Marie Burroughs (born Lillie Arrington; 1866 – March 4, 1926) was an American stage actress in the late 19th century. She played prominent roles in many plays, although she never became a first-tier star.

Career

Burroughs was born in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

(14 April 1901)
Miss Marie Burroughs to Wed a New Yorkers
''San Francisco Call'' in 1866, and raised in San Francisco. By age 17, her promise as an actor was noted by actor

Lawrence Barrett Lawrence Barrett (April 4, 1838 – March 20, 1891) was an American stage actor. Biography A native of Paterson, New Jersey, Barrett was born in 1838 to Mary Agnes (née Read) Barrett and tailor Thomas Barrett, Irish immigrants who had settle ...

, and earned her an invitation to appear in '' The Rajah'' at the

Madison Square Theatre ''The Madison Square Theatre'' was a Broadway theatre in Manhattan, on the south side of 24th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway (which intersects Fifth Avenue near that point.) It was built in 1863, operated as a theater from 1865 to 1908, ...

in New York. She made her Broadway debut in 1884 and assumed her stage name. She was an immediate success, but her acting skills were still raw and it was said that her good looks carried her at first. Actor Louis Massen became her acting coach, and soon after her first husband.Our Gallery of Players: Marie Burroughts
''

The Illustrated American ''The Illustrated American'' was a weekly American periodical published from 1890 until 1900. It primarily covered current events (with illustrations), but also contained other miscellaneous content and some fiction.

'', p. 42 (November 21, 1891)Marie Burroughs
''

Lippincott's Monthly Magazine ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' was a 19th-century literary magazine published in Philadelphia from 1868 to 1915, when it relocated to New York to become ''Robert M. McBride, McBride's Magazine''. It merged with ''Scribner's Magazine'' in 1916. ...

'' pp. 363-64 (March 1893) She had roles in many plays through the 1880s and 1890s, including in a number of plays supporting English actor

Edward Smith Willard Edward Smith Willard (9 January 1853 – 9 November 1915) was an English actor. He was born at Brighton''Who's Who on the Stage: the dramatic reference book and ...'', Volume 1 edited by Walter Browne, Frederick Arnold Austin; 1906 pg. 227 and ...

. She retired from the stage in 1901.The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol 3
p. 711 (1906)Browne, Walter & E. De Roy Koch (eds.
Who's who on the Stage 1908
p. 63 (B.W. Dodge & Company 1908) Writer

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...

described Burroughs in 1895 as "not a very great actress, but she is great enough to be allowed to do her best unhindered." Similarly, the ''

Illustrated American ''The Illustrated American'' was a weekly American periodical published from 1890 until 1900. It primarily covered current events (with illustrations), but also contained other miscellaneous content and some fiction.

'' said "that she will ever rank among the greatest actresses of the world, not even her most devoted admirers can expect, but she is so painstaking and so devoted to her profession that with each succeeding season she shows some improvement in her art."Gallery of Players from The Illustrated American
No. 6, p. 16 (1895) In 1894, Burroughs' popularity was such that she was the vehicle for a volume of actor photographs called ''The Marie Burroughs Art Portfolio of Stage Celebrities'', published by A.N. Marquis & Company.(6 May 1894)
Genius, Art, Beauty. Wonderful Collection of Portraits of Celebrated Actors and Actresses
''The Anaconda Standard''(8 April 1894)
A Great and Artistic Offer (advertisement)
''The Salt Lake Herald''

Personal life

As a celebrity of her day, Burroughs' personal life drew public attention.Curtin, William M. (ed.
The World and the Parish: Willa Cather's Articles and Reviews (1893-1902)
pp. 193-94 (1970)(20 March 1895)
Marie is Suing for a Divorce
''San Francisco Call'', p. 7, col. 4. Her first husband, Louis F. Massen, was also her acting instructor who she met in ''The Rajah''; they divorced in 1895.(21 March 1895)
Marie Burroughs's Divorce Suit: She Would Never Have Begun It Had She Realized The Scandal
''

The 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 ...

''(30 August 1895)
Divorce for Marie Burroughs
''

'' In 1899, her engagement to Dr. Albert E. Sterne was announced, but their planned December 1899 was postponed due to illness on her part, and the engagement later ended. In 1901 she married Robert Barclay Macpherson, who died in 1907. In 1908, she married Francis M. Livingston.(19 March 1908)
Marie Burroughs to Wed. The Actress is to Marry Francis M. Livingston on April 8
''

''The Marie Burroughs Art Portfolio of Stage Celebrities
(1894)Leonard, John William (ed.
Woman's Who Who of America (1914-1915)
p. 149 (1914) Burroughs died in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

, on March 4, 1926.The Stage Year Book
p. 233 (1927)

Selected appearances

* '' The Rajah'' as Gladys (1884) * ''Alpine Roses'' as Irma (1884) * ''

Hazel Kirke ''Hazel Kirke'' is a play in four acts written by American actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. Overview The play was written between 1878 and 1879 in the town of Dublin, New Hampshire.Quinn, p. 497 MacKaye meant it to be expressly for New York ...

'' * ''Esmeralda'' * ''After the Ball'' * ''Mrs. Winthrop'' * ''Called Back'' * ''Elaine'' (1887) as Queen Guinevere * ''Saints and Sinners'' * ''The Middleman'' as Mary Blenkarn * ''Judah'' as Vashti Dethic (supporting

) * ''Wealth'' as Edith Ruddock * ''

John Needham's Double ''John Needham's Double'' is an 1885 novel and 1891 play by Joseph Hatton, and 1916 silent film. Novel The novel is subtitled "A Story Founded on Fact" and is based on the story of Irish financier and politician John Sadleir, who committed suic ...

'' (1891) as Kate Norbury * ''The Professor's Love Story'' as Lucy * ''The Profligate'' * ''

The Battle of the Strong ''The Battle of the Strong'' is an 1898 novel by Gilbert Parker. It was first published in serial format in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' starting in January 1898,

'' (1900) as Guida Landresse

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burroughs, Marie 1866 births 1926 deaths 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses Actresses from San Francisco