Fania Marinoff (russian: Фаня Маринов; yi, פאַניאַ מאַרינאָוו) (March 20, 1890 – November 17, 1971) was a Russian-born American actress.
Life
Marinoff was born in Odessa, Russia, on March 20, 1890. She was born into a Jewish household, and she was the thirteenth child and seventh daughter born to Mayer and Leah Marinoff, who died shortly after she was born. At age 6, Marinoff, who was nicknamed Fanny as a child, was smuggled onboard an overcrowded passenger ship headed to America. She arrived in Boston where she lived undernourished and uneducated. At the age of 8, Marinoff was sent to live with her older brother, Michael. While living with him and his wife, Marinoff was tortured on a regular basis. She was locked in dark rooms, which were infested with rats, for hours on end. A year later, Marinoff made her stage debut as a little boy in
''Cyrano de Bergerac'' at the El Itch Theater. This launched the beginning of what would be a 50-year career.
In 1914, Marinoff married American writer and photographer
Carl Van Vechten. The two were introduced through mutual friends in the summer of 1912 in New York City. Shortly after meeting, they formed a strong bond. Within the first year together, Van Vechten told Marinoff that she was more than he could have dreamed of, saying she was “the only one that I have ever found who completely satisfies me.” From the beginning of their relationship, Marinoff was aware of Van Vechten's
homosexual desires. Although Marinoff had attained great recognition before meeting Van Vechten, once married, she found herself living in Van Vechten's shadow. To many she was known as simply “Carlo’s wife”. The couple played a prominent role in the
Harlem Renaissance.
Nella Larsen
Nellallitea "Nella" Larsen (born Nellie Walker; April 13, 1891 – March 30, 1964) was an American novelist. Working as a nurse and a librarian, she published two novels, ''Quicksand'' (1928) and '' Passing'' (1929), and a few short stories. Tho ...
dedicated her book ''
Passing'' to Marinoff and Van Vechten.
Career 1903–1945
Marinoff played supporting and lead roles in dozens of Broadway plays between 1903 and 1937, seven U.S.
silent movies
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...
between 1914 and 1917, and three short films in 1915.
Marinoff was an actress and dancer for almost 50 years. Her career bloomed when she became the lead actress in the Greenwich Village Players. She was well known for her movie roles in ''One of Our Girls'' (1914), ''The Galloper'' (1915) and ''Life's Whirlpool'' (1917). On stage, she played lead in the original play ''Karen'' (1918) as well as ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (1937) and ''Pillars of Society'' (1931).
During her career, she took an eight-year break because of her heavy drinking, she told an interviewer. In the last few years of her career, she volunteered at the
Stage Door Canteen
The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...
entertaining troops from 1942 to 1945. After retiring from acting, she and her husband remained active in artistic circles.
Death
Marinoff died in 1971 in Englewood, New Jersey, from pneumonia.
[ Plumwood, V.]
''Feminism and the Mastery of Nature''
( New York: Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
, 1993).
Partial filmography
* ''
One of Our Girls
''One of Our Girls'' is a lost 1914 silent film drama directed by Thomas N. Heffron and starring Hazel Dawn. It was adapted from the play of the same name by Bronson Howard and was produced by Famous Players Film Company and Daniel Frohman.
Cas ...
'' (1914)
* ''
The Unsuspected Isles'' (1915)
* ''
Nedra'' (1915)
* ''
The Money Master
''The Money Master'' is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Frank Sheridan, Paul McAllister and Calvin Thomas.Motion Picture Guide Silent Film 1910-1936 p.310
Cast
* Frank Sheridan as John Haggleton
...
'' (1915)
* ''
McTeague
''McTeague: A Story of San Francisco'', otherwise known as simply ''McTeague'', is a novel by Frank Norris, first published in 1899. It tells the story of a couple's courtship and marriage, and their subsequent descent into poverty and violence ...
'' (1916)
* ''
New York'' (1916)
* ''
The Rise of Jennie Cushing'' (1917)
References
External links
*
*
Photoportrait gallery(NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marinoff, Fania
1890 births
1971 deaths
Odesa Jews
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
20th-century American actresses
American stage actresses
American film actresses
Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey