Mace Greenleaf (December 8, 1872 – March 23, 1912) was an American stage and silent film actor.

Early life

Mace Greenleaf was born at

Dixfield, Maine Dixfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,253 at the 2020 census. The town motto of Dixfield is "The Only One", because it is the only town in the world to claim that name. Dr. Elijeh Dix, a substantial l ...

, the only child of Charles Ward Greenleaf and Mary Stanley (née Eustis) Greenleaf. Charles Greenleaf was a native of Massachusetts and supported his family employed as a surveyor.1900 US Census Records

Career

Greenleaf's first important role came in the late 1890s playing Herbert, the king's forester, in stock productions of ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...

'' and its companion piece ''

Rupert of Hentzau ''Rupert of Hentzau'' is a sequel by Anthony Hope to ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', written in 1895 but not published in book form until 1898. The novel was serialized in ''The Pall Mall Magazine'' and ''McClure's Magazine'' from December 1897 thr ...

''. In 1898, he played Mr. Hunston in Sir Arthur Wing Pinero's play ''

Trelawny of the 'Wells' ''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' is an 1898 comic play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It tells the story of a theatre star who attempts to give up the stage for love, but is unable to fit into conventional society. Synopsis ''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' te ...

'' that opened at the Lyceum Theatre in New York on November 22, 1898. His next Broadway performance was in ''

The Pride of Jennico ''The Pride of Jennico'' is a four-act play based on the book by the same name from Agnes Castle and Egerton Castle published in 1897 by the Macmillan Company. The setting is the mid-1700s and the plot revolves around Captain Basil Jennico, a ...

'' with

James K. Hackett James Keteltas Hackett (September 6, 1869 – November 8, 1926) was an American actor and manager. Life James K. Hackett was the son of Clara C. and James Henry Hackett, a comedian and celebrated Falstaff. He was born on Wolfe Island, Onta ...

and

Bertha Galland Bertha Galland (November 15, 1876 – November 20, 1932) was an American dramatic stage actress remembered for her romantic roles. Early life Bertha Galland was the daughter of Berthold Galland and Anna Miller Hawley. According to her obituary i ...

staged at the Criterion Theatre in 1900. Later that year, he played Myrtle May's lover in a road production of ''The Parish Priest'' with

Daniel Sully Daniel Sully (1855–1910), born Daniel Sullivan,Hartford Courant June 27, 1910 was an American circus performer, stage actor and playwright, who gained popularity during the latter years of the nineteenth century. Life and career Daniel Sully ...

. During the first decade of the 20th century, Mace Greenleaf played leading roles in stock companies on both coasts and middle America. He returned to Broadway in 1905 to play the

prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in the romantic musical ''Edmund Burke''. In 1911, he joined the fledgling motion picture industry where he would appear in at least 18 films over the last year or so of his life.

Marriage

In September 1906, Greenleaf married Lucy (aka Lucie) Banning in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

. Banning came from a very wealthy family, they owned Catalina Island, and was remembered at the time for an affair she had while married to her first husband that ended with the suicide of her lover. Lucy Banning was known as something of a free spirit and often scandalized "polite society" with the number of men in her life. She left Greenleaf in 1910 for the son of a prominent judge.

Death

Mace Greenleaf died on March 23, 1912, while in Philadelphia after a brief battle with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenleaf, Mace 1872 births 1912 deaths 19th-century American male actors American male stage actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors People from Dixfield, Maine Male actors from Maine Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania