Mary Mannering (born Florence Friend; April 29, 1876 – January 21, 1953) was an English actress. She studied for the stage under Hermann Vezin. She made her debut at

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1892 under her own name of Florence Friend.

Biography

Born Clara Friend, she was the daughter of Richard Friend and Eliza Whiting. Her family moved to follow her father's job in the building trade. During her teens she began to perform on the stage (She adopted the name Florence for this purpose).. She worked as a dressmaker during these years, until at least 1891. In her early 20s she was induced by a producer

Daniel Frohman Daniel Frohman (August 22, 1851 – December 26, 1940) was an American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer. Biography Frohman was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Sandusky, Ohio. His parents were Henry (1826&nda ...

to come to New York in 1896. In the United States, she began playing as "Mary Mannering" (the maiden name of her father's mother). Mannering's American debut, in the title role in

Henry V. Esmond Henry Vernon Esmond (30 November 1869 – 17 April 1922) was a British actor and playwright. Esmond was born Harry Esmond Jack in Hampton Court, Middlesex, the son of Richard George Jack, a physician and surgeon and his wife Mary Rynd. He ...

's ''The Courtship of Leonie'', was at Daniel Frohman's original Lyceum Theatre on December 1, 1896. Other plays with the Lyceum company included

Sydney Grundy Sydney Grundy (23 March 1848 – 4 July 1914) was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world. He is, however, perhaps best remembe ...

's ''The Late Mr. Castello'' on December 14, 1896,

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (published in 1885–1886), '' A Little ...

and George Fleming's ''The First Gentleman of Europe'', Louis N. Parker's ''The Mayflower'', and

Arthur Wing Pinero Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (24 May 185523 November 1934) was an English playwright and, early in his career, actor. Pinero was drawn to the theatre from an early age, and became a professional actor at the age of 19. He gained experience as a supp ...

's ''

The Princess and the Butterfly ''The Princess and The Butterfly: or, The Fantastics'' is a comedy in five acts by Arthur Wing Pinero first produced at London’s St. James's Theatre on March 25, 1897 and in New York at the Lyceum Theatre on November 23, 1897. The New York v ...

'' (all 1897), ''The Tree of Knowledge'' by R.C. Carton, ''

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"'' t ...

'' by Pinero (both 1898), ''Americans at Home'' by Grace Livingstone Furniss (1899), and ''John Ingerfield'' by

Jerome K. Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) an ...

(1900). In 1900 Mannering starred at Buffalo, N. Y. and then in the Broadway debut of ''Janice Meredith'', in the title role opposite

Robert Drouet Robert Drouet (March 27, 1870 – August 17, 1914) was an American actor and playwright. Robert Drouet (probably a stage name), was born in Clinton, Iowa. He married Mildred Loring, daughter of M. A. Loring, October 1897, and died in New Y ...

who played Colonel Jack Brereton in the four-act play based on a novel of the same name by Paul Leicester Ford. Thereafter, she played leading parts in ''White Roses'' (New York, 1901); '' The Truants'' (Washington, 1909); '' The Independent Miss Gower'' (Chicago, 1909); ''A Man's World'' and '' The Garden of Allah'' (New York, 1911).

Personal life

She married

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 ...

, the Lyceum company's leading actor, on May 2, 1897, though the marriage was not announced until January 1898. They had a daughter, Elise, in 1904.Elise Mannering Keteltas Hackett profile (November 16, 1904 - December 18, 1974)
ancestry.com; retrieved April 12, 2015. She later married Frederick E. Wadsworth. She died, a widow, on January 21, 1953 at Los Angeles.

References

Publications

*Blum, Daniel C., ''Great Stars of the American Stage'' #Profile 9, c.1952(second printing 1954) * Brown, Thomas Allston, ''A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume III'', New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903. *Moses, Montrose J., "Famous Families of American Players: No. 3 - The Hacketts", ''The Theatre Magazine'', v.V n.47, January 1905, pp. 13–16. * William Winter, ''

The Wallet of Time ''The Wallet of Time'' is a publication by William Winter, published in two volumes in 1913. Overview The book focuses on American stage actors and actresses, most of whom had been born in Europe, of the nineteenth century and the first decade of ...

'', (two volumes, New York, 1913)

External links

*
Mary Mannering
photo section at NYP Library
Mary Mannering
portraits ; University of Washington, Sayre collection
PeriodPaper; Mary Mannering
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mannering, Mary 1876 births 1953 deaths Actresses from London British expatriate actresses in the United States British stage actresses English stage actresses 19th-century British actresses 19th-century English people 19th-century English women