Clara T. Bracy
Encyclopedia
Clara T. Bracy was an English stage and silent film
actress.
, England. Her father was Philip Thompson (c. 1801–1842), and her mother was Eliza (née Cooper). Her father owned the Sheridan Knowles, a public house
in London. Thompson was one of three surviving children, including actress Lydia Thompson
. Her father died in 1842, and her mother remarried Edward Hodges.
In September 1873, Bracy and her husband, tenor
Henry Bracy
, travelled to Australia to perform in Jacques Offenbach
's operetta
Lischen et Fritzchen at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne
, They continued in various parts in Australia before being engaged by Irish musical impresario William Saurin Lyster
to lead a season of French operetta. For Lyster, they performed in operettas for five years, including in Lecocq
's La fille de Madame Angot
and Giroflé Girofla. Offenbach pieces included The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, La belle Hélène
, Barbe-bleue
, La Périchole
, La princesse de Trébizonde and The Brigands, and Hervé
's Chilpéric
was given. These were followed by the first Australian production of Les cloches de Corneville
. Clara was well received by the press. During these years, the couple took a tour of the United States in 1876. In 1880, the couple returned to Britain, where they continued to build their reputations in comic opera
and operetta.
In 1888 the Bracys returned to Australia, performing in concerts and then at the Sydney Opera House
for a season, conducted by Henri Kowalski, in Kowalski's Moustique, The Beggar Student In 1890, they led their own company in productions of The Sultan of Mocha, The Beggar Student, and The Lady of the Locket at the Criterion Theatre. They then joined J. C. Williamson
's Royal Comic Opera Company, performing in Gilbert and Sullivan
and other comic operas. The couple had two sons, one of whom, Sidney Bracy, became an actor, appearing on stage with Williamson and then in Britain and America before becoming a successful film actor. Their other son, Philip, who became a West End
actor, was wounded as a young soldier.
Clara moved to California and in 1908 to appear in D. W. Griffith
's 1908 movie The Red Girl, leaving her husband behind in Australia. She also appeared on Broadway for Charles Frohman
. Clara appeared in 90 films between 1908 and 1932, becoming one of the earliest film actresses. Bracy's husband died in 1917. At the time of his death, Clara had been living in New York with her son Sydney.
Bracy died in Los Angeles, California
in 1941, aged 93.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
actress.
Life and career
Bracy was born Clara Thompson in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England. Her father was Philip Thompson (c. 1801–1842), and her mother was Eliza (née Cooper). Her father owned the Sheridan Knowles, a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in London. Thompson was one of three surviving children, including actress Lydia Thompson
Lydia Thompson
Lydia Thompson, born Eliza Hodges Thompson , was an English dancer, actress and theatrical producer....
. Her father died in 1842, and her mother remarried Edward Hodges.
In September 1873, Bracy and her husband, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Henry Bracy
Henry Bracy
Henry Bracy was a Welsh tenor who is notable as the creator of the role of Prince Hilarion in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera Princess Ida. Bracy was often a lead tenor within the operettas in which he appeared. He was married to actress Clara T. Bracy, the sister of Lydia Thompson...
, travelled to Australia to perform in Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
Lischen et Fritzchen at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, They continued in various parts in Australia before being engaged by Irish musical impresario William Saurin Lyster
William Saurin Lyster
William Saurin Lyster , was an impresario, active in Australia.Lyster was born in Dublin, the third son of Chaworth Lyster, a captain in the army, and his wife Anne, née Keightly. His uncle was William Saurin, attorney-general for Ireland, and was partly of French extraction...
to lead a season of French operetta. For Lyster, they performed in operettas for five years, including in Lecocq
Alexandre Charles Lecocq
Alexandre Charles Lecocq was a French musical composer. He was admitted into the Conservatoire in 1849, being already an accomplished pianist. He studied under François Bazin, François Benoist, and Fromental Halévy, winning the first prize for harmony in 1850, and the second prize for fugue in 1852...
's La fille de Madame Angot
La fille de Madame Angot
La fille de Madame Angot is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq. The French text was by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning.-Performance history:...
and Giroflé Girofla. Offenbach pieces included The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène , opéra bouffe in three acts, is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
, Barbe-bleue
Barbe-bleue
Barbe-bleue is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, in three acts by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy based on Charles Perrault's 1697 story.-Performance history:...
, La Périchole
La Périchole
La Périchole is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French-language libretto based on the 1829 one act play Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on 13 March 1850 at the Théâtre-Français...
, La princesse de Trébizonde and The Brigands, and Hervé
Hervé (composer)
Hervé , real name Louis Auguste Florimond Ronger, was a French singer, composer, librettist, conductor and scene painter, whom Ernest Newman, following Reynaldo Hahn, credited with inventing the genre of operetta in Paris.-Life:Hervé was born in Houdain near Arras...
's Chilpéric
Chilpéric (operetta)
Chilpéric is an opéra bouffe with libretto and music by Hervé, first produced in Paris on 24 October 1868 at the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatique in Paris...
was given. These were followed by the first Australian production of Les cloches de Corneville
Les cloches de Corneville
Les cloches de Corneville is an operetta in three acts, composed by Robert Planquette to a French libretto by Louis Clairville and Charles Gabet based on a play by Gabet.In 1876, the director of the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, Louis Cantin, hired Planquette to compose the operetta,...
. Clara was well received by the press. During these years, the couple took a tour of the United States in 1876. In 1880, the couple returned to Britain, where they continued to build their reputations in comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
and operetta.
In 1888 the Bracys returned to Australia, performing in concerts and then at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
for a season, conducted by Henri Kowalski, in Kowalski's Moustique, The Beggar Student In 1890, they led their own company in productions of The Sultan of Mocha, The Beggar Student, and The Lady of the Locket at the Criterion Theatre. They then joined J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
's Royal Comic Opera Company, performing in Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
and other comic operas. The couple had two sons, one of whom, Sidney Bracy, became an actor, appearing on stage with Williamson and then in Britain and America before becoming a successful film actor. Their other son, Philip, who became a West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
actor, was wounded as a young soldier.
Clara moved to California and in 1908 to appear in D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
's 1908 movie The Red Girl, leaving her husband behind in Australia. She also appeared on Broadway for Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman was an American theatrical producer. Frohman was producing plays by 1889 and acquired his first Broadway theatre by 1892. He discovered and promoted many stars of the American theatre....
. Clara appeared in 90 films between 1908 and 1932, becoming one of the earliest film actresses. Bracy's husband died in 1917. At the time of his death, Clara had been living in New York with her son Sydney.
Bracy died in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1941, aged 93.
Selected filmography
- The Curtain PoleThe Curtain PoleThe Curtain Pole is a 1909 comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith. A print of the film still exists.The film was made by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company when it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey at the...
(1909) - At the AltarAt the AltarAt the Altar is a 1909 silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey where early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based at the beginning of the 20th century...
(1909) - The Lonely VillaThe Lonely VillaThe Lonely Villa is a 1909 drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. It was produced by the Biograph Company when it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey at the beginning of the 20th century. A print of the film survives.-...
(1909) - What the Daisy SaidWhat the Daisy SaidWhat the Daisy Said is a one-reel film made by D. W. Griffith for Biograph in 1910.-Plot:Two farm sisters are feeling romantic and looking for suitors. Mary consults a gypsy who gives her a fortune that promotes his intentions to seduce her...
(1910) - The FugitiveThe Fugitive (1910 film)The Fugitive is a 1910 drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints of the film survive at the film archive of the Library of Congress and at George Eastman House.-Cast:* Kate Bruce - Confederate Mother* Edward Dillon - John, Confederate Son* Clara T...
(1910) - The Two PathsThe Two PathsThe Two Paths is a 1911 short silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Dorothy Bernard and featuring Blanche Sweet. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art.-Cast:* Dorothy Bernard - Florence...
(1911) - His Trust FulfilledHis Trust FulfilledHis Trust Fulfilled is a 1911 drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints of this film survive in the film archives of the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art.-Cast:* Wilfred Lucas - George* Claire McDowell - Mrs...
(1911) - The Lily of the TenementsThe Lily of the TenementsThe Lily of the Tenements is a 1911 American short silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Clara T. Bracy and featuring Blanche Sweet.-Cast:* Dorothy West as The Tenement Girl* Clara T. Bracy as The Tenement Girl's Mother...
(1911) - A Decree of DestinyA Decree of DestinyA Decree of Destiny is a 1911 short silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Mary Pickford and featuring Blanche Sweet.-Cast:* Joseph Graybill - Kenneth Marsden* Marion Sunshine - Edith* Mary Pickford - Mary* Clara T...
(1911) - The Musketeers of Pig AlleyThe Musketeers of Pig AlleyThe Musketeers of Pig Alley is a 1912 American short drama film credited as the first gangster film in history. It is directed by D. W. Griffith and written by Griffith and Anita Loos. It is also credited for its early use of follow focus, a fundamental tool in cinematography.The film was released...
(1912) - My BabyMy Baby (film)My Baby is a 1912 short comedy film directed by D. W. Griffith and Frank Powell. Prints of the film exist in the film archives of the Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress.-Cast:* Mary Pickford - The Wife* Henry B. Walthall - The Husband...
(1912) - The InformerThe Informer (1912 film)The Informer is a 1912 drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. Prints of the film survive at the film archive of the Library of Congress.-Cast:* Walter Miller - The Confederate Captain* Mary Pickford - The Confederate Captain's Sweetheart* Henry B...
(1912) - BrutalityBrutality (film)-Cast:* Walter Miller - The Young Man* Mae Marsh - The Young Woman* Joseph Graybill - The Victim of Anger* Lionel Barrymore - At Wedding* Elmer Booth - In Play* Clara T. Bracy - At Wedding/At Theatre* William J. Butler - At Theatre* Harry Carey - At Theatre...
(1912) - The New York HatThe New York HatThe New York Hat is a short silent film directed by D. W. Griffith from a screenplay by Anita Loos, and starring Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, and Lillian Gish.-Production:...
(1912) - The God WithinThe God WithinThe God Within is a 1912 short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet. A print of the film survives.-Cast:* Henry B. Walthall - The Woodsman* Claire McDowell - The Woodsman's Wife* Blanche Sweet - The Woman of the Camp...
(1912) - Three FriendsThree Friends (film)Three Friends is a 1913 silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet.-Cast:* Henry B. Walthall – The Husband* Blanche Sweet – The Wife* John T. Dillon – First Friend* Lionel Barrymore – Second Friend...
(1913) - BrothersBrothers (1913 film)-Cast:* Charles Hill Mailes - The Father* Robert Harron - The Father's Favorite Son* Clara T. Bracy - The Mother* Harry Carey - The Mother's Favorite Son* Gertrude Bambrick - Non-Committal Woman* Walter P. Lewis - The Neighbor* Adolph Lestina - The Doctor...
(1913) - Oil and WaterOil and Water (1913 film)Oil and Water is a 1913 film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet. The supporting cast includes Henry B. Walthall, Lionel Barrymore, and Harry Carey. A stage dancer and a serious-type homebody discover, after marriage, that their individual styles don't mesh...
(1913) - Love in an Apartment HotelLove in an Apartment HotelLove in an Apartment Hotel is a 1913 drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet.-Cast:* Blanche Sweet - The Young Woman* Adolph Lestina - The Young Woman's Father* Henry B...
(1913) - The Wrong BottleThe Wrong BottleThe Wrong Bottle is a 1913 drama film featuring Harry Carey.-Cast:* Claire McDowell - The Blind Sister* Charles Hill Mailes - The Devoted One* Pearl Sindelar - The Younger Sister* Charles West - The Faithless Lover* Hector Dion - The Faithful Lover...
(1913) - Judith of BethuliaJudith of BethuliaJudith of Bethulia is a film starring Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall. The film was produced and directed by D. W. Griffith and was the first feature-length film made by pioneering film company Biograph, although the second that Biograph released....
(1914) - Her Night of RomanceHer Night of RomanceHer Night of Romance is a 1924 silent film, written by Hanns Kräly, and directed by Sidney Franklin-Synopsis:American millionaire Samuel C. Adams, brings his daughter, Dorothy, to England to see a specialist about her heart trouble. So that she won't be hounded by press and fortune hunters, Dorothy...
(1924)