Kate Mayhew

Kate Mayhew
Kate Mayhew as M'liss in c. 1878
Born(1853-09-02)September 2, 1853
Indianapolis, Indiana
DiedMay 16, 1944(1944-05-16) (aged 90)
New York
OccupationActress
Years active1870s–1936

Kate Mayhew (September 2, 1853 – June 16, 1944), also known as Katie Mayhew and Kate Mayhew Widmer,[1] was an American stage and radio actress. She first performed on stage as a four year old child at the Metropolitan Opera House in Indianapolis, and her first New York performance was at Niblo's Garden Theatre in 1873.[1]

Mayhew became involved in producing plays, and owned the rights to M'Liss written by Clay M. Greene (adapted from a story by Bret Harte), in the 1870s.[1] Mayhew performed the title role herself at the Grand Opera House in New York in September 1878, however, a legal battle over rights to the play eventually saw Annie Pixley take up the role to critical acclaim.[1][2]

She performed in productions of Shakespeare, playing the roles of Juliet's Mother in Romeo and Juliet, and Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, in Hamlet.[3]

In the 1890s, she appeared in Oriental parts.

She was long on Broadway in support of most of the well-known names. She made films, and also voiced characters for radio programmes.[3]

One of her last Broadway appearances was in the 1934 stage production of The Farmer Takes a Wife with Henry Fonda and June Walker.[4]

She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and died in New York aged 90.[4]

Mayhew donated playbills and other theatre ephemera to the New York Public Library in 1930.[5]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c d Hall, Roger A. (2001-08-16). Performing the American Frontier, 1870-1906. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-79320-9.
  2. ^ "Kate Mayhew". North American Theatre Online.
  3. ^ a b Street, James (1938). "Professional Mothers" (PDF). Radio Guide. 7 (30): 2–3.
  4. ^ a b Vazzana, Eugene M. (2001). Silent Film Necrology (2nd ed.). p. 359. ISBN 0-7864-1059-0.
  5. ^ Library, New York Public (1930). Report of the New York Public Library for ... The Library.


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