Amy Leslie
Encyclopedia
Amy Leslie was an American
actress, opera singer, and drama critic who was the first wife of Frank Buck
.
. She studied at the Conservatory of Vocal Music, St Mary's Academy, Notre Dame, Indiana, graduating in 1874. After more study in Europe and at the Chicago Conservatory of Music
, as Lillie West she became a singer in operettas.
, signing her stories as Amy Leslie, and became drama critic for the paper. She was one of the few women drama critics of her time, the only one in Chicago, and came to know and write of the stars of the day.
Amy Leslie retired in 1930.
she was married to Harry Brown, an opera singer, who abandoned her. Their son, Francis Albert, died of diphtheria in 1889. After obtaining a divorce from Harry Brown, Leslie was the mistress of Stephen Crane
and lived with him in New York in a house at 121 West 27th Street. In 1901, the 46 year old Amy Leslie was married to 17 year old Frank Buck
, who was at the time a captain of bellboys at the Virginia Hotel in Chicago, where she was living. Buck described her as "a small woman,
plump, with keenly intelligent eyes, the most beautifully white teeth I have ever seen and
a red, laughing mouth," adding that she was "always good-natured."
In 1913 Amy Leslie and Frank Buck divorced.
's Parkway Hotel. Her remains were cremated.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, opera singer, and drama critic who was the first wife of Frank Buck
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
.
Early years
She was born as Lillian West in West Burlington, IowaWest Burlington, Iowa
The City of West Burlington is in Des Moines County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the City of Burlington located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 3,161...
. She studied at the Conservatory of Vocal Music, St Mary's Academy, Notre Dame, Indiana, graduating in 1874. After more study in Europe and at the Chicago Conservatory of Music
The Music Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing Arts
The Music Conservatory was founded in 1867 as the Chicago Musical College, a conservatory whose primary focus was the intensive and rigorous training of young men and women preparing for careers as professional musicians...
, as Lillie West she became a singer in operettas.
Journalism
In 1890, she began contributing to The Chicago Daily NewsChicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
, signing her stories as Amy Leslie, and became drama critic for the paper. She was one of the few women drama critics of her time, the only one in Chicago, and came to know and write of the stars of the day.
- Annie OakleyAnnie OakleyAnnie Oakley , born Phoebe Ann Mosey, was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's amazing talent and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, which propelled her to become the first American female superstar.Oakley's most famous trick is perhaps...
: One of Amy Leslie's favorites, "a plain, kindly little woman" who talked "with broad, clear gentleness" of the farmlands where she had grown up. Annie lived as "one of the most retired, modest, commonplace sons of life—that is, when she wasn't hunting or setting target and trap records."
- Sarah BernhardtSarah BernhardtSarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
: inclined "to filmy gowns, half lace, half vapory silk," which kept her "in a seductive shiver." The closest Bernhardt got to the wilds that Annie Oakley loved were the costly furs she wore, "sometimes with hideous little heads snarling from the edges."
- Lillian RussellLillian RussellLillian Russell was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th century and early 20th century, known for her beauty and style, as well as for her voice and stage presence.Russell was born in Iowa but raised in Chicago...
: a professional beauty, a stunning woman compared to Annie Oakley. For more than thirty years Russell starred in one operetta or musical show after another, bedizened always "as one of the most beautiful women in the world." While Amy Leslie found Lillian, like Annie, "simple as a schoolgirl," Annie Oakley never would be "watched and petted" in the same way as Lillian Russell.
- Lillie LangtryLillie LangtryLillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
: "rich, well-born, and of exquisite refinement." Langtry loved roses and had hundreds of them sent over every day from her famous rose nursery at Kentford. Annie Oakley never would be so extravagant.
Amy Leslie retired in 1930.
Personal life
While playing Fiametta in La MascotteLa mascotte
La mascotte is an opéra comique by Edmond Audran. The French libretto was by Alfred Duru and Henri Charles Chivot. The story concerns a farm girl who is believed to bring good luck to whoever possesses her, so long as she remains a virgin...
she was married to Harry Brown, an opera singer, who abandoned her. Their son, Francis Albert, died of diphtheria in 1889. After obtaining a divorce from Harry Brown, Leslie was the mistress of Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...
and lived with him in New York in a house at 121 West 27th Street. In 1901, the 46 year old Amy Leslie was married to 17 year old Frank Buck
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
, who was at the time a captain of bellboys at the Virginia Hotel in Chicago, where she was living. Buck described her as "a small woman,
plump, with keenly intelligent eyes, the most beautifully white teeth I have ever seen and
a red, laughing mouth," adding that she was "always good-natured."
In 1913 Amy Leslie and Frank Buck divorced.
Final Days
Suffering from diffuse arteriosclerosis and a brain tumor, Amy Leslie died in her home in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Parkway Hotel. Her remains were cremated.