Alice Russon was an Irish actress, singer, and dancer in musical comedies and in silent films.

Early life

Alice Russon was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Career

On stage, Russon appeared in ''

The Girl from Kay's ''The Girl from Kays'' is a musical comedy in three acts, with music by Ivan Caryll and book and lyrics by Owen Hall. Additional songs were by Paul Rubens, Howard Talbot, Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank and others. The farcical story concerns a ...

'' (1904), ''Cinderella'' (1907), ''

The Belle of Mayfair ''The Belle of Mayfair'' is a musical comedy composed by Leslie Stuart with a book by Basil Hood, Charles Brookfield and Cosmo Hamilton and lyrics by George Arthurs. The story is inspired by the Shakespeare play ''Romeo and Juliet''. The orig ...

'' (1907), ''Mr. George'' (1907), ''Little Red Riding Hood'' (1908), '' The Arcadians'' (1911), ''Ready Money'' (1912-1913), ''Something Simple'' (1916), and ''Anthony in Wonderland'' (1917). She was on a variety show bill with

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklaho ...

headlining, at the Palace Theatre in Oklahoma in 1906. In 1912 and 1913, she was in Australia, where she starred in a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

show, ''Puss in Boots'', in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

. A reviewer in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

in 1910 described her as "one of the daintiest and most winsome little women who ever trod the land that lies beyond the footlights in Atlanta." In 1911, while working in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, she submitted a proposal for a "theatorium" at the

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely se ...

to be held in that city in 1915. British silent films featuring Alice Russon include ''

All Men Are Liars ''All Men Are Liars'' is a 1995 Australian comedy film written and directed by Gerard Lee and starring Toni Pearen and David Price. Plot Barry decides to sell the family piano that belongs to his wife Irene. This results in Irene leaving him ...

'' (1919), ''

After Many Days ''After Many Days'' is a 1919 British silent drama film directed by Sidney Morgan and starring Bruce Gordon, Alice Russon and Irene Browne. In the film, a girl believes that her father has had an illegitimate child with an artist's model, but ...

'' (1918) and ''

Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

'' (1918).

Personal life

She married a fellow actor, Vernon Davidson. They had at least one child by 1913. She owned a camera and enjoyed taking photos when she was traveling for work."Alice with her Camera"
''The Sun'' (16 March 1913): 15. via

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

References

External links

* * *The collection of the National Portrait Gallery (UK) include
seven photographs of Alice Russon
all by

Bassano Ltd Alexander Bassano (10 May 1829 – 21 October 1913) was an English photographer who was a leading royal and high society portrait photographer in Victorian London. He is known for his photo of the Earl Kitchener in the ''Lord Kitchener Wants Yo ...

.
"Alice Russon in Cinderella, Edinburgh"
(1904), photograph in the National Archives (UK) {{DEFAULTSORT:Russon, Alice Music hall performers Irish stage actresses Irish film actresses Irish silent film actresses Actresses from Dublin (city) Year of birth missing Year of death missing