Grace La Rue (born Stella Parsons; April 23, 1882 – March 13, 1956) was an American actress, singer, and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

headliner.

Early life

Grace La Rue was born Stella Parsons in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, on April 23, 1882, to Lucy L. Parsons.

Career

La Rue began her career as a teenager, working with a traveling tent show. Her later performances included being part of the team Burke and La Rue, with her first husband, Charles Burke. One of their numbers was a minstrel piece titled "Grace La Rue and her Inky Dinks". She soon broke away from the act - and Burke - to appear in musical comedy. La Rue performed in a number of productions on Broadway debuting in ''The Tourists'' in 1906. She also appeared in ''The Blue Moon'' (1906), ''Molly May'' (1910), ''Betsy'' (1911), and the 1907 and 1908 ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

''. In 1909, she married Byron (The Millionaire Kid) Chandler in

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 ...

. The marriage broke up in 1914 when La Rue divorced, alleging that Chandler was unfaithful and that he beat her. La Rue made her debut as a Vaudeville single act in November 1912 at Poli's in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

. As part of the act she sang an aria from ''

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'', and a duet with a phonograph recording of

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave her a good review commenting that the act gave La Rue the "opportunity to display her Parisian cultivated voice." La Rue made her debut at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

on August 4, 1913. Her act featured the song "

You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It) "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)" is a popular song from 1913 composed by James V. Monaco with lyrics by Joseph McCarthy. It was introduced by Al Jolson in the Broadway revue ''The Honeymoon Express'' (1913), and used in the 197 ...

", from the show ''Honeymoon Express'', a musical she had appeared in with

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

. Later that year, she brought her Vaudeville act to Britain, appearing at the London Palace on August 4, 1913. In 1919, La Rue made her screen debut opposite American stage and film actor

Hale Hamilton Hale Rice Hamilton (February 28, 1880 – May 19, 1942) was an American actor, writer and producer. Biography Hamilton was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1880. (His birth year is sometimes listed as either 1879 or 1883.) Hamilton's Broadway debut w ...

in the melodrama ''That's Good''. She married Hamilton on May 29, 1920, amid a whirl of controversy surrounding a lawsuit filed by Hamilton's second wife, actress Myrtle Tannehill. In 1922-1923, La Rue appeared in Irving Berlin's second ''Music Box Revue'' at the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane in a Palladian-inspir ...

in New York. In 1924, she appeared at the

Coliseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

in London with Hamilton. For the rest of the decade she worked mainly in the United States alternating between Vaudeville and in musical comedies and revues. One of her last big time appearances was in the 1928 ''Greenwich Village Follies'' at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

in New York. She appeared in a 1929

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one th ...

short called ''Grace La Rue: The International Star of Song''. By the early 1930s, she had retired to California, where she made a brief appearance in the 1933 Mae West film ''

She Done Him Wrong ''She Done Him Wrong'' is a 1933 pre-Code American crime/comedy film starring Mae West and Cary Grant. The plot includes melodramatic and musical elements, with a supporting cast featuring Owen Moore, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery Sr., Rochelle Hu ...

.'' Grace La Rue died at Peninsula Hospital in

Burlingame, California Burlingame () is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame and is known for its numerous eucalyp ...

on March 13, 1956.

References

External links

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Grace LaRue
New York Public Library Digital Gallery photo
Grace La Rue in recording from 1910 singing "Does Anybody Here Know Nancy"1920 passport photo of Grace La Rue and Hale HamiltonBroadway photographs
(University of South Carolina) {{DEFAULTSORT:La Rue, Grace 1882 births 1956 deaths Vaudeville performers American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses Ziegfeld girls 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers