Minnie Maddern Fiske (December 19, 1865 — February 15, 1932), born as
Marie Augusta Davey, but often billed simply as
Mrs. Fiske, was one of the leading
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actressesAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. She also spearheaded the fight against the
Theatrical SyndicateThe Theatrical Syndicate was established in New York City, New York in 1896 by producers and investors Charles Frohman, Al Hayman, Abe Erlanger, Mark Klaw, Samuel F. Nixon, and Fred Zimmerman...
for the sake of artistic freedom. She was widely considered the most important actress on the American stage in the first quarter of the 20th century. Her performances in several
Henrik IbsenHenrik Johan Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as the "father of modern drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre. His plays were considered scandalous to many of his era, when Victorian values of family...
plays widely introduced American audiences to the
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
playwright.
Career
Born in New Orleans,
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, she was the daughter of Thomas Davey and actress Lizzie Maddern and was a professional
actressAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
from the age of five. Fiske is perhaps most famous for starring as
Becky SharpBecky Sharp is the anti-heroine of William Makepeace Thackeray's satirical novel Vanity Fair . A cynical social climber who uses her charms to fascinate and seduce upper-class men, Sharp is contrasted with the clinging, dependent heroine Amelia Sedley...
in the original 1899 production of
Langdon Mitchell'sLangdon Elwyn Mitchell was an American playwright, son of S. Weir Mitchell and grandson of John Kearsley Mitchell. Born in Philadelphia, he studied in Dresden and Paris, attended the Harvard and Columbia law schools, and was admitted to the New York bar in 1886.He wrote under the pen name of...
Becky Sharp, a play based on
William Makepeace ThackerayWilliam Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
's
Vanity Fair. She wrote several plays and collaborated with her husband
Harrison Grey FiskeHarrison Grey Fiske was an American theatrical manager and journalist. He was born at Harrison, New York, and educated at New York University....
in writing
Fontenelle. Mr. Fiske directed virtually all of his wife's plays after their marriage. According to a
New York Times article "Ibsen or Shakespeare?" (March 18, 1928), Harrison Fiske was 11 years old when he first set eyes on the future Mrs. Fisk — she was but 3, performing in a Shakespearean role. Her pay was in
lollipopA lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...
s. She was married twice. In 1882 at age 16 she married a musician named LeGrande White but divorced after a short time. She married Harrison Grey Fiske in March 1890 and took three years off from the stage. She had no children with either White or Fiske.
Among Mrs. Fiske's many triumphs on the
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
stage were
Becky Sharp (1899, revivals 1904, 1911),
Tess of the d'UrbervillesTess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British illustrated newspaper, The Graphic. It is Hardy's penultimate novel, followed by Jude the Obscure...
(1897, revival 1902),
A Doll's HouseA Doll House is an 1879 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Written one year after The Pillars of Society, the play was the first of Ibsen's to create a sensation and is now perhaps his most famous play, and required reading in many secondary schools and universities...
(1902),
Hedda GablerHedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
(1903, revival 1904),
Leah Kleschna (1904-05),
Salvation Nell (1908-09),
The High Road (1912-13),
Madame Sand (1917-18), a play about
George SandAmantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist. She is considered by some a feminist although she refused to join this movement...
;
Mis' Nelly of N'Orleans (1919),
Helena's Boys (1924),
Ghosts (1927),
Ladies of the Jury (1929-30), as well as her self-written plays
The Rose (1905),
The Eyes of the Heart (1905),
The Light from St. Agnes (1906). Mrs. Fiske starred in everything from
farceA farce is a comedy written for the stage or film which aims to entertain the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include sexual innuendo and word play, and a fast-paced...
to
tragedyTragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that, paradoxically, offers its audience pleasure...
and even appeared in a
comedyComedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece...
with puppets
Wake Up, Jonathan! (1921). Her final appearance on Broadway was in 1930 in an acclaimed production of
The RivalsThe Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
cast as Mrs. Malaprop.
In the mid 1910's, Mrs. Fiske starred in two
feature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening...
adaptions of two of her greatest stage triumphs,
Tess Of The D'UrbervillesTess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British illustrated newspaper, The Graphic. It is Hardy's penultimate novel, followed by Jude the Obscure...
in 1913 and
Vanity Fair in 1915, both of which were surprisingly successful with moviegoers, although she herself felt she was not at her best in the medium and declined further film work.
Her love for performing Ibsen over Shakespeare, and her posture that Ibsen is the better study for actors, can not be overstated. She told the
New York Times in January 1908:
"Ibsen is of interest to the actor because properly to understand a role you must study the character from its earliest childhood. Most Ibsen men and women have lived their lives before the curtain rises. Shakespeare has often been pronounced tedious by actors because his characters require a great deal of study. But even Shakespeare seems easy when compared with the thought that must be bestowed upon Ibsen. The beautiful verse, the wonderful character drawing of Shakespeare furnish solutions of perplexing problems, but Ibsen is so elusive. He fascinates by his aloofness. He is the Wagner of the drama. Wagner struggled for understanding just as Ibsen has struggled."
Fiske was also one of the most prominent animal welfare advocates of her era.
Mark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is extensively quoted...
wrote the story "A Horse's Tale" for her.
Death
She died from
congestive heart failureHeart failure is a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs...
at the age of 67 in Queens, New York. She and Harrison had no children. Her cousin was the actress
Emily StevensEmily Stevens was a stage and screen actress in Broadway plays in the first three decades of the 20th century and later silent movies.-Family lineage:...
(1882-1928) and her niece was stage actress Merle Maddern (1887-1984) who looked remarkably like Mrs Fiske. Merle Maddern was also the niece of author
Jack LondonJack London was an American author who wrote The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea Wolf along with many other popular books...
thereby linking Mrs. Fiske and London through marriages.
Selected theater appearances
- Hunted Down by Dion Boucicault
Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the English-speaking theatre...
, New York (1871)
- Fogg's Ferry by Charles Callahan, Wisconsin (1882)
- Juanita by Charles Callahan, Illinois (1883)
- Caprice by Howard P. Taylor, Missouri (1884)
- In Spite of it All by Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote the play La Tosca on which Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca is based. The fedora hat is named after another of his plays,...
, New York (1885)
- Hester Crewe by Harrison Grey Fiske
Harrison Grey Fiske was an American theatrical manager and journalist. He was born at Harrison, New York, and educated at New York University....
, New York (1893)
- A Doll's House
A Doll House is an 1879 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Written one year after The Pillars of Society, the play was the first of Ibsen's to create a sensation and is now perhaps his most famous play, and required reading in many secondary schools and universities...
by Henrik IbsenHenrik Johan Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as the "father of modern drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre. His plays were considered scandalous to many of his era, when Victorian values of family...
, New York (1894)
- This Picture and That! by Brander Matthews
James Brander Matthews , was a U.S. writer and educator. Matthews was the first U.S. professor of dramatic literature. He graduated from Columbia College in 1871, where he was a member of the Philolexian Society and St. Anthony Hall, and from Columbia Law School in 1873, but turned to a literary...
, Texas (1896)
- Cesarine by Alexandre Dumas, fils
Alexandre Dumas, fils was a French author and dramatist. He was the son of Alexandre Dumas, père, also a writer and playwright.-Biography:...
, Pennsylvania (1896)
- The Queen of Liars by Harrison Grey Fiske, New York (1896)
- A Doll's House, New York (1896)
- A Light From St. Agnes by Minnie Maddern Fiske, New York (1896)
- Cesarine, Illinois (1896)
- Divorcons by Victorien Sardou, Illinois (1896)
- The Right to Happiness by Marguerite Merington, Louisiana (1896)
- Tess of D'Urbervilles by Lorimer Stoddard, New York (1897)
- Little Italy one act by Horace B. Fry with Divorcons, Illinois (1898)
- Magda by Hermann Sudermann
Hermann Sudermann was a German dramatist and novelist.- Early career :He was born at Matzicken, a village just to the east of Heydekrug in the Province of Prussia , close to the Russian frontier...
, New York (1898)
- A Bit of Old Chelsea by Mrs. Oscar Beringer, New York (1898)
- Love Finds the Way by Marguerite Merrington, New York (1898)
- Becky Sharp by Langdon Mitchell, New York (1899)
- Frou Frou by Henri Meilhac
Henri Meilhac , was a French dramatist and opera librettist.-Biography:He was born in Paris in 1831. As a young man, Meilhac began writing fanciful articles for Parisian newspapers and vaudevilles, in a vivacious boulevardier spirit which brought him to the forefront...
and Ludovic HalevyLudovic Halévy was a French author and playwright. He was of Jewish ancestry, however his father had converted to Christianity prior to his birth.-Biography:Ludovic Halévy was born in Paris...
, New York (1899)
- Miranda of the Balcony by Anne Crawford Flexner, New York (1901)
- The Unwelcome Mrs. Hatch by Mrs. Burton Harrison
Constance Cary Harrison , was a prolific American writer. She was also known as Constance Cary, Constance C. Harrison, and Mrs. Burton Harrison, as well as her nom de plume, "Refugitta." She was married to Burton Harrison, a lawyer and American democratic politician...
, New York (1901)
- A Bit of Old Chelesa, New York (1902)
- Tess of D' Urbervilles, New York (1902)
- A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1902)
- Little Italy and Divorcons, New York (1902)
- Mary of Magdala by Paul Heyse, New York (1902)
- Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1903)
- Becky Sharp, New York (1904)
- Hedda Gabler, New York (1904)
- Leah Kleschna by C. M. S. McLellan, New York (1904)
- Three One Act Plays by Minnie Maddern Fiske: The Rose, A Light From St. Agnes, The Eyes of the Heart (1905)
- The New York Idea
The New York Idea is a 1906 play by American playwright Langdon Mitchell, dealing with the themes of marriage and divorce.The title is taken from a line in the script, "Marry for whim! That's the New York idea of marriage."....
by Langdon Mitchell, New York (1906)
- Tess Of D'Urbervilles, Louisiana (1907)
- Leah Kleschna, Louisiana (1907)
- Rosmersholm
Rosmersholm is a play written in 1886 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. In the estimation of many critics the piece is Ibsen's masterwork, only equalled by The Wild Duck of 1884...
by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1907)
- Salvation Nell by Edward Sheldon
Edward Brewster Sheldon was an American dramatist. His plays include Salvation Nell and Romance , which was made into a motion picture with Greta Garbo....
, New York (1908)
- The Pillars of Society
The Pillars of Society is an 1877 play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.Ibsen had great trouble with the writing of this play which came before the series of masterpieces which made him famous throughout the world...
by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1910)
- The Green Cockatoo by Arthur Schnitzler
Dr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, the son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, then Vienna was the...
, New York (1910)
- Hannele by Gerhart Hauptmann
Gerhart Hauptmann was a German dramatist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912.-Hauptmann's career as a playwright:...
, New York (1910)
- Becky Sharp, New York (1911)
- Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh by Harry James Smith, New York (1911)
- The New Marriage by Langdon Mitchell, New York (1911)
- Julia France by Gertrude Atherton
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton was an American writer.-Biography:A native Californian, Atherton was born in San Francisco and died there, but traveled extensively and lived abroad at times in furtherance of her writing career. She eloped with George H.B. Atherton when she was only 19, and had two...
, Toronto, Canada (1912)
- Lady Patricia by Rudolf Frohman, New York (1912)
- The High Road by Edward Sheldon, Montreal, Canada (1912)
- The High Road, Massachusetts (1913)
- Mrs Bumpstead-Leigh, New Jersey (1914)
- Lady Betty Martingale by John Luther Long
John Luther Long, 1861–, was an American lawyer and writer best known for his short story "Madame Butterfly" based on the recollections of his sister, Jennie Correll, who had been to Japan with her husband, a Methodist missionary...
and Frank Stayon (1914)
- Erstwhile Susan by Marian de Forest, Massachusetts (1916)
- Madame Sand by Philip Moeller, New York (1917)
- Service by Henri Lavedan
Henri Léon Emile Lavedan , French dramatist and man of letters, was born at Orléans, the son of Hubert Léon Lavedan, a well-known Catholic and liberal journalist....
, translated by William C. TaylorWilliam C. Taylor can refer to:*Bill Taylor *William C. Taylor , work described in...
, New York (1918)
- Out There by J. Hartley Manners
John Hartley Manners was a London-born playwright of Irish extraction who wrote Peg o' My Heart, which starred his wife, Laurette Taylor on Broadway in one of her greatest stage triumphs. He wrote the 1922 silent screen adaptation of Peg o' My Heart which starred Laurette...
, allstar play toured America to raise funds for The Red Cross (1918)
- Mis' Nelly of N' Orleans by Lawrence Eyre, New York (1919)
- Wake Up, Jonathan! by Hatcher Hughes
Hatcher Hughes was an American playwright who lived in Grover, NC, as featured in the book Images of America. He was on the teaching staff of Columbia University from 1912 onward. He was awarded the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for his 1922 play Hell-Bent Fer Heaven...
and Elmer RiceElmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
, New York (1921)
- The Dice of the Gods by Lillian Barrett, Illinois (1923)
- Mary, Mary Quite Contrary by St. John Ervine, New York (1923)
- Helena's Boys by Ida Lublenski Erlich, New York (1923)
- The Rivals
The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
by Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Sheridan was a playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years, he was also a Member of Parliament aligned with the British Whig Party. Such was the esteem he was held in by his contemporaries when he died that he was buried...
, Massachusetts (1925)
- Ghosts
Ghosts is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882.Like many of Ibsen's better-known plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th century morality....
by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1927)
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
by William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, New York (1928)
- Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare set in Messina, Sicily. The story concerns a pair of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are due to be married in a week. To pass the time before their wedding day, they conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon, to trick their...
by William Shakespeare, Pennsylvania (1928)
- Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh, New York (1929)
- Ladies of the Jury by Fred Ballard, New York (1929)
- It's a Grand Life by Hatcher Hughes
Hatcher Hughes was an American playwright who lived in Grover, NC, as featured in the book Images of America. He was on the teaching staff of Columbia University from 1912 onward. He was awarded the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for his 1922 play Hell-Bent Fer Heaven...
and Alan WilliamsAlan John Williams is a Welsh politician and Labour Member of Parliament for Swansea West since the 1964 general election.-Early life:...
, New York (1930)
- The Rivals, New York (1930)
- Ladies of the Jury, Illinois (1931)
- Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh, California (1932)
- Against the Wind by Carlos Drake, Illinois (1933)
Publications
- Binns, Archie, Mrs Fiske and the America Theatre. New York: Crown Publishers, 1955.
- Hapgood, Norman
Norman Hapgood was an American writer, journalist, editor, and critic, born in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Harvard in 1890 and from the law school there in 1893, then chose to become a writer...
, The Stage in America, 1897-1900 (New York, 1901)
- Winter, William
William Winter was an American dramatic critic and author.Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Winter graduated from Harvard Law School in 1857...
, The Wallet of TimeProduced in 1913, The Wallet of Time is a publication by William Winter, in two volumes. Its title is taken from the words of William Shakespeare: "Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,..." American stage actors and actresses, most of whom had been born in...
(two volumes, New York, 1913)
- "Ibsen or Shakespeare?", New York Times, Sunday, March 18, 1928. Section 9, pg.4
External links
- Minnie Madern Fiske (1865-1932)
- Mrs Fiske photo gallery NYP Library
- "Minnie Maddern Fiske", William Merritt Chase, Ronald G. Pisano, William Merritt Chase, D. Frederick Baker, Marjorie Shelley
- Actress Minnie Maddern Fiske, American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- Minnie Maddern Fiske, (1865-1932) Actress, Star, Manager, Crusader, Wayne Turney