Rosella O'Connor Russell (October 24, 1883 - February 1, 1952) was a
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
star from about 1912 to the late 1940s on the
Columbia circuit.
Biography
She was born in the
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
area of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
and began her career as a pianist in the
silent movie theaters the Palace and the Dreamland in the
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
area. She moved into vaudeville, joining Al Reeves show "Big Burlesque Review" both with a piano act and acting in light
comedy routine
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...
s. Her piano specialty was playing pop tunes of the day in a classical arrangement. Her playing was so popular that it often "stopped" the show, the audience demanding she keep playing. Newspaper profiles of the day credit her with attending the
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...
, but this cannot be confirmed by their records.
She married
Harry Kennedy Morton
Harry Kennedy Morton Jr. (March 20, 1889 – May 10, 1956) was a vaudeville dancer and singer as well as a prizefighter.
Biography
He was born on March 20, 1889, in Decatur, Alabama to Harry Kennedy Morton Sr. (died 1919) and Annie Duncan (1853-19 ...
, a fellow vaudevillian.
She had one son, Harold Morton, Jr., who died in childhood.
She died on February 1, 1952, in the
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area o ...
, area. Her husband died in May 1956.
[
]
Broadway productions
*''Blossom Time'', Sep 4, 1943 - Oct 9, 1943, as Mrs. Kranz
*''Blossom Time'', Dec 26, 1938 - Jan 1939, as Mrs. Kranz
*''The Love Song'', Jan 13, 1925 - Jun 6, 1925, as Lizette
*''Springtime of Youth'', Oct 26, 1922 - Dec 23, 1922, as Pepita
*''The Sweetheart Shop'', Aug 31, 1920 - Oct 16, 1920, as Daphne
Filmography
*''Avenging Waters
''Avenging Waters'' is a 1936 American western film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and starring Ken Maynard, Beth Marion, Ward Bond and John Elliott. It was written by Nate Gatzert.
Plot
Charles Mortimer buys cattle from Ken Morley and b ...
'' (1936) as "Mrs. Eloise Smythe"
*'' Taming the Wild'' (1936) as "Mrs. Elizabeth Bolton"
References
Further reading
*''Boxoffice Magazine'', Feb. 16, 1952 issue, pages 97 and 98
*''The Washington Post'', December 9, 1917, "Makes Classics of Ragtime"
External links
*
*
1883 births
1952 deaths
People from Worcester County, Massachusetts
Vaudeville performers
Actresses from Massachusetts
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