Pauline Lord
Encyclopedia
Pauline Lord was an American
stage and film actress
to Edward Lord and Sara Foster. When the family moved to San Francisco she attended Holy Rosary Academy where she discovered her vocation from participating in a school play.
She studied acting at the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco and at only thirteen, she debuted professionally with the Belasco Stock Company in the play Are You A Mason? where her first role was that of a maid. The comedian Nat Goodwin saw her act and invited her to look him up if she ever got to New York
. Three years later, after the San Francisco Fire, at the age of sixteen, she made the trip and, true to his words, Goodwin put her to work with several tour engagements.
Her first New York success was in January 1912 as Ruth Lenox in The Talker followed up by more tours and vaudeville parts. Her next hit was in August 1917 as Sadie in The Deluge directed by Arthur Hopkins
. It was not until 2 November 1921 that she again scored another hit where she starred in the title role of Eugene O’Neill's Anna Christie
at the Vaudeville Theatre
on Broadway
. This turned out to be her greatest success; the play was taken to London
and at the Strand Theatre
on 10 April 1923 she received a half-hour ovation. In 1924, she starred as Amy in Sidney Howard
's They Knew What They Wanted
and later in 1928 as Nina Leeds in O’Neill's Strange Interlude
.
She married Owen B. Winters on 27 April 1929. This was unsuccessful, and they divorced on 26 October 1931.
She went back to the stage in 1932 playing Abby in Sidney Howard's The Late Christopher Bean
. She made her film debut in 1934 as Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
, followed by A Feather in Her Hat
, released the following year. She found she was not interested in cinema and returned to the stage. In January 1936, she played Zenobia in Owen and Donald Davis’ dramatization of Edith Wharton
's Ethan Frome
. Her last appearance on stage was in 1946 as Amanda in Tennessee Williams
' The Glass Menagerie
.
She died in October 1950 from injuries suffered after her car went off the road near Alamogordo, New Mexico
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage and film actress
Biography
She was born in Hanford, CaliforniaHanford, California
Hanford is an important commercial and cultural center in the south central San Joaquin Valley and is the county seat of Kings County, California. It is the principal city of the Hanford-Corcoran, California Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Kings County, including the cities...
to Edward Lord and Sara Foster. When the family moved to San Francisco she attended Holy Rosary Academy where she discovered her vocation from participating in a school play.
She studied acting at the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco and at only thirteen, she debuted professionally with the Belasco Stock Company in the play Are You A Mason? where her first role was that of a maid. The comedian Nat Goodwin saw her act and invited her to look him up if she ever got to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Three years later, after the San Francisco Fire, at the age of sixteen, she made the trip and, true to his words, Goodwin put her to work with several tour engagements.
Her first New York success was in January 1912 as Ruth Lenox in The Talker followed up by more tours and vaudeville parts. Her next hit was in August 1917 as Sadie in The Deluge directed by Arthur Hopkins
Arthur Hopkins
Arthur Hopkins was a Broadway theater director and producer in the early twentieth century.Hopkins was born in Cleveland. He was the youngest of ten children born to a Welsh couple, David and Mary Jane Hopkins...
. It was not until 2 November 1921 that she again scored another hit where she starred in the title role of Eugene O’Neill's Anna Christie
Anna Christie
Anna Christie is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his work.-Plot summary:...
at the Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. This turned out to be her greatest success; the play was taken to London
London
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...
and at the Strand Theatre
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
on 10 April 1923 she received a half-hour ovation. In 1924, she starred as Amy in Sidney Howard
Sidney Howard
Sidney Coe Howard was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
's They Knew What They Wanted
They Knew What They Wanted (play)
They Knew What They Wanted is a 1924 play written by Sidney Howard that tells the story of Tony, an aging Italian winegrower in the California Napa Valley, who proposes by letter to Amy, a San Francisco waitress who waited on him once. Fearing that she will find him too old and ugly, Tony sends her...
and later in 1928 as Nina Leeds in O’Neill's Strange Interlude
Strange Interlude
Strange Interlude is an experimental play by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill finished the play in 1923, but it was not produced on Broadway until 1928, when it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Lynn Fontanne originated the central role of Nina Leeds on Broadway...
.
She married Owen B. Winters on 27 April 1929. This was unsuccessful, and they divorced on 26 October 1931.
She went back to the stage in 1932 playing Abby in Sidney Howard's The Late Christopher Bean
The Late Christopher Bean
The Late Christopher Bean is a comedy/drama by Sidney Howard, and was first published in 1932 under the title "Muse of All Work." It was first performed at the Ford's Opera House in Baltimore on October 24, 1932. It would open a week later on Halloween at the Henry Miller's Theatre in New York. ...
. She made her film debut in 1934 as Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch is a 1934 comedy-genre film, directed by Norman Taurog, and based on the 1901 novel by Alice Hegan Rice. It also appeared as a radio series between 1936 and 1938. It is one of two movies that feature a rare film performance by famed Broadway stage actress Pauline...
, followed by A Feather in Her Hat
A Feather in Her Hat
A Feather in Her Hat is a 1935 melodrama film starring Pauline Lord as a working-class woman with ambitions for her son. It is based on the novel of the same name by I. A. R. Wylie.-Plot:...
, released the following year. She found she was not interested in cinema and returned to the stage. In January 1936, she played Zenobia in Owen and Donald Davis’ dramatization of Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.- Early life and marriage:...
's Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome is a novel published in 1911 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton. It is set in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, New England, United States...
. Her last appearance on stage was in 1946 as Amanda in Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...
.
She died in October 1950 from injuries suffered after her car went off the road near Alamogordo, New Mexico
Alamogordo, New Mexico
Alamogordo is the county seat of Otero County and a city in south-central New Mexico, United States. A desert community lying in the Tularosa Basin, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains. It is the nearest city to Holloman Air Force Base. The population was 35,582 as of the 2000...
.
External links
- Pauline Lord portrait at NYP Library
- Pauline Lord at Findagrave