Julia Stewart (actress)
Encyclopedia
Julia Stewart was an English actress. Beginning her career as a child actress, she went on to success on the London stage in adult roles the 1870s. She then travelled to the U.S. and eventually became a silent film actress.
comedian, David ("auld Davie") Stewart. She began performing as a child actress at the Glasgow Theatre in 1868, in the juvenile role of Sybil in A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. She performed until 1876 at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow
, and in Newcastle-on-Tyne, in both girls' and boys' roles. She then became a member of Sarah Thorne
's theatre company, playing adult parts, first as Emma Marigold in My Awful Dad, opposite Mr. Charles Mathews.
In 1877, at the age of 15, she made her London début, creating the role of Maggie Macfarlane in Mr. W. S. Gilbert
's comedy Engaged
, at the Haymarket Theatre with much success. She also played the part in a provincial tour and again in the play's revival at the Strand Theatre in 1878. The Era reported: "A decidedly favourable impression was made by Miss Julia Stewart, who... bewitched all present by her pretty face, her artless, winning style, her dainty treatment of the Scotch dialect, and the thorough freshness and naturalness of her acting throughout. This was one of the pleasantest performances we have seen for many a day". She then returned to the Haymarket as Mary Meredith in a revival Our American Cousin
with E. A. Sothern, taking that part on tour after the London run. During the tour, she also played Ada Ingot in David Garrick
, earning good reviews.
In 1879, Sothern took the 17-year-old Stewart with him to America to appear at the Park Theatre in Brother Sam.
Stewart later made around 70 silent movies between 1911 and 1920 and died in the Bronx, New York, USA on 24 January 1949.
Biography
Stewart was born in London. Her father was a well-known ScottishScottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
comedian, David ("auld Davie") Stewart. She began performing as a child actress at the Glasgow Theatre in 1868, in the juvenile role of Sybil in A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. She performed until 1876 at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and in Newcastle-on-Tyne, in both girls' and boys' roles. She then became a member of Sarah Thorne
Sarah Thorne
Sarah Thorne was a British actress and actor-manager of the nineteenth century who managed the Theatre Royal at Margate for many years and who ran a School for Acting there widely regarded as Britain's first formal drama school...
's theatre company, playing adult parts, first as Emma Marigold in My Awful Dad, opposite Mr. Charles Mathews.
In 1877, at the age of 15, she made her London début, creating the role of Maggie Macfarlane in Mr. W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
's comedy Engaged
Engaged (play)
Engaged is a three-act farcical comic play by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Haymarket Theatre on 3 October 1877, the same year as The Sorcerer, one of Gilbert's comic operas written with Arthur Sullivan, which was soon followed by the collaborators' great success in H.M.S. Pinafore...
, at the Haymarket Theatre with much success. She also played the part in a provincial tour and again in the play's revival at the Strand Theatre in 1878. The Era reported: "A decidedly favourable impression was made by Miss Julia Stewart, who... bewitched all present by her pretty face, her artless, winning style, her dainty treatment of the Scotch dialect, and the thorough freshness and naturalness of her acting throughout. This was one of the pleasantest performances we have seen for many a day". She then returned to the Haymarket as Mary Meredith in a revival Our American Cousin
Our American Cousin
Our American Cousin is an 1858 play in three acts by English playwright Tom Taylor. The play is a farce whose plot is based on the introduction of an awkward, boorish but honest American, Asa Trenchard, to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family estate...
with E. A. Sothern, taking that part on tour after the London run. During the tour, she also played Ada Ingot in David Garrick
David Garrick (play)
David Garrick is a comic play written in 1864 by Thomas William Robertson about the famous 18th century actor and theatre manager, David Garrick....
, earning good reviews.
In 1879, Sothern took the 17-year-old Stewart with him to America to appear at the Park Theatre in Brother Sam.
Stewart later made around 70 silent movies between 1911 and 1920 and died in the Bronx, New York, USA on 24 January 1949.