Carrie W. Colburn (c. 1859 – May 23, 1932) was an American theater and silent film actor, as well as a playwright. She sometimes acted on the stage under the name Ray Harrison.

Life and career

Colburn was born in 1858 or 1859 in

Gardiner, Maine Gardiner is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,961 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Gardiner is noted for its culture and old architecture. Gardiner ...

. Her brother was Frank S. Colburn. She wrote plays, skits, and acted in theatrical productions, including in ''Little Minister'' by J. M. Barrie and ''Over the Hill''. She wrote the three-act, comedy play ''His Last Chance or The Little Joker''. In 1893, a performance of the play was held in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. That year in September, the play was produced in Winthrop Centre in Massachusetts, after she was living in the area for the summer. The year after, the play was produced in Boston, with

Trixie Friganza Trixie Friganza (born Delia O'Callaghan; November 29, 1870February 27, 1955) was an American actress. She began her career as an operetta soubrette, working her way from the chorus to starring in musical comedies to having her own feature act o ...

playing the lead, and Colburn playing as a character named Buttons. Later on, ''His Last Chance'' was plagiarized and republished under the name ''My Uncle from India'' and ''My Uncle''; the plagiarized version was produced by at least four acting companies. Colburn wrote a "society comedy" play titled ''Bob's Uncle'', which was produced in Boston in 1894. During the performance, Colburn played the part of a boy. She wrote the war drama play, ''The Girl in Blue'', which premiered in March 1894 at the Columbia Theater in Boston; during the performance, she played the part of a "youngster". Half of the proceeds from the production were planned to be donated to charity. After the performance at Columbia, Colburn was quoted in the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' asking for the public to "suspend judgement" until a better performance of the play was produced, stating her work wasn't represented properly. In 1894, Colburn was the manager of the Star school of acting, based in Boston. That same year, she started a stock company that was meant to perform in

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

towns. Once motion pictures began gaining popularity, Colbrun left stage acting to become an actor in films. She played as the parson's mother in the film, '' Smilin' Through'', which was released in 1922. Colburn retired from acting later in her life. At the time of her death, she was living with Sarah Bird, a retired actress and musician who previously worked in the theater. She died on May 23, 1932, at her home in Manhattan, New York City. She was buried by the

Actors Fund of America The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 17,000 people directly each year. Ser ...

. After her death, a neighbor mentioned she was sick for the week prior.

Works

* ''Bob's Uncle'' (c. 1894) * ''The Girl in Blue'' (c. 1894) * ''His Last Chance; or, The Little Joker. A Comedy in Three Acts'' (1895) - published by W. Baker (Baker's Edition of Plays) * ''Superno'' (c. 1897) - music composed by Fred Arundel * ''A Romantic Rogue. A Comedy-Drama in One Act'' (c. 1902) - published by W. Baker (Baker's Edition of Plays)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colburn, Carrie W. Year of birth unknown 1932 deaths American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses American dramatists and playwrights People from Gardiner, Maine Year of birth uncertain