- Mrs. Fiske
Minnie Maddern Fiske (Mrs. Fiske) (
December 19 ,1865 –February 15 ,1932 ), was one of the leading American actresses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. She also spearheaded the fight against theTheatrical Syndicate for the sake of artistic freedom. Often billed as simply "Mrs. Fiske", she was widely considered the most important actress on the American stage in the first quarter of the 20th century. Her performances in severalHenrik Ibsen plays widely introduced American audiences to the Norwegian playwright.Born Marie Augusta Davey in
New Orleans ,Louisiana , she was a professional actress from age five. Fiske is perhaps most famous for starring asBecky Sharp in the original 1899 production of Langdon Mitchell's "Becky Sharp", a play based onWilliam Makepeace Thackeray 'sVanity Fair . She wrote several plays and collaborated with her husbandHarrison Grey Fiske 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?" of 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 lollypops.Among Mrs. Fiske's many triumphs on the Broadway stage were "Becky Sharp" (1899, revivals 1904, 1911), "
Tess of the d'Urbervilles " {1897, revival 1902), "A Doll's House " (1902), "Hedda Gabler " (1903, revival 1904), "Leah Kleschna " (1904-05), "Salvation Nell" (1908-09), "The High Road" (1912-13), "Madame Sand" (1917-18), a play aboutGeorge Sand ; "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 farce to tragedy and even appeared in a comedy withpuppets "Wake Up, Jonathan!" (1921). Her final appearance on Broadway was in 1930 in an acclaimed production of "The Rivals " cast asMrs. Malaprop .In the mid 1910's, Mrs. Fiske starred in two feature film adaptions of two of her greatest stage triumphs, "
Tess Of The D'Urbervilles " 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 of 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 one of the most prominent animal welfare advocates of her era.
She died from
congestive heart failure at the age of 67 inQueens, New York . She & Harrison had no children. Her cousin was the actress Emily Stevens(1882-1928) and her niece was stage actress Merle Maddern(1888-198?) who looked remarkably like Mrs Fiske.elected Theater Appearances
* 1871 -
Hunted Down byDion Boucicault , New York
* 1882 -Fogg's Ferry byCharles Callahan , Wisconsin
* 1883 -Juanita by Charles Callahan, Illinois
* 1884 -Caprice byHoward P. Taylor , Missouri
* 1885 -In Spite of it All byVictorien Sardou , New York
* 1893 -Hester Crewe byHarrison Grey Fiske , New York
* 1894 -A Doll's House byHenrik Ibsen , New York
* 1896 -This Picture and That! byBrander Matthews . Texas
* 1896 -Cesarine byAlexandre Dumas, fils , 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 byMarguerite Merington , Louisiana
* 1897 -Tess of D'Urbervilles byLorimer Stoddard , New York
* 1898 -Little Italy one act byHorace B. Fry with "Divorcons", Illinois
* 1898 -Magda byHermann Sudermann , New York
* 1899 -Frou Frou byHenri Meilhac andLudovic Halevy , New York
* 1898 -A Bit of Old Chelsea byMrs. Oscar Beringer , New York
* 1898 -Love Finds the Way by Marguerite Merrington, New York
* 1899 -Becky Sharp byLangdon Mitchell , New York
* 1901 -Miranda of the Balcony byAnne Crawford Flexner , New York
* 1901 -The Unwelcome Mrs. Hatch byMrs. Burton Harrison , New York
* 1902 - "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 byPaul Heyse , New York
* 1903 -Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, New York
* 1904 - "Becky Sharp", New York
* 1904 - "Hedda Gabler", New York
* 1904 -Leah Kleschna byC. M. S. McLellan , New York
* 1905 - Three One Act Plays by Minnie Maddern Fiske "The Rose", "A Light From St. Agnes", "The Eyes of the Heart"
* 1906 -The New York Idea byLangdon Mitchell . Mew York
* 1907 - "Tess Of D'Urbervilles", Louisiana
* 1907 - "Leah Kleschna", Louisiana
* 1907 -Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen, New York
* 1908 -Salvation Nell byEdward Sheldon , New York
* 1910 -Pillars of Society by Henrik Ibsen, New York
* 1910 -The Green Cockatoo byArthur Schnitzler , New York
* 1910 -Hannele byGerhart Hauptmann , New York
* 1911 - "Becky Sharp", New York
* 1911 -Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh byHarry James Smith , New York
* 1911 -The New Marriage by Langdon Mitchell, New York
* 1912 -Julia France byGertrude Atherton , Toronto, Canada
* 1912 -Lady Patricia byRudolf Frohman ] , New York
* 1912 -The High Road by Edward Sheldon, Montreal, Canada
* 1913 - "The High Road", Massachusetts
* 1914 - "Mrs Bumpstead-Leigh", New Jersey
* 1914 -Lady Betty Martingale byJohn Luther Long andFrank Stayon
* 1916 -Erstwhile Susan byMarian de Forest , Massachusetts
* 1917 -Madame Sand byPhilip Moeller , New York
* 1918 - Service byHenri Lavedan , translated byWilliam C. Taylor , New York
* 1918 -Out There byJ. Hartley Manners , allstar play toured America to raise funds forThe Red Cross
* 1919 -Mis' Nelly of N' Orleans byLawrence Eyre , New York
* 1921 -Wake Up, Jonathan! byHatcher Hughes andElmer Rice , New York
* 1923 -The Dice of the Gods byLillian Barrett , Illinois
* 1923 -Mary Mary Quite Contrary bySt. John Ervine , New York
* 1923 -Helena's Boys byIda Lublenski Erlich , New York
* 1925 -The Rivals byRichard Brinsley Sheridan , Massachusetts
* 1927 - Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen, New York
* 1928 -The Merry Wives of Windsor byWilliam Shakespeare , New York
* 1928 -Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Pennsylvania
* 1929 - "Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh", New York
* 1929 -Ladies of the Jury byFred Ballard , New York
* 1930 -It's a Grand Life byHatcher Hughes andAlan Williams , New York
* 1930 - "The Rivals", New York
* 1931 - "Ladies of the Jury", Illinois
* 1932 - "Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh", California
* 1933 -Against The Wind byCarlos Drake , IllinoisPublications
* "Mrs Fiske and the America Theatre"by Archie Binns. New York: Crown Publishers, 1955.
* "Mrs. Fiske: Her views on actors, acting, and the problems of production". Recorded by Alexander Woolcott. New York: The Century Co., 1917.
* Strang, "Famous Actresses of the Day in America" (Boston, 1899)
* McKay and Wingate, "Famous American Actors of To-Day" (New York, 1896)
* Hapgood, "The Stage in America, 1897-1900" (New York, 1901)
* Winter, "The Wallet of Time " (two volumes, New York, 1913)
* "Ibsen or Shakespeare?" New York Times, Sunday, March 18, 1928. Section 9, pg.4External links
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* [http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/people_fiske.html Minnie Madern Fiske (1865-1932)]
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