Rose Elizabeth Tapley (June 30, 1881 – February 23, 1956) was an American actress of the stage and an early heroine of silent films.

Early life

Tapley was born in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

. She was the cousin of Captain Robert Bartlett, commander of the S.S. ''Roosevelt'' and the S.S. '' Karluk''. All of her relatives on her father's side for generations were sailors. Her grandfather's generation included nine sailing masters or captains. Tapley's mother's name was Elizabeth Stagg Riker. She was the granddaughter of Abram Polhemus, one of the founders of the old

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

in New York City. He was a merchant marine prince as a young man. Tapley was educated in the public schools of

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on la ...

and at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Career

Tapley performed on stage from 1900 to 1909. Her first theatrical engagement was with the Myron B. Rice Company, as ''Bernice'', in ''My Friend From India''. During the season of 1900 she played every other woman's part in this play. She starred with popular actors of the era such as

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. Life and career Mansfield was born ...

Chauncey Olcott Chauncey Olcott, born John Chancellor Olcott and often spelled Chauncey Alcott, (July 21, 1858 – March 18, 1932) was an American stage actor, songwriter and singer of Irish descent. Biography He was born in Buffalo, New York. His mother, Mar ...

E.H. Sothern Edward Hugh Sothern (December 6, 1859 – October 28, 1933) was an American actor who specialized in dashing, romantic leading roles and particularly in William Shakespeare, Shakespeare roles. Biography Sothern was born in New Orleans, Louisiana ...

, and J.H. Stoddard. With Mansfield, Rose acted in ''Beau Brummel'', ''Monsieur Beaucaire'', ''A Parisian Romance'', and ''First Violin''. One of her most noted roles was in ''The Sign of the Cross''. Her first motion picture appearance was in 1905. Tapley was featured in the

Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

film, ''Wanted a Wife''. Soon after she performed in the first standard two reeler, ''The Money Kings''. She signed a contract with the old

Vitagraph Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...

Company in May 1909, making her the first ''

leading lady A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

'' of movies. She was also the first star of the stage to begin a film career. She acted with Vitagraph,

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...

, and for

Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

until her retirement in 1931. Her credits number 175 films. Some of the titles are ''The Way of the Cross'' (1909), ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' (1909), ''The Cave Man'' (1912), ''Every Inch A Man'' (1912), '' Seeing Double'' (1913), ''

One Can't Always Tell ''One Can't Always Tell'' is a short American silent comedy film. Release ''One Can't Always Tell'' was released on May 31, 1913, in the United States, where it was presented as a split-reel with ''If Dreams Came True; or, Who'd Have Thunk It?'', ...

'' (1913), ''Mr. Jarr and the Society Circus'' (1915), ''Her Majesty'' (1922), ''God's Great Wilderness'' (1927), ''His First Command'' (1929), and ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

'' (1931). Tapley was frequently called the ''Mother of Movies''. She served as official hostess at a number of motion picture expositions at different locales throughout the country. In 1916–1917 Rose toured America as a representative of the film industry. She made appearances in front of state legislatures, businesses, and women's clubs. All of this to promote interest in the quality of movies. On Broadway, Tapley appeared in ''Robert Burns'' (1905), ''Zombie'' (1932), and ''Satellite'' (1935).

Personal life and death

Tapley was married on March 20, 1906, to New York City attorney Frank E. Holahan who died in October 1955. She died at age 74 at the Motion Picture & Television Country Home and Hospital in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, in 1956. She was survived by a daughter, Rosemary Holahan, and three sisters. Her funeral was conducted at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church,

Canoga Park, California Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and the ...

. She was buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1909) * '' The Telephone'' (1910) *''

A Cure for Pokeritis ''A Cure for Pokeritis'' is a 1912 short silent film starring John Bunny and Flora Finch. After Bunny's death in 1915, a re-release was announced with the alternative title ''A Sure Cure for Pokeritis''. The film, a domestic comedy, depicts a wom ...

'' (1912) *'' Her Choice'' (1912) *''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'' (1912) *'' Seeing Double'' (1913) *''

'' (1913) *''My Official Wife'' (1914) *''

Hearts and the Highway ''Hearts and the Highway'' is a 1915 silent film historical drama directed by Wilfrid North and produced by the Vitagraph Company of America. It is based on a novel of the same title by Cyrus Townsend Brady. The film is now lost with no archival ...

'' (1915) *''

The Chattel ''The Chattel'' is a lost 1916 silent film drama directed by Frederick A. Thomson and starring stage actor E. H. Sothern. It was produced and distributed by the Vitagraph Company of America.''Pictorial History of the Silent Screen'', p.114 c.1953 ...

'' (1916) * '' Her Majesty'' (1922) *''

Java Head Tanjung Layar, formerly Java's Eerste Punt in Dutch, and Java's First Point, or Java Head in English is a prominent cape at the extreme western end of Java, at the Indian Ocean entrance to the Sunda Strait. Java Head is a bluff at the sea's ed ...

'' (1923) *''

The Man Who Fights Alone ''The Man Who Fights Alone'' is a 1924 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Wallace Worsley and starred William Farnum and Lois Wilson. Cast Preservation With ...

'' (1924) *'' The Redeeming Sin'' (1925) * ''

The Scarlet Honeymoon ''The Scarlet Honeymoon'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Alan Hale and starring Shirley Mason, Pierre Gendron, and Allan Sears Allan Sears (March 9, 1887 – August 18, 1942) was an American film actor who played leading ...

'' (1925) *''

The Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pike ...

'' (1925) *'' The Prince of Pilsen'' (1926) *''

Morganson's Finish ''Morganson's Finish'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Fred Windemere and starring Anita Stewart, Johnnie Walker and Mahlon Hamilton.Munden p.525 Cast * Anita Stewart as Barbara Wesley * Johnnie Walker (actor), Joh ...

'' (1926) * ''

God's Great Wilderness ''God's Great Wilderness'' is a 1927 American silent northern drama film directed by David Hartford and starring Lillian Rich, Joseph Bennett and Russell Simpson.Munden p.300 It takes place amongst the lumber workers, where a new family arriv ...

'' (1927) * ''

Out of the Past ''Out of the Past'' (billed in the United Kingdom as ''Build My Gallows High'') is a 1947 film noir directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas. The film was adapted by Daniel Mainwaring (using the pseu ...

'' (1927) * ''

His First Command ''His First Command'' is a 1929 American pre-Code comedy action film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring William Boyd, Dorothy Sebastian and Gavin Gordon.Munden p.352 Location shooting took place at Fort Riley in Kansas. Synopsis A playboy ...

'' (1929) *''

Paris Bound Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

'' (1929) *''

'' (1931) *''

Sex Madness ''Sex Madness'' is a 1938 exploitation film directed by Dwain Esper, along the lines of ''Reefer Madness'', supposedly to warn teenagers and young adults of the dangers of venereal diseases, specifically syphilis.Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'',
First Heroine of Silent Films, Rose Tapley, Dies
, February 25, 1956, Page A1. *'' Ogden Examiner'', "Rose Tapley To Be In Person At Ogden", Wednesday Morning, April 18, 1917, Page 6.

External links

* *
1925 passport photo of Rose TapleyRosemary Holahan and Rose Tapley, an Actress
ca. 1913,

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapley, Rose 1880s births 1956 deaths Actresses from Massachusetts American stage actresses American film actresses American silent film actresses People from Salem, Massachusetts People from Petersburg, Virginia 20th-century American actresses Broadway theatre people