Genevieve Blinn (born Genevieve Clothilde Nannery; June 12, 1874 – July 20, 1956) was a Canadian actress who appeared on stage and in Hollywood silent motion pictures. She was a native of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada.

Family

Genevieve Nannery was the last member of an old theater family from

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...

. Her brother Ed Nannary was a stage actor in New York City and on the west coast. Her sister May performed as a star of the old Alcatraz Theater in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Stage career

In October 1906 Blinn was the leading woman in the Ezra Kendall production of ''Swell, Elegant Jones''. A comedy in three acts, the play was staged at the

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, Opera House. Brinn acted in stage roles opposite

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''. Life and career Mansfield was born ...

, Robert Mantel, and

Willard Mack Willard Mack (September 18, 1873 – November 18, 1934) was a Canadian-American actor, director, and playwright. Life and career He was born Charles Willard McLaughlin in Morrisburg, Ontario. At an early age his family moved to Brooklyn, New ...

. Blinn came to

Los Angeles, California 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 world' ...

, in February 1912 as the leading lady of the Burbank Stock Company. Her arrival was in the press after she established a name for herself in eastern theatrical engagements. In New York she appeared at the head of the Crescent Stock Company for the previous five months. Her first performance with Burbank came as "Ann Brown" in a farce called ''Seven Days''. The primary comedy figure, Blinn played a woman who believed in

theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

Silent films

Blinn's career as a performer in movies began with a role as "Countess de Moray" in ''

A Wife's Sacrifice ''A Wife's Sacrifice'' is a lost 1916 American silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. Cast See also * List of Fox Film films *1937 Fox vault fire The 1937 Fox vault fire was a ...

'' (1916). She is best known for her role as the Bath-Sheba in ''

The Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

'' (1921). Aside from this feature, she was in a number of other films which starred

Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...

. Blinn retired from the stage and screen with the advent of sound motion pictures. Her last film was '' Common Clay'' (1930), in which she played the role of "Mrs. Fullerton."

Personal life

On June 4, 1895, Genevieve Nannery married lumberman Irving L. Blinn from Los Angeles, California. She petitioned for a divorce from her husband in July 1904. Blinn died in 1956 in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's populatio ...

, following a long illness. A son, William Lewis Blinn, predeceased his mother. He was a member of the Olympic Club and a graduate of the

University of Santa Clara Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

Partial filmography

References

* Lima, Ohio News, ''Genevieve Blinn, Ex-Star, Dies'', July 22, 1956, Page 9B. *

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

, ''The Public Service'', July 16, 1904, Page A2. *Los Angeles Times, ''Leading Lady Is Due Today'', February 29, 1912, Page III4. *

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, ''Ezra Kendall Produces A New Play'', October 5, 1906, Page 9.
''William Nannery and Atlantic Victorian Theatre: The Amateur Legacy''
by Carl Killen, M. A. Thesis (PDF - large file)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blinn, Genevieve Canadian silent film actresses Canadian stage actresses 1874 births 1956 deaths Actresses from New Brunswick 20th-century Canadian actresses Canadian film actresses