Olive Frances Wyndham Meysenberg (June 16, 1886 – November 24, 1971) was an American actress on stage and in silent films.

Early life

Meysenburg was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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, ...

, the daughter of E. A. von Meysenburg, a German diplomat, and Oral Josephine Wyndham. Her older sister

Janet Beecher Janet Beecher (born Janet Meysenberg; October 21, 1884 – August 6, 1955) was an American stage and screen actress. Early years The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Von Meysenburg, Beecher was born in Jefferson City, Missouri. Her sister was ...

was also an actress. The sisters were related to

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

on their mother's side. Her father's work as a vice-consul for Germany led to her growing up in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Career

Wyndham's stage credits included roles in ''The Ruling Power'' (1904), ''She Stoops to Conquer'' (1905), ''Sir Anthony'' (1906), ''The Aero Club'' (1907), ''The Man From Home'' (1908), ''Blue Grass'' (1908), ''The Cottage in the Air'' (1909), ''The School for Scandal'' (1909), ''Sister Beatrice'' (1910), ''The Thunderbolt'' (1910), ''Nobody's Daughter'' (1911), ''The Only Son'' (1911), ''Chains'' (1912), ''Oliver Twist'' (1912), ''What Happened to Mary'' (1913), ''Countess Julia'' (1913), ''The Last Resort'' (1914), ''Children of Earth'' (1915), ''The Greatest Nation'' (1916), ''The Sweetmeat Game'' (1916), ''The Knife'' (1917), ''Nothing But Lies'' (1918), ''A Voice in the Dark'' (1919), '' The Green Goddess'' (1921), ''The Charlatan'' (1922), ''Thin Ice'' (1922), ''The Steam Roller'' (1924), '' Dinner at Eight'' (1932). In 1927, she was acting in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, including in ''Cradle Snatchers'' with her sister Janet Beecher. Wyndham appeared in two silent films, ''Your Girl and Mine'', a 1914 suffrage film backed by the

National American Woman Suffrage Association The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National ...

, and ''Fighting Bob'' (1915). Her striking fashion choices were a matter of press interest, as in the 1907 headline "Olive Wyndham's Hat Biggest in United States".

Personal life

Olive Wyndham was engaged to marry lawyer Walter Kirkpatrick Brice in 1915, but the engagement was broken a few months later. She married mining engineer Andrew White Newberry in 1925. After they divorced, she married a second time to Lucien Hamilton Tyng in 1933."Lucien Tyng Weds Olive F. Wyndham" ''New York Times'' (October 17, 1933): 25. via

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

She was married a third time to the

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...

metaphysician and writer Harry Gaze (1878–1959) who died in a car accident en route to a speaking engagement at the Hollywood Church of Religious Science. She died in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

in 1971, aged 85 years.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyndham, Olive 1886 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American actresses American people of German descent American people of English descent Actresses from Philadelphia American stage actresses American silent film actresses