Agnes Mapes was an American actress who appeared in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performances and

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s throughout the 1900s and 1910s. Originally a part of the Crescent Theatre Stock Company, she was highly praised for her role in the 1907 production of ''The Holy City''. She later worked for the

Kalem Company The Kalem Company was an early American film studio founded in New York City in 1907. It was one of the first companies to make films abroad and to set up winter production facilities, first in Florida and then in California. Kalem was sold to V ...

and was part of some of its productions filmed in Ireland in 1911. Her multiple roles in 1912's ''A Fool There Was'' resulted from actors having to be swapped around which led to her playing the lead position and being applauded for her "fascinating and repellant" performance.

Career

During the 1907 production of the play ''The Holy City'', Mapes was asked to fill the role of Salome for the play's week in Philadelphia, as the several actresses who normally played the role were unavailable. The part includes a complex choreographed dance, but the dance instructor was too busy to teach her and could only show her the basic poses. At the same time, none of the dance partners were available to practice with her, forcing her to work on the dance on her own. Her performance, despite this, was highly praised by Philadelphia newspapers. This time period had her working with the Crescent Theatre Stock Company, though she did play some outsourced roles, such as in the 1909 play '' Are You a Mason?'' with the Gotham Company. Mapes was part of the Kalem crew that traveled to Ireland on July 3, 1911, to make films after the success of the Kalem film ''

The Lad from Old Ireland ''The Lad from Old Ireland'', also called ''A Lad from Old Ireland'', is a one-reel 1910 American motion picture directed by and starring Sidney Olcott and written by and co-starring Gene Gauntier. It was the first film appearance of prolific a ...

'', acting as the wardrobe manager in addition to actress. After a series of tours throughout the highlands of

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

, the Kalem crew produced seventeen films of varying lengths, including ''

The Colleen Bawn ''The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen'' is a melodramatic Play (theatre), play written by Irish people, Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre, New York City, New York, on 27 March 1860 with ...

'' and ''

Arrah-na-Pogue ''Arrah-na-Pogue'', also known as ''Arrah-na-Pogue; or the Wicklow Wedding'', is a play in 3 acts by Dion Boucicault. Along with ''The Colleen Bawn'' (1860) and ''The Shaughraun'' (1874), it is considered one of the three major Irish plays penn ...

''. The 1912 production of ''A Fool There Was'' had Mapes frequently play the role of the sister, but after the main actress became ill in November of that year, Mapes was moved to the primary role of the vampiric "Woman". Her characterization of the role was described by the ''

St. Louis Globe-Democrat The ''St. Louis Globe-Democrat'' was a daily print newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1852 until 1986. The paper began operations on July 1, 1852, as ''The Daily Missouri Democrat'', changing its name to ''The Missouri Democrat'' in 18 ...

'' as "fascinating and repellant by turns". By 1925, Mapes had become the plays department manager for Conational Plays Inc, helping promote plays to the executive staff for production.

Theatre

* ''The Holy City'' (1907) as Salome * ''Texas'' (1907) as Lady Cecelia Trevor * ''The Dollar Mark'' (1908) * ''The Sporting Duchess'' (1909) as Muriel, Countess of Desborough * ''Robert Emmet'' (1909) * '' Are You A Mason?'' (1909) * ''The Fire Commissioner'' (1909) as the Commissioner's wife * ''A Fool There Was'' (1912) * ''Pilate's Daughter'' (1914) as Rebecca * ''Hedda Gabler'' (1916) as Mrs. Elvsted

Filmography

*''

'' (1910) as Aileene's mother *''

Hubby's Day at Home ''Hubby's Day at Home'' is an American silent film produced by Kalem Company and directed by Sidney Olcott with Agnes Mapes and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. Plot Cast * Agnes Mapes - Wifie * Jack J. Clark Jack J. Clark (September 23, 1 ...

'' (1911) as Wifie *''

'' (1911) as Mrs. Cregan *''

'' (1911) as Fanny Powers, an adaptation of ''

'' *'' Il trovatore'' (1914), a film adaptation of '' Il trovatore'' *'' The Glory of Youth'' (1915) *''

The Foolish Virgin ''The Foolish Virgin'' is a lost 1924 American silent romantic drama film released by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by George W. Hill and stars Elaine Hammerstein. It is based on the 1915 novel '' The Foolish Virgin: A Romance of Today' ...

'' (1916) as Ella Swanson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mapes, Agnes American film actresses American stage actresses American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses 19th-century American actresses