Minnie Maddern Fiske

Minnie Maddern Fiske (born Marie Augusta Davey; December 19, 1865 – February 15, 1932), but often billed simply as Mrs. Fiske, was one of the leading American actresses of the late 19th and early 20th century. She also spearheaded the fight against the Theatrical Syndicate for the sake of artistic freedom. She was widely considered the most important actress on the American stage in the first quarter of the 20th century. Her performances in several Henrik Ibsen plays helped introduced American audiences to the Norwegian playwright.

Career

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Minnie Maddern was the daughter of stage manager Thomas Davey and actress Lizzie Maddern. Coming from a theatrical family, she performed her first professional show at the age of three as the Duke of York in ''Richard III''. She debuted in New York as a four-year-old in the play ''A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing.'' She toured extensively as a child, and was educated in many convent schools. She was a child prodigy, touring and performing in numerous productions. According to the ''New York Times'' article "Ibsen or Shakespeare?" (March 18, 1928), Harrison Grey Fiske was 12 years old when he first set eyes on the future Mrs. Fiske—she was but eight, performing in a Shakespearean role. Her pay was in lollipops.

By the time she was 16, she was a leading lady, and was cast in the leading role of Chip in the play ''Fogg's Ferry''. She was recognized for her unique beauty and singing voice. Maddern starred in the Hanover Opera House's grand opening on September 12, 1887 in "Caprice." She married LeGrand White, a theater musician in ''Fogg's Ferry'', but they divorced shortly thereafter. Two years later, she married Harrison Grey Fiske in March 1890, and took three years off from the stage. Leaving a life of domesticity, she returned to the theatre in 1893 as a playwright and director, having written one-act plays such as ''A Light for St. Agnes'', ''The Rose'', and ''The Eyes of the Heart''. She wrote several plays and collaborated with her husband in writing ''Fontenelle''. Mr. Fiske directed virtually all of his wife's plays after their marriage.

After her husband's unsuccessful production of ''Hester Crewe'', Minnie Maddern debuted as Nora in ''A Doll's House'' by Henrik Ibsen, at the Empire Theatre in New York, launching Ibsen's career because of her outstanding performance. She is perhaps most famous for starring as Becky Sharp in the original 1899 production of Langdon Mitchell's ''Becky Sharp'', a play based on William Makepeace Thackeray's ''Vanity Fair''. Among her many triumphs on the Broadway stage were: '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' (1897, revival 1902), ''Love Finds the Way'' (1898), ''Becky Sharp'' (1899, revivals 1904, 1911), ''A Doll's House'' (1902), ''Hedda Gabler'' (1903, revival 1904), ''Leah Kleschna'' (1904–05), ''Salvation Nell'' (1908–09), ''The High Road'' (1912–13), ''Madame Sand'' (1917–18), a play about George Sand; ''Mis' Nelly of N'Orleans'' (1919), ''Helena's Boys'' (1924), ''Ghosts'' (1927), ''Ladies of the Jury'' (1929–30), as well as her self-written plays ''The Rose'' (1905), ''The Eyes of the Heart'' (1905), ''A Light from St. Agnes'' (1906). Mrs. Fiske starred in everything from farce to tragedy and even appeared in a comedy with puppets ''Wake Up, Jonathan!'' (1921). Her final appearance on Broadway was in 1930 in an acclaimed production of '' The Rivals'' cast as Mrs. Malaprop.

In the mid-1910s, Mrs. Fiske starred in two feature film adaptions of two of her greatest stage triumphs: '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' in 1913 and ''Vanity Fair'' in 1915, both of which were surprisingly successful with moviegoers, although she felt she was not at her best in the medium and declined further film work.

She was a pioneer for realism in acting, supporting Ibsen's works for their honest portrayals of humanity. Her love for performing Ibsen over Shakespeare, and her position that Ibsen is the better study for actors, can not be overstated. She told ''The New York Times'' in January 1908:

Ibsen is of interest to the actor because properly to understand a role you must study the character from its earliest childhood. Most Ibsen men and women have lived their lives before the curtain rises. Shakespeare has often been pronounced tedious by actors because his characters require a great deal of study. But even Shakespeare seems easy when compared with the thought that must be bestowed upon Ibsen. The beautiful verse, the wonderful character drawing of Shakespeare furnish solutions of perplexing problems, but Ibsen is so elusive. He fascinates by his aloofness. He is the Wagner of the drama. Wagner struggled for understanding just as Ibsen has struggled.

In 1916, in Harpers Weekly, Fiske published the first article to consider Charlie Chaplin as a serious artist. "It will surprise numbers of well-meaning Americans," Fiske wrote,

to learn that a constantly increasing body of cultured, artistic people are beginning to regard the young British buffoon, Charles Chaplin, as an extraordinary artist as well as a comic genius. Many thoughtful persons are beginning to analyze the Chaplin performances to discover his secret. It is the old, familiar secret of inexhaustible imagination, governed by the unfailing precision of a perfect technique.

Although she was highly praised as an actor, she died poverty-stricken, having fought against a group of producers that organized the Theatrical Trust or Syndicate. This organization took control of first-class playhouses in the U.S., dictated the plays chosen, and the actors that were cast. She fought for artistic freedom for 12 years, which caused her to perform in third-class theatres, such as churches and skating rinks.

Animal welfare

In addition to her battle against the Syndicate, she was also one of the most prominent animal welfare advocates of her era. She took interest in the activities of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other humane leagues. She was known to have picked up stray dogs and cared for them. She fought against the wearing of the plumes of snowy and great egrets on hats, raised awareness of the cruelties of fur trapping, and changed the treatment of cattle on ranges. Because she was well-known and loved, people followed her example and she was able to broadly influence animal reform. She was twice named one of the twelve greatest living American women because of her fight for animal rights and for her outstanding talent. She was first named in 1923 by the League of Women Voters, and then again in 1931 by ''Good Housekeeping'' magazine. Mark Twain wrote the story "A Horse's Tale" at her request to combat bullfighting in Spain.

Fiske was associated with Emarel Freshel's Millennium Guild. She was a strict vegetarian and opposed vivisection.

Death

Fiske died from congestive heart failure at the age of 66 in Queens, New York. She and Harrison had no children. Around 1915, the couple adopted an infant boy who would have been a teen at Mrs. Fiske's death in 1932.

Family

Actress Emily Stevens was her cousin, as was Elizabeth Maddern, the first wife of author Jack London; she was also related to stage actress Merle Maddern. Robert Stevens, for 23 years the director of the Rochester Community Players, and brother to Emily Stevens, was also a cousin.

Legacy and honors

During World War II, the Liberty ship was built in Panama City, Florida, and named in her honor.

In 1961, her papers (23,000 items, weighing in at 1,400 pounds) were donated to the United States Library of Congress.New York Times; March 3, 1961

Selected theater appearances

* ''Hunted Down'' by Dion Boucicault, New York (1871)
* ''Fogg's Ferry'' by Charles Callahan, Wisconsin (1882)
* ''Juanita'' by Charles Callahan, Illinois (1883)
* ''Caprice'' by Howard P. Taylor, Missouri (1884)
* ''In Spite of it All'' by Victorien Sardou, New York (1885)
* ''Hester Crewe'' by Harrison Grey Fiske, New York (1893)
* ''A Doll's House'' by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1894)
* ''This Picture and That!'' by Brander Matthews, Texas (1896)
* ''Cesarine'' by Alexandre Dumas, fils, Pennsylvania (1896)
* ''Marie Deloche'' (orig. ''The Queen of Liars'', 1895) by Harrison Grey Fiske, New York (1896)
* ''A Doll's House'', New York (1896)
* ''A Light From St. Agnes'' by Minnie Maddern Fiske, New York (1896)
* ''Cesarine'', Illinois (1896)
* ''Divorcons'' by Victorien Sardou, Illinois (1896)
* ''The Right to Happiness'' by Marguerite Merington, Louisiana (1896)
* ''Tess of D'Urbervilles'' by Lorimer Stoddard, New York (1897)
* ''Little Italy'' one act by Horace B. Fry with ''Divorcons'', Illinois (1898)
* ''Magda'' by Hermann Sudermann, New York (1898)
* ''A Bit of Old Chelsea'' by Mrs. Oscar Beringer, New York (1898)
* ''Love Finds the Way'' by Marguerite Merrington, New York (1898)
* ''Becky Sharp'' by Langdon Mitchell, New York (1899)
* ''Frou Frou'' by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy, New York (1899)
* ''Miranda of the Balcony'' by Anne Crawford Flexner, New York (1901)
* ''The Unwelcome Mrs. Hatch'' by Mrs. Burton Harrison, New York (1901)
* ''A Bit of Old Chelesa'', New York (1902)
* ''Tess of D' Urbervilles'', New York (1902)
* ''A Doll's House'' by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1902)
* ''Little Italy'' and ''Divorcons'', New York (1902)
* ''Mary of Magdala'' by Paul Heyse, New York (1902)
* ''Hedda Gabler'' by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1903)
* ''Becky Sharp'', New York (1904)
* ''Hedda Gabler'', New York (1904)
* ''Leah Kleschna'' by C.M.S. McLellan, New York (1904)
* Three One Act Plays by Minnie Maddern Fiske: ''The Rose'', ''A Light From St. Agnes'', ''The Eyes of the Heart'' (1905)
* ''The New York Idea'' by Langdon Mitchell, New York (1906)
* ''Tess of the D'Urbervilles'', Louisiana (1907)
* ''Leah Kleschna'', Louisiana (1907)
* ''Rosmersholm'' by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1907)
* ''Salvation Nell'' by Edward Sheldon, New York (1908)
* ''The Pillars of Society'' by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1910)
* ''The Green Cockatoo'' by Arthur Schnitzler, New York (1910)
* ''Hannele'' by Gerhart Hauptmann, New York (1910)
* ''Becky Sharp'', New York (1911)
* ''Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh'' by Harry James Smith, New York (1911)
* ''The New Marriage'' by Langdon Mitchell, New York (1911)
* ''Julia France'' by Gertrude Atherton, Toronto, Canada (1912)
* ''Lady Patricia'' by Rudolf Frohman, New York (1912)
* ''The High Road'' by Edward Sheldon, Montreal, Canada (1912)
* ''The High Road'', Massachusetts (1913)
* ''Mrs Bumpstead-Leigh'', New Jersey (1914)
* ''Lady Betty Martingale'' by John Luther Long and Frank Stayon (1914)
* ''Erstwhile Susan'' by Marian de Forest, Massachusetts (1916)
* '' Madame Sand'' by Philip Moeller, New York (1917)
* ''Service'' by Henri Lavedan, translated by William C. Taylor, New York (1918)
* ''Out There'' by J. Hartley Manners, allstar play toured America to raise funds for The Red Cross (1918)
* ''Mis' Nelly of N' Orleans'' by Lawrence Eyre, New York (1919)
* ''Wake Up, Jonathan!'' by Hatcher Hughes and Elmer Rice, New York (1921)
* ''The Dice of the Gods'' by Lillian Barrett, Illinois (1923)
* ''Mary, Mary Quite Contrary'' by St. John Ervine, New York (1923)
* ''Helena's Boys'' by Ida Lublenski Ehrlich, New York (1923)
* '' The Rivals'' by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Massachusetts (1925)
* ''Ghosts'' by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1927)
* ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' by William Shakespeare, New York (1928)
* ''Much Ado About Nothing'' by William Shakespeare, Pennsylvania (1928)
* ''Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh'', New York (1929)
* ''Ladies of the Jury'' by Fred Ballard, New York (1929)
* ''It's a Grand Life'' by Hatcher Hughes and Alan Williams, New York (1930)
* ''The Rivals'', New York (1930)
* ''Ladies of the Jury'', Illinois (1931)
* ''Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh'', California (1932)
* ''Against the Wind'' by Carlos Drake, Illinois (1933)

Notes

References

Publications

* Binns, Archie, ''Mrs Fiske and the American Theatre''. New York: Crown Publishers, 1955.
* Brown, Thomas Allston, ''A History of the New York Stage From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, vol. III'', New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903.
* Chapman, John, and Garrison P. Sherwood, eds., ''The Best Plays of 1894–1899'', New York: Dodd, Mead, & Company, 1955.
*
* Hapgood, Norman, ''The Stage in America, 1897–1900'', Norwood, Mass.: The Macmillan Company, 1901.
* "Ibsen or Shakespeare?", ''New York Times'', Sunday, March 18, 1928. Section 9, pg.4
* Mantle, Burns, and Garrison P. Sherwood, eds., ''The Best Plays of 1899–1909'', Philadelphia: The Blakiston Company, 1944.
*
*
* Winter, William, ''The Wallet of Time, Volumes One and Two'', New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1913.
*

External links

*
*
Minnie Maddern Fiske and Harrison Grey Fiske papers, 1818-1955
held by the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Minnie Maddern Fiske letters, 1913-1941
held by the Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library
Photographs of Minnie Maddern Fiske
held by the New York Public Library
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiske, Minnie Maddern
1865 births
1932 deaths
19th-century American actresses
19th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from Louisiana
Actresses from New Orleans
American animal welfare workers
American silent film actresses
American stage actresses
Anti-vivisectionists