Emily Wakeman Hartley (1872 – February 20, 1935) was an American actress and theatrical manager, founder of the Stamford Theatre in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

Early life

Emily I. Wakeman was born in New York, the daughter of Thaddeus B. Wakeman and Emily Ludlam Wakeman. Her father was a lawyer and writer interested in philosophy. Her mother was a

clubwoman The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a part ...

, active in working for women's suffrage. Emily Wakeman attended

Friends Seminary Friends Seminary is an independent K-12 school in Manhattan within the landmarked district in the East Village. The oldest continuously coeducational school in New York City, Friends Seminary serves 794 students in Kindergarten through Grade 1 ...

and the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

Career

Emily Wakeman was an actress as a young woman, usually playing comic or character roles, including Broadway appearances in ''Caleb West'' (1900), ''Lover's Lane'' (1901), ''Marta of the Lowlands'' (1903), ''A Case of Frenzied Finance'' (1905), ''The Firm of Cunningham'' (1905), ''The House of Mirth'' (1906), ''The Three Daughters of Monsieur Dupont'' (1910), and ''The Runaway'' (1911). Emily Wakeman Hartley was the founder, fundraiser, and manager of the Stamford Theatre, which opened in 1914. It became a popular venue for touring performers and for new shows, before they debuted in New York. She also lectured on creativity, saying "One of the great faults of the present generation is that too few make use of their gray matter; I mean that they do not seem to realize that they have something within themselves, and do not need to depend wholly upon outside matters for amusement. And a person who always has to be amused or entertained cannot be happy, for he hasn't the creative spirit." Emily Wakeman Hartley ran unsuccessfully for the Connecticut state senate in 1922."Emily W. Hartley, Actress, Dies at 62"
''New York Times'' (February 22, 1935): 21. She retired from managing the theatre in 1927.

Personal life and legacy

In 1902, Emily Wakeman married Randolph Hartley, a librettist, publicist, and opera critic; his grandfather was poet and editor

Rufus Wilmot Griswold Rufus Wilmot Griswold (February 13, 1815 – August 27, 1857) was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, New Y ...

. They had a son, Randolph Wakeman Hartley (born in 1909, when Emily was 37 years old). They lived in Cos Cob, Connecticut. Emily Wakeman Hartley was widowed in 1931"In Memory of Randolph Hartley"
''New York Times'' (April 20, 1931): 16. and died in 1935, from a heart attack, aged 62 years. In 1987, an Emily Wakeman Hartley Theater Series began in Stamford, named in her memory.Alvin Klein

''New York Times'' (September 27, 1987).

References

External links

Two photographs of Emily Wakeman Hartley tending a garden
from the Museum of the City of New York.
Emily Wakeman's listing on IBDB.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Emily Wakeman 1872 births 1935 deaths American actresses People from Cos Cob, Connecticut Actresses from Stamford, Connecticut Friends Seminary alumni American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Clubwomen