Amelia Summerville (born Amelia Shaw, 15 October 1862 – 21 January 1934) was an Irish-born American stage and

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

actress.

Biography

Summerville was born in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and migrated to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada as a child. She first appeared on stage at the age of 7 in an

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

in Toronto. In 1884, Summerville appeared in her first leading role in the play ''

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by ...

''. She originated the role of Rosetta, the Mountain Maid. Summerville appeared in fourteen Broadway plays from 1885 to 1925. She also performed in silent films during the 1910s and 1920s. Summerville took an interest in

dieting Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-redu ...

and claimed to have lost in three months, from to . She authored ''Why be Fat?: Rules for Weight-reduction and the Preservation of Youth and Health'' (1916). She was a fan of corned beef hash and

stale bread Staling, or "going stale", is a chemical and physical process in bread and similar foods that reduces their palatability - stale bread is dry and hard. Mechanism and effects Staling is not simply a drying-out process due to evaporation. One ...

.Raskin, Hanna. (2010)
"Five forgotten health foods"
''Dallas Observer''. Retrieved 28 March 2019. In 1920 she was named chairman of the New York Women's State Democratic Committee. She fell on ice on January 3, 1934, and died on January 21 of her injuries.

Partial filmography

*'' Mrs. Dane's Defense'' (1918) *''

How Could You, Caroline? ''How Could You, Caroline?'' is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Frederick A. Thomson, with a screenplay by Agnes Christine Johnston. It stars Bessie Love, James W. Morrison, and Dudley Hawley. The film, filmed in Charlest ...

'' (1918) *''

Getting Mary Married ''Getting Mary Married'' is a 1919 silent American comedy film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Marion Davies. It was distributed by the Select Pictures Corporation. Cast *Marion Davies as Mary Bussard * Norman Kerry as James Winthrop * Matt ...

'' (1919) *''

The Probation Wife ''The Probation Wife'' is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Sidney Franklin and starring Norma Talmadge. Talmadge served as her own producer with distribution through Select Pictures. Copies of this film are held at the Libr ...

'' (1919) *'' My Little Sister'' (1919) *''

The Witness for the Defense ''The Witness for the Defense'' is a 1919 American silent film, silent drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Elsie Ferguson, Warner Oland, and Wyndham Standing.

'' (1919) *''

April Folly ''April Folly'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and written by Adrian Johnson and Cynthia Stockley. The film stars Marion Davies, Madeline Marshall, Hattie Delaro, Amelia Summerville, Conway Tearle, J. Herbe ...

'' (1920) *''

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

'' (1920) *''

Romola ''Romola'' (1862–63) is a historical novel written by Mary Ann Evans under the pen name of George Eliot set in the fifteenth century. It is "a deep study of life in the city of Florence from an intellectual, artistic, religious, and social poi ...

'' (1924) *''

The Great Deception ''The Great Deception'' is a 1926 American silent drama film starring Basil Rathbone, Ben Lyon, and Aileen Pringle. It is based on the 1915 novel ''The Yellow Dove'' by George Gibbs about World War I era espionage, previously adapted as the 19 ...

'' (1926)

Publications

''Why Be Fat?: Rules for Weight-Reduction and the Preservation, of Youth and Health''
(1916) *''The Speaking Voice'' (1927)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Summerville, Amelia 1862 births 1934 deaths 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses Actresses from County Kildare Canadian expatriate actresses in the United States Diet food advocates Irish emigrants to Canada (before 1923) Singers from New York City