Frederick Hallen (1 January 1859 – 28 February 1920) was a Canadian-born vaudeville entertainer who found popularity on the North American stage.

Biography

Frederick "Fred" Hallen was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada.The New York Times, 29 February 1920 He began touring the vaudeville circuit as early as 1880 with his American wife Enid Hart, as "Hallen and Hart". A year or so before she died in 1890 at the young age of 32, he teamed up with

Joseph Hart Joseph Hart (1711/12 – 24 May 1768) was a Calvinist minister in London. His works include ''Hart's Hymns'', a much-loved hymn book amongst evangelical Christians throughout its lifetime of over 200 years, which includes the well-known hy ...

, as "Hallen and Hart" (again), and found success touring for several seasons with Hart's musical comedies, ''Later On'' and ''The Idea''.Who's Who in Music and Drama - edited by Dixie Hines, Harry Prescott Hanaford - 1914 After the two went their separate ways, Hallen and his second wife, Mollie (or Molly) Fuller, became a headlining vaudeville act. Hallen and Fuller were known for their short comedic plays and skits performed in vaudeville houses across North America for nearly a quarter century. Mollie-Fuller001

Hallen died of

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

on 28 February 1920, at his residence in

The New York Palace Hotel Lotte New York Palace Hotel is a luxury hotel in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at the corner of 50th Street and Madison Avenue. It was originally developed between 1977 and 1980 by Harry Helmsley. The hotel consists o ...

. Two months earlier he had fallen ill during an engagement in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada and was later told his condition was terminal. Hallen was survived by his wife, Mollie.

Mollie Fuller

After producer Edward Franklin Albee learned that Mollie Fuller was nearly blind and living in poverty in Chicago, he brought her back to New York where he asked writer

Blanche Merrill Blanche L. Merrill (born Blanche V. Dreyfoos; July 22/23, 1883"Blanche Merrill," ''U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014'' on ''Ancestry.com'' accessed June 5, 2018 (access by subscription). – October 5, 1966) was a songwriter specia ...

to write a piece for her to perform in. With the help of friends Fuller, returned to the stage in December 1922 to appear in the playlet ''Twilight'' staged in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and later at the Strand Theatre in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

. Before her vaudeville days Fuller was on the legitimate stage in productions like the

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

musical ''Adonis'', by Edward E. Rice and William F. Gill, and Rice's ''Evangeline'', in which she replaced

Fay Templeton Fay Templeton (December 25, 1865 – October 3, 1939) was an American actress, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Her parents were actors/vaudevillians and she followed in their footsteps, making her Broadway debut in 1900. Templeton excelled ...

when the actress was unavailable. The highlight of her career came in 1895 when Hallen bought the rights to the play ''The Twentieth Century Girl'' and cast her in the title role. Fuller died at around the age of 68 in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, on 5 January 1933. At the time of her death she was receiving assistance from The Troupers, a national vaudeville players association. Her funeral expenses were handled by the National Vaudeville Artist organization.The New York Times – 10 January 1933

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hallen, Frederick 1859 births 1920 deaths Male actors from Montreal Canadian male stage actors 19th-century Canadian male actors Vaudeville performers