Winifred Lenihan (December 6, 1898 – July 27, 1964) was an American actress, writer, and director. She studied at the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...
before making her debut in 1918. Although she portrayed the would-be eloper Anne in ''The Dover Road'' (1921), Anne Hathaway in ''Will Shakespeare'' (1923), and the resourceful Mary Todd in ''White Wings'' (1926), she is recalled mostly as Joan of Arc in the original American production of ''
Saint Joan'' (1923).
Early life and education
Lenihan was born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and, as she said, "always lived within subway distance of
42nd Street." She had an early interest in acting.
At
Bryant High School in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, she organized a dramatic company and played leads. Although she was attracted by the theater, she recalled, she had no idea of how to get on the stage, and so dismissed the idea as romantic and nice but impractical.
"I was all packed up to go to
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
to prepare for a teachers career", she said in 1920, "when an advertisement of a dramatic school caught my eye. I went there, took the tests and became a pupil."
Career
From the school, the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...
in New York, she made her stage debut in 1918 as Belline in ''The Betrothal'' at the Playhouse in New York. Then she played in stock leading roles, portraying everything from an "ingenue to an old woman."
Although she appeared in other plays during the 1920s and the early '30s, Lenihan gradually became more interested in directing and teaching.
In 1925, she became the first director of the Theater Guild's School of Acting in New York. Although she hesitated at first when she was offered the post, she said, "the idea of directing a group of students in the art of acting intrigued me."
There was another reason, too. Like others, she was haunted by the inevitable months of idleness on Broadway. Even though she might be able to carry herself financially, her boundless energy revolted against any thumb-twiddling periods. While Lenihan devoted much of her talent and time to teaching acting, she felt that talent was innate and, while it could be improved, it could not be created. She looked for "warmth of emotion, imagination and intelligence."
In 1932, the actress went into radio to direct a series of
Booth Tarkington
Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitze ...
sketches that were sponsored by the
Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was an American chain of grocery stores that operated from 1859 to 2015. From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States (and, until 1965, the lar ...
. She and radio were new to each other and she experimented often, sometimes to the chagrin of engineers.
When she directed a play on radio, she did not believe in letting the actors sit at tables in front of microphones reading the script. When a man was supposed to run, she had the actor run and then speak his lines rather than imitate a panting sound.
In 1928, Lenihan was on the cover of ''
McCall's
''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-for ...
'' magazine. She was described as one of the "10 most beautiful women in the world."
As well as acting she directed several productions and co-wrote the play ''
Blind Mice'' with
Vera Caspary in 1930 which was made into the film ''
Working Girls'' the following year. Her sole movie credit is the 1949
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
''
Jigsaw
Jigsaw may refer to:
* Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves
* Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces
Arts and media Comics
* Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...
''.
Lenihan served on the council of
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a boo ...
and in 1940 was the author of a resolution, adopted by the membership, excluding from office or employment on the union's staff any Communist, Nazi, or Fascist or sympathizer.
''Saint Joan''
When ''
Saint Joan'' had its world premiere at the
Garrick Theatre in New York in 1923, a slim blue-eyed actress of limited experience was chosen for the role of
Joan of Orleans. Winifred Lenihan played the part so well that she became famous overnight.
Lenihan had arrived on Broadway only a short time before that and the initial joy of appearing on the stage had not yet worn off. She told an interviewer: "Here I am on Broadway. It does seem like a fairy tale."
Her performance as Joan was applauded by critics and audience alike.
John Corbin
John Corbin (May 2, 1870 – August 30, 1959) was an American dramatic critic and author.
Career overview
John Corbin was born in Chicago and educated at Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridg ...
, reviewing the play in ''
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 ...
'', said: "Joan's moods of frank girlhood, and of a sainthood patient and proud, are rendered with consummate simplicity and graces." Of Lenihan's performance, he wrote: "Taken as a whole, it is a really great performance and one which, like the play, grows mightily in memory."
Many years later, theater writers were still praising her performance whenever they mentioned ''Saint Joan''.
Brooks Atkinson wrote in ''The Times'' that Lenihan and
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.
Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...
, who played the role later, "left their marks on the part, for both of them had something genuine to give it."
Personal life
She married Frank Walker Wheeler in 1934, then vice president of the
Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was an American chain of grocery stores that operated from 1859 to 2015. From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States (and, until 1965, the lar ...
. He died 7 years later on August 31, 1941.
Lenihan died of a heart attack on July 27, 1964 at her home in
Sea Cliff, New York
Sea Cliff is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the village population was 4,995.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bu ...
. She was 65 years old.
Filmography
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenihan, Winifred
1898 births
1964 deaths
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
People from Sea Cliff, New York
Actresses from New York City
Writers from Brooklyn
20th-century American women writers