Lillian Lee (actor)

Lillian Lee was a stage actress in New York City beginning in the early 1880s. She was in the cast of the original Ziegfeld Follies in 1907."Roof Gardens", New York Times, July 7, 1907, pg. X7.]

Acting career

Lee was only a child when she was assigned the part of "Meenie" in "Rip Van Winkle", in a company led by Joseph Jefferson. The troupe was then touring in Baltimore, Maryland. She proved a skilled juvenile actress. She grew into a very competent adult theatrical performer. Her first character of importance came when she replaced an ailing Rosa Rand in a play during the 1884 season. ["News From The Theatres", New York Times, April 25, 1884, pg. 3.]

Myra Goodwin played the leading lady in "Sis", an 1885 production of the 14th Street (Manhattan) Theatre. The company of Edward Kidder alsotook seven plays on the road that year. One of them, "Niagara", was scheduled to arrive in New York City at the beginning of 1886. Lee was engaged for the production as were Mattie Ferguson, Rose Eytinge, Harry Dalton, and others. ["Gossip Of The Theatres", New York Times, July 16, 1885, pg. 3.]

She was in a cast of actors who presented "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Manchester, Massachusetts, in July 1888. The outdoor play was performed evenings with electric light effects. ["Notes Of The Stage", New York Times, July 10, 1888, pg. 5.]

The "Irish Minstrel" by Frederick Marsden was staged at Poole's Theatre,8th Street near Broadway (Manhattan), ["Poole's New Theatre; How The Latest Of New York's Amusement Places Looks", New York Times, September 4, 1886, pg. 8.] in October 1886. W.J. Scanlan played the leading man with Lee being the primary female player."Poole's Theatre", New York Times, October 5, 1886, pg. 5.]

She was in a cast of actors who presented "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Manchester, Massachusetts, in July 1888. The play was performed in the evening, with electric light effects. ["Notes Of The Stage", New York Times, July 10, 1888, pg. 5.]

As "Mrs. Jennings" in "Lover's Lane" (1901), she was involved in a production which deals with rural life. The venue was the Manhattan Theatre on 102 West 33rd Street. ["Dramatic And Musical", New York Times, February 7, 1901, pg. 9.] In 1907 the building was demolished and replaced by a Gimbels department store in 1909. [cite web
last =Internet Broadway Database
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authorlink =Internet Broadway Database
title =Manhattan Theatre
url =http://www.ibdb.com/venue.aspx?id=1357
accessdate =2007-12-08]

"Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch" had its New York City debut at the Savoy Theatre, 112 West 34th Street, [cite web|last=Krefft|first=Bryan|authorlink=|title=Savoy Theatre|publisher=Cinema Treasures|url =http://cinematreasures.org/theater/3387/|accessdate=2007-12-08] in the late summer of 1904. The stage of the theatre had been recently expanded to enable the staging of the most detailed productions. The play was an adaptation of both "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch" and "Lovey Mary", written by Anne Crawford Flexner. Lee acted the character of "Mrs. Eichorn"."The Week in the Theatres", New York Times, August 28, 1904, pg. 13.]

Joe Weber headed a cast of actors who staged "Dream City" and "The Magic Knight" at Shubert Park in Brooklyn, in April 1907. Lee was one of thesupporting players as were Lillian Blauvelt, Cecilia Loftus, and William Hodge. ["Brooklyn Amusements", New York Times, April 21, 1907, pg. X2.]

The "Follies of 1907" were described as a "satirical musical review" when they opened at the "Jardin de Paris". The venue was atop the New York Theatre and Criterion Theatre. Entertainment included twenty musical numbers and many vaudeville acts. The chorus was composed primarily of Anna Held singers, who had played the Broadway Theatre only a week earlier. In addition to Lee, Emma Carusand Grace Larue were featured.

She was a part of "The Deluge", a play given at Coney Island in the summer of 1908. ["Stage Gossip And Amusement---Resort Theatres", New York Times, June 21, 1908, pg. X6.] Dress rehearsals were first held in May 1906, with an audience of 1,000 invited guests.The show began with the building of a model of Noah's Ark, followed by a simulation of the deluge, and finally, a depiction of the millennium. ["The Deluge Rehearsed", New York Times, Friday, May 25, 1906, pg. 11.]

Lee played "Dollbabia" in "The Lady Of The Slipper", a musical fantasy in three acts, written by Anne Caldwell and Lawrence McCarthy. Presented by the Globe Theatre (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre), in October 1912, a newspaper critic commented about the "dull lines" given both Lee and Queenie Vassar, the two wicked stepsisters of "Cinderella". ["Lady Of The Slipper A Very Lively Show", October 29, 1912, pg. 13.]

Lee appeared in "Cinders" at the Dresden Theatre, atop the New Amsterdam Theatre, in April 1923. The musical comedy was written by Edward Clark with music by Rudolf Friml. An "intimate" theatre had been constructed from a thorough remodeling. "Cinders" was the first show held on the New Amsterdam Roof after the "Midnight Frolics" ceased production, ["Cinders" at the Dresden April 3", New York Times, March 26, 1923, pg. 16.] when Prohibition in the United States became law in 1920. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =New Amsterdam Theater
work =
publisher =Tom Fletcher's New York Architecture
date =
url =http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID113.htm
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accessdate = 2007-12-08]

ilent film role

She appeared in the 1923 silent film "No Mother to Guide Her" in the role of Donald Walling's Sister. [cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0497761/|title=Lillian Lee (I)|publisher=IMDb |accessdate=2007-12-08]

References

External links

*
* [http://jayparrino.com/Items/hh455 Rare photo of Lillian Lee] in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908 at jayparrino.com
* [http://www.shorpy.com/node/1192?size=_original Lillian Lee] photo at an Actors' Benefit, the Polo Grounds (1908)

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