Eugenie A. Blair (1864 – May 13, 1922) was an American stage actress best remembered for originating the role of Marthy Owen in the premiere 1921

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

presentation of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

's play ''

Anna Christie ''Anna Christie'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According to historian Paul Avrich, the orig ...

''. Blair died moments after walking offstage at the Cort Theatre in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

during her performance as Anna Christie, which she chose to carry out in spite of not feeling well that evening. She was survived by a daughter, the actress Eleanor Montell. Blair had been married to

Shakespearean actor Thousands of performances of William Shakespeare's plays have been staged since the end of the 16th century. While Shakespeare was alive, many of his greatest plays were performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men and King's Men acting companies at ...

Robert L. Downing, her second husband. Blair's Broadway appearances were sporadic until towards the end of her life. She toured extensively in her youth. She collapsed and died after playing Marthy in ''Anna Christie'' in Chicago.EUGENIE BLAIR BURIED.; Many Thespians Attend Services for Veteran Actress in Chicago
(''New York Times'', May 18, 1922)

References

External links

*
Eugenie Blair portrait gallery
(NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection)
portraits of her daughter, Eleanor Montell
(Univ. of Washington, Sayre collection)
Eugenie Blair: North American Theatre Online
1864 births 1922 deaths American stage actresses {{US-theat-actor-1860s-stub