Florence Gerald

Florence Gerald
Gerald, 1880
Born
Florence Melton Gerald

September 23, 1858
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedSeptember 6, 1942(1942-09-06) (aged 83)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Burial placeKensico Cemetery
EducationWaco University
Occupation(s)Stage actress, poet, writer

Florence Melton Gerald (1858–1942) was an American stage actress, poet, and writer. She was known for her acting roles in Broadway theatre.

Early life and education

Florence Melton Gerald was born on September 23, 1858, in New Orleans, to parents Omega Melton (1836–1918) and Judge George Bruce Gerald (1835–1914).[1] Her maternal grandfather James G. Melton had owned the only hotel at Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas in the 19th-century, which had been a gathering place on March 2, 1836, after Texas Declaration of Independence, and was once home to the original Texas Liberty Bell.[2]

Gerald attended Waco University (now Baylor University) in Waco, Texas, where she studied poetry and graduated in 1873,[3] and in 1880.[1] She published the book, Adenheim and Other Poems (1880).

Career

After graduation, she was hired as an elocution instructor (public speaking) at Waco Female College.[1] Her interest in working as a playwright started after her graduation.

In 1898, she headed for the theater district in New York City to begin her stage acting career.[1] Under the management of Charles Frohman, Gerald started her acting career on Broadway in, The Girl from Maxim’s (1898) at the Grand Opera House.[4]

Gerald wrote the play, The Woman Pays, which was adapted into the 1915 silent film by screenwriter Harry Chandlee.[1]

She appeared in the R. L. McLaughlin Stock Co. at the Ohio Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio in the summer of 1924.[5]

Gerald died at age 83, on September 6, 1942, at the St. James Hotel at Broadway and 26th Street in New York City.[4] She is buried at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York in the Actors' Fund area.

Theater

List of Gerald's theater roles
Date(s) Title Role Location Notes
June 1894 The Two Orphans Countess de Liniers Broadway Lyceum, Buffalo, New York [6]
Aug. 29, 1899 – Oct. 1899 The Girl from Maxim's Mme. Petypont Grand Opera House, New York City,

Criterion Theatre, New York City

Hyde and Benham[7]
1899 The Angel of the Alley Mrs. Bennett New York City directed by Theo Kremer[8]
Feb. 17, 1903 – April 30, 1903 Resurrection Aunt Mary Hammerstein's Victoria, New York City [9][10]
Dec. 22, 1909 – Jan. 15, 1910 The Goddess of Liberty Lady FitzHugh Murray Weber's Music Hall, New York City musical play produced by Joseph E. Howard[11][12]
Dec. 24, 1913 – Jan. 1, 1914 We Are Seven Maxine Elliott's Theatre, New York City
May 5, 1914 – May 31, 1914 The Charm of Isabel Maxine Elliott's Theatre, New York City
May 25, 1920 – May 31, 1920 An Innocent Idea Mrs. Case Fulton Theatre, New York City
Aug. 30, 1920 – Sept. 1, 1920 Immodest Violet Mrs. Amantha Rose 48th Street Theatre, New York City
April 17, 1923 – April 28, 1923 Within Four Walls Louisa Minuit Selwyn Theatre, New York City directed by Mack Hilliard[13]
Oct. 16, 1923–June 15, 1924 The Shame Woman Martha Case Greenwich Village Theatre, New York City [14][15]
Feb. 10, 1925 – May 1, 1925 The Rat Mme. Colline Astor Theatre, New York City, New York produced by Earl Carroll[5]
Nov. 16, 1926 – Dec. 1, 1926 Lily Sue Phronia Lyceum Theatre, New York City [16]
Jan. 18, 1927 – July 30, 1927 The Barker Maw Benson Princess Theatre, New York City,

Biltmore Theatre, New York City

produced by Charles L. Wagner[17][18]
Mar. 8, 1927 –Mar. 31, 1927 The Heaven Tappers Mrs. Gilson Forrest Theatre, New York City
Feb. 21, 1928 – Mar. 1, 1928 Maya as 'mama' Comedy Theatre, New York City
Jan. 2, 1933 – Jan. 31, 1933 Saint Wench Lyceum Theatre, New York City
Dec. 10, 1934 –Jan. 26, 1935 Valley Forge as 'auntie' Guild Theatre, New York City
Oct. 14, 1935 Tobacco Road Ada Lester Lyric Theatre, Allentown, Pennsylvania [19]
Dec. 14, 1937 Tobacco Road Ada Lester Paramount Theatre, Alexandria, Louisiana [20]
Dec. 31, 1937 Tobacco Road Ada Lester Plaza Theatre, Palm Springs, California [21]

Publications

  • Gerald, Florence M. (1880). Adenheim, And Other Poems. St. Louis, MO: G. I. Jones and Company. LCCN 27018203.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Geralds' theatrics — Florence Gerald and Judge G.B. Gerald". Waco History Project: Moments in Time. Archived from the original on March 26, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  2. ^ "Florence Gerald and Mrs. Richardson Present Historic Relic to State". Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune. March 15, 1916. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Carroll, James Milton (1923). A History of Texas Baptists: Comprising a Detailed Account of Their Activities,their Progress and Their Achievements. Baptist standard publishing Company. p. 549.
  4. ^ a b "Florence Gerald; Played in Girl From Maxim's' and Toured in 'Tobacco Road'". The New York Times. September 9, 1942. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  5. ^ a b New York Star. Roland Burke Hennessy. 1925.
  6. ^ ""The Two Orphans" at the Lyceum". The Buffalo News. June 5, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ The Cast, Volume 5, Issues 4-6. 1901.
  8. ^ Brown, Thomas Allston (1903). A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. Dodd, Mead. p. 342.
  9. ^ The Cast, Volume 11, Issues 140-144. 1903. pp. RA2 – PA47.
  10. ^ The Best Plays of 1899 –1909. Dodd, Mead. 1944. p. 429.
  11. ^ The Theatre. Meyer Bros. & Company. 1909.
  12. ^ Dietz, Dan (July 15, 2022). The Complete Book of 1900s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 572. ISBN 978-1-5381-6894-3.
  13. ^ Lawren, Joseph (1924). The Drama Year Book 1924. Lawren. pp. 46–47.
  14. ^ Fisher, James; Londré, Felicia Hardison (November 22, 2017). Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 598. ISBN 978-1-5381-0786-7.
  15. ^ Quinn, Arthur Hobson (1917). Representative American Plays, 1767-1923. Century Company. pp. 1018–1019.
  16. ^ The Billboard. Vol. 38. R. S. Littleford Jr., W. D. Littleford. 1926.
  17. ^ Thorold, W. J.; Hornblow, Arthur; Maxwell, Perriton; Beach, Stewart (1927). Theatre Magazine. Theatre Magazine Company. pp. RA4 – PA52.
  18. ^ Drama Calendar. New York Drama League. 1926. p. 4.
  19. ^ "History Making Play Comes Back to Allentown". The Morning Call. October 10, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  20. ^ "Tobacco Road To Be Presented At Paramount Tues". The Jena Times. December 9, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  21. ^ "Tobacco Road At The Plaza New Years Eve". The Desert Sun. December 24, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
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