Margaret Dale (born Margaret Rosendale; March 6, 1876 – March 23, 1972) was an American stage and film actress. She performed on Broadway for over fifty years and occasionally did films in the 1920s. She appeared in a large number of Broadway hits over the course of her years as an actress.

Early life

Margaret Rosendale was born on March 6, 1876 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, although some sources give her birth year as 1880. Her father was Julius Rosendale, a wealthy physician, jeweler and translator who died in 1911. She was interviewed in

Munsey's Magazine ''Munsey's Weekly'', later known as ''Munsey's Magazine'', was a 36-page quarto American magazine founded by Frank A. Munsey in 1889 and edited by John Kendrick Bangs. Frank Munsey aimed to publish "a magazine of the people and for the people, ...

in 1903 where a brief noting of her career had her living in

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

at one time and was currently single and living with her mother.

Theater career

She began her career in

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

acting company in 1898, often in support of the leading actors such as

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

. She became the leading lady of John Drew from 1902 to 1905. She appeared in the George Ade western ''Father and the Boys'' 1908-1911. Dale performed with

George Arliss George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...

in the long running play ''Disraeli'', 1911 to 1917. In the mid-1920s she was part of an ensemble cast that included

Mary Boland Mary Boland (born Marie Anne Boland; January 28, 1882 – June 23, 1965) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Boland was the daughter of repertory actor William Augustus Boland, and his wife M ...

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, Humphrey Bogart,

Raymond Hackett Raymond Hackett (July 15, 1902 – July 7, 1958) was a stage and screen actor. He had been a child actor on the Broadway stage and was the brother of Albert Hackett. He was born in New York City the son of Maurice Hackett and Florence Hackett (n ...

and

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in the popular play ''The Cradle Snatchers''.

Motion Pictures

In 1920 Dale appeared in her first feature movie '' The World and His Wife'', directed by

Robert G. Vignola Robert G. Vignola (born Rocco Giuseppe Vignola, August 7, 1882 – October 25, 1953) was an Italian-American actor, screenwriter, and film director. A former stage actor, he appeared in many motion pictures produced by Kalem Company and later mov ...

. She would appear in six films between 1920 and 1934 preferring the theater. She rejoined Arliss in 1921 for the film version of

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

which was produced by his production company Distinctive and released through United Artists. Dale did not return to Arliss when he made his talking version of Disraeli in 1929 for Warner Brothers. In 1922 Dale appeared in D. W. Griffith's '' One Exciting Night'', a haunted house melodrama. This movie had all the spirit of a

Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fir ...

story, then gaining popularity, but was an original story by Griffith. ''One Exciting Night'' was shot at Griffith's Mamaroneck studios on Long Island. The 1921 version of ''Disraeli'' is a lost film with one reel in existence at the George Eastman House. However a complete print is rumored to exist at Gosfilmofond in Russia. ''One Exciting Night'' was on home video (VHS) briefly in the 1990s. In 2014 it is available on DVD from Alpha Video Dale's last film and only talkie was '' The Man with Two Faces'' starring Edward G. Robinson and

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

and now available from

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

. Dale died in New York in March 1972.New York Daily News
page 264 Friday March 24, 1972

Filmography

*'' The World and His Wife'' (1920) *lost film *''

'' (1921) *'' One Exciting Night'' (1922) *'' Second Youth'' (1924) *''

Week End Husbands ''Week End Husbands'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith produced by Daniel Carson Goodman and released by the Equity Pictures Company. The film stars Alma Rubens and was made in New York. Plot As described in a ...

'' (1924) *lost film *'' The Man with Two Faces'' (1934)

References

Sources

''New York Times''
"ABOUT STAGE PEOPLE; Margaret Dale to be John Drew's New Leading Woman." February 20, 1902 *Appelbaum, Stanley ''Great Actors and Actresses of the American Stage in Historic Photographs: 332 Portraits from 1850-1950'', c. 1983 *Fells, Robert M. ''George Arliss: The Man Who Played God'', c. 2004 *Fells, Robert M. ''The 1921 "Lost" Disraeli: A Photo Reconstruction of the George Arliss Silent Film'' c.2013

External links

* *
Margaret Dale photo gallery
at New York Public Library Billy Rose Collection
lantern slide
Margaret Dale(as Mrs. Noel Travers) with George Arliss as Disraeli in the 1921 film, DISRAELI (Wayback Machine) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dale, Margaret 1876 births 1972 deaths 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American silent film actresses Actresses from Philadelphia