Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English actress. After starting her acting career on stage in London, she became known for her works in numerous films and Broadway productions.

Career

Emma Dunn appeared onstage in her early teens, graduating to the London stage for several years and later became a noted Broadway actress. She appeared in the first American production of

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's ''Peer Gynt'' (1906) with

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1887 play), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. ...

as Peer. She played Peer's mother, Ase, even though she was, in real life, 20 years younger than Mansfield. She appeared in three productions for theatre impresario

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story '' Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of ...

: ''The Warrens of Virginia'' (1907), ''The Easiest Way'' (1909) and '' The Governor's Lady'' (1912). In ''The Easiest Way'', Dunn portrayed Annie, who was black, in blackface. In 1913 Dunn appeared in vaudeville. Dunn made her first film in 1914, a silent film of her 1910 stage success, ''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ge ...

'', directed by

Maurice Tourneur Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor * Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and L ...

. This was Tourneur's first American film. Dunn's second film was 1920's ''

Old Lady 31 ''Old Lady 31'' is a 1920 American silent comedy-drama film produced and distributed by Metro Pictures and directed by John Ince. It is based on a novel by Louise Forsslund that was turned into a play by Rachel Crothers. The film starred actres ...

'', reprising the role she played in the 1916 Broadway play of the same name. One more silent film followed in 1924, ''

Pied Piper Malone ''Pied Piper Malone'' is a 1924 American silent comedy drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Thomas Meighan. The Famous Players-Lasky produced the film and Paramount Pictures distributed. Plot As described in a film magazine revie ...

'', and then she made her sound debut in '' Side Street'', co-starring the Moore brothers, Matt, Owen and

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as her sons. Dunn wrote two books on

elocution Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms. It stems from the idea that while communication is symbolic, sounds are final and compelli ...

and speech: ''Thought Quality in the Voice'' (1933) and ''You Can Do It'' (1947).

Personal life

Emma Dunn was born 26 February 1875, in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; Historic counties of England, historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the R ...

, England, although she sometimes gave her year of birth as 1883. Dunn married Harry Beresford, an actor who was then known professionally as Harry J. Morgan, in Chicago on 4 October 1897. They divorced on 10 February 1909, in New York City. She was awarded sole custody of their young daughter, Dorothy. On 19 May 1909, Dunn married John W. Stokes"Emma Dunn Stokes", National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, 2 January 1906 – 31 March 1925; Roll #: 2321; Volume #: Roll 2321 - Certificates: 317850-318349, 29 June 1923 – 30 June 1923. Ancestry.com. ''U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007; retrieved 16 April 2016. (John W. S. Sullivan), an actor, playwright"Emma D. Stokes". Ancestry.com. ''New York, State Census, 1915'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012; retrieved 16 April 2016. and theatrical manager. They subsequently adopted a second daughter, Helen. The couple divorced sometime between 1923 and Stokes' death in 1931. After suffering a heart attack some months before, Dunn died 14 December 1966 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, California, aged 91.

Theatre credits

Filmography

References

External links

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Emma Dunn
(Aveleyman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Emma 1875 births 1966 deaths English expatriates in the United States English film actresses English silent film actresses English stage actresses English non-fiction writers People from Birkenhead 20th-century English actresses British expatriate actresses in the United States