Clara Bloodgood (née Sutton Stephens; August 28, 1868 – December 5, 1907) was an American socialite who became a successful Broadway stage actress.

Early life

Clara Sutton Stephens was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, the daughter of Edward Stephens and Annie Maria Sutton Stephens. Her father, a prominent New York attorney, was the son of author Ann S. Stephens. Her mother was one of three sisters once called “the beautiful Sutton girls” by New York's high society. As a young girl Clara attended St. Johns School in Brighton, England. At around the age of seventeen Clara attracted the attention of two suitors, William Moller Havemeyer, the son of a wealthy sugar manufacturer and a member of the

Havemeyer family The Havemeyer family is a prominent New York family of German origin that owned significant sugar refining interests in the United States. History William Havemeyer (1770-1851) left Germany at age 15 and arrived in New York City after learning t ...

, and John “Jack” Bloodgood, Jr., whose father made millions in banking over the years following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. She married Havemeyer in 1887 and divorced him within a year or so. She went on to marry Bloodgood in 1889, only to see him lose his inheritance and health within a very short period. His death in 1897, which left her in a dire financial situation, led Clara to attempt a career in theater. In 1902 she married William Laimbeer, a New York stock broker.

Career

Clara Bloodgood's stage debut came in January 1898, at the Empire Theatre in New York playing a minor role in ''The Conquerors''. The following season, at the same venue, she created the role Beatrice Hipgrave in ''Phroso''. She later supported Annie Russell in ''Catherine'' and ''Miss Hobbs'' and toured with Amelia Bingham's Company in ''The Climbers''. She next appeared with Arnold Daly in ''How He Lied to Her Husband'', and a production of ''The Gentleman from India'', in Boston. In 1905 at the Hudson Theatre in New York she played Violet Robinson in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's ''Man and Superman'', with Robert Loraine. She became the leading exponent of plays by Clyde Fitch and worked for such Broadway impresarios as

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

Charles Dillingham Charles Bancroft Dillingham (May 30, 1868 – August 30, 1934) was an American theatre manager and producer of over 200 Broadway shows. Biography Charles Bancroft Dillingham was born on May 30, 1868 in Hartford, Connecticut to Edmund Bancroft ...

and

Henry B. Harris Henry Birkhardt Harris (December 1, 1866 – April 15, 1912) was a Broadway producer and theatre owner who died in the sinking of the . His wife was future producer Renee Harris, who survived the sinking and lived until 1969. Life Harris was the ...

. Reportedly her best friend in the acting profession was the actress and later screenwriter Zelda Sears, who appeared with her in her last play, ''The Truth''.

Death

On the night of December 5, 1907, just before that night's performance of ''The Truth'', Bloodgood disrobed in her Baltimore hotel room and then shot herself in the mouth. Nearby lay a copy of a book titled ''How to Shoot Straight'' and a 38-caliber revolver. Anxiety over her career and losses she suffered in a failed business venture of her husband's may have played a factor in Bloodgood taking her own life. Author Daniel Blum described Bloodgood's death:

Clara Bloodgood was playing the last role of her short but brilliant career in Clyde Fitch's THE TRUTH. The play ... was not a success, but in the fall she decided to take it on tour. While in Baltimore, she shot herself in a hotel room just before an evening performance. The motives for her suicide were never clearly established.''''A Pictorial History of the American Theatre 1860-1970'' by Daniel Blum,p.100, 3rd revised and enlarged c. 1970 by John Willis

References

External links

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portrait Clara Bloodgood 1906

portrait gallery
(NY Public Library, Billy Rose coll.)
Omnia
portrait gallery (New York Historical Society) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloodgood, Clara 1870 births 1907 deaths 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses Suicides by firearm in Maryland 1907 suicides