Emily Courtier-Dutton became Mrs Charles L. Carson and appeared as Kittie Claremont (1862 – 21 March 1919) was a British actor and theatrical philanthropist.

Life

Courtier-Dutton was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in very probably 1862. He birth name is not known, but she became an actress appearing for the first time at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ' ...

in ''Le voyage en Chine'' as Kittie Claremont. She enjoying good revues for other performances in the 1880s. She didn't act any further when she became the second wife of Lionel Courtier-Dutton and he already had three children. Her new husband was the founder of

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

and he used the name "Charles L. Carson" when working. She decided that she would use the name "Charles L. Carson" professionally although she was sometimes referred to as "Kittie Carson". In 1891 Carson had the idea of setting up ''The Theatrical Ladies Guild'' whose purpose was to look after actresses who became pregnant and lost their jobs.

Fanny Brough Frances "Fanny" Whiteside Brough (7 July 1852 – 30 November 1914) was a Paris-born British stage actress who came from a literary and dramatic family. She is remembered especially for her many comedy roles performed over a four decade-long c ...

became the guild's president. The group raised and distributed money and arranged for the creation of children's clothing by running sewing bees. The guild did not worry about whether the actresses were married or not. In 2010 the charity was still operating as the "Theatrical Guild" offering assistance to anyone in the theatre professions. Later she also launched the "Theatrical Christmas Dinner Fund". In 1896 she was concerned by the condition of the children of actors whose parents had died. The Actors' Orphanage Fund was created by her and Mrs Clement Scott. Sir

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

was the first President. The first building was in Croydon. It was later established as the Actors' Orphanage Fund in 1912. Courtier-Dutton died in 1919 in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtier-Dutton, Emily 1862 births 1919 deaths Actresses from London Philanthropists from London 19th-century British philanthropists 19th-century English women 19th-century English people 19th-century women philanthropists