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Donald Brian (February 17, 1877 – December 22, 1948) was an actor, dancer and singer born in St. John's, Newfoundland (now
Virginia O'Brien
1896-?) (not to be confused with the film actress born 1919). He and O'Brien had one daughter, Denise.''Great Stars of the American Stage'' (Profile #72) by Daniel C. Blum c. 1952 (reprint 1954) Brian died on December 22, 1948, in
* 1899 – ''On the Wabash''
* 1902 – ''
Who's Who in MusicalsDonald Brian
University of Washington, Sayre collection
Donald Brian
NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection
Mrs. Donald Brian (Florence Gleason Brian) with Eugene Walter and Charlotte Walker
Donald Brian: the king of Broadway
by Charles Foster (2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brian, Donald 1877 births 1948 deaths People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Pre-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador people 20th-century Canadian male actors Canadian tenors Canadian male stage actors
Donald Brian (February 17, 1877 – December 22, 1948) was an actor, dancer and singer born in St. John's, Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
, Canada). In 1907, he starred in the hit operetta ''The Merry Widow
''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...
''.
Life and career
Brian, atenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
, was employed in a Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
machine shop and, at the age of 16, began performing with a vocal quartet
In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...
. When he joined a theatrical troupe in New York City, he was soon in demand as a leading man. He had leading roles in more than 20 Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musicals. In 1915 Brian signed with film producer Jesse L. Lasky to do two films, ''The Voice in the Fog
''The Voice in the Fog'' is a lost 1915 silent film produced by Jesse Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. J. P. McGowan directed the film which is based on a novel by Harold McGrath. Stage actor Donald Brian makes his screen debut in the ...
'' (1915) and '' The Smugglers'' (1916). After the latter he made no more film appearances until the sound era. His first sound film was an excerpt of his role in ''Peggy O'Hooligan'' (1925), made in the DeForest Phonofilm
Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s.
Introduction
In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film proce ...
sound-on-film process.
Brian was president of the Catholic Actors Guild of America.
He was married twice—to Florence Meagher Gleason Pope in 1910, and second to stage actresVirginia O'Brien
1896-?) (not to be confused with the film actress born 1919). He and O'Brien had one daughter, Denise.''Great Stars of the American Stage'' (Profile #72) by Daniel C. Blum c. 1952 (reprint 1954) Brian died on December 22, 1948, in
Great Neck, New York
Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Point, and Russell Gardens, and a number of unincorpo ...
, aged 73.
Selected Broadway musicals and operettas
* 1899 – ''On the Wabash''
* 1902 – ''Florodora
''Florodora'' is an Edwardian musical comedy. After its long run in London, it became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Leslie S ...
''
* 1904 – ''Little Johnny Jones
''Little Johnny Jones'' is a musical by George M. Cohan. The show introduced Cohan's tunes " Give My Regards to Broadway" and " The Yankee Doodle Boy." The "Yankee Doodle" character was inspired by real-life Hall of Fame jockey Tod Sloan.
Bac ...
''
* 1906 – ''Forty-five Minutes from Broadway
''Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway'' is a three-act musical by George M. Cohan written about New Rochelle, New York. The title refers to the 45-minute train ride from New Rochelle to Broadway.
The musical debuted on January 1, 1906 at the New ...
''
* 1907 – ''The Merry Widow
''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...
''
* 1909 – ''The Dollar Princess
''The Dollar Princess'' is a musical in three acts by A. M. Willner and Fritz Grünbaum (after a comedy by Gatti-Trotha), adapted into English by Basil Hood (from the 1907 '' Die Dollarprinzessin''), with music by Leo Fall and lyrics by Adrian ...
''
* 1911 – '' The Siren''
* 1913 - ''The Marriage Market
''The Marriage Market'' (Leányvásár) is an operetta by Hungarian composer Victor Jacobi. It was premiered on 14 November 1911 at the Király Színház (King Theater) in Budapest and was the composer's first significant success not only in Hu ...
''
* 1914 – '' The Girl From Utah''
* 1916 – '' Sybil''
* 1918 – '' The Girl Behind the Gun''
* 1919 – '' Buddies''
* 1921 – ''The Chocolate Soldier
''The Chocolate Soldier'' (German: ''Der tapfere Soldat'' he courageous soldieror ''Der Praliné-Soldat'') is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus (composer), Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, ''Arms and the Man' ...
''
* 1922 – ''Up She Goes''
* 1925 – ''Peggy O'Hooligan''
* 1926 – ''No, No, Nanette
''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves t ...
''
* 1939 – ''Very Warm for May
''Very Warm for May'' is a musical composed by Jerome Kern, with a libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was the team's final score for Broadway, following their hits ''Show Boat'', '' Sweet Adeline'', and '' Music in the Air''. It marked a return ...
''
See also
*List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
External links
* *Who's Who in Musicals
University of Washington, Sayre collection
Donald Brian
NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection
Mrs. Donald Brian (Florence Gleason Brian) with Eugene Walter and Charlotte Walker
Further reading
Donald Brian: the king of Broadway
by Charles Foster (2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brian, Donald 1877 births 1948 deaths People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Pre-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador people 20th-century Canadian male actors Canadian tenors Canadian male stage actors