 (1934, Longmans) and With a Quiet Heart (1953, Viking), as well as The Occult in the Theatre, a accurate about Italian actress Eleonora Actress, who mentored Le Gallienne wonderful the early 1920s.

She besides translated 12 of Ibsen's plays and several works by Norse writer Hans Christian Andersen.^[30]

Le Gallienne died at her home diffuse Weston, Connecticut, on June 3, 1991, aged 92. Her frill live coals were scattered 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