Anna Laughlin (October 11, 1885 – April 5, 1937) was an American actress on stage and in silent films. In 1902, she became the first actress to play

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of it ...

Early life

Anna Laughlin was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. She began appearing on stage as a "child elocutionist", and then in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and touring companies.

Career

Laughlin went to New York as a young teenager, and was in Broadway shows by 1900's '' The Belle of Bohemia''. In 1902, at age 16, she played Dorothy Gale in a musical production of '' The Wizard of Oz'' that started in Chicago and ran on Broadway through 1904. Other shows featuring Laughlin included ''His Majesty'' (1906), ''The Top o' th' World'' (1907), ''Mama's Boy'' (1912), ''When Claudia Smiles'' (1914). She also had a solo variety show in 1909. "Miss Laughlin is such a demure, pretty, and winsome little body that her appearance alone is sufficient to please the most hardened playgoer or vaudeville attendant," commented a New York reviewer, "but when combined with her truly artistic singing, it is a treat that none can fail to enjoy. In widowhood she had a brief comeback on Broadway in 1925, in ''The Fall Guy''. Laughlin appeared in more than a dozen silent films, all made between 1913 and 1915, including ''The Rebellious Pupil'' (1913, a short), ''Northern Lights'' (1914), ''The Greyhound'' (1914), ''The Amazing Mr. Fellman'' (1915), and ''What Happened to Father'' (1915), and ''The Crown Prince's Double'' (1916).

Personal life

Laughlin married Evan "Van" Monroe, a jeweler, in 1904. They had a daughter,

Lucy Monroe Lucy Monroe (October 23, 1906 – October 13, 1987) was an American operatic soprano and dancer. She was noted for her performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the United States, which she performed for Presidents and a ...

, who became a noted singer. Laughlin was widowed by 1925 and died by suicide from gas poisoning in 1937, in New York. She was 51 years old. In 2011, Anna Laughlin's personal copy of ''The Wizard of Oz'' was auctioned on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

References

External links

* *
Images of Anna Laughlin
in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection, New York Public Library Digital Collections. * Trav S. D.
"Anna Laughlin: Oz’s First Dorothy and Her Sad Suicide"
''Travalanche'' (October 11, 2017). Blog post on Anna Laughlin's life and career. {{DEFAULTSORT:Laughlin, Anna 1885 births 1937 suicides Actresses from Sacramento, California Suicides by gas Suicides in New York City Vaudeville performers 1937 deaths