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 is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Career

On stage, Russon appeared in '' The Girl from Kay's'' (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, Hood and William Caine. The story is inspired by the Shakespeare play ''Ro ...

'' (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 Oklahoma ...

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, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

show, ''Puss in Boots'', in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. A reviewer in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, 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 s ...

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 pawn the family piano that belongs to his wife Irene. This results in Irene leaving him ...

'' (1919), '' After Many Days'' (1918) and ''

Democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

'' (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 travelling 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

*
''Alice Russon''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

*The collection of the

National Portrait Gallery (UK) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

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 Y ...

.
"Alice Russon in Cinderella, Edinburgh"
(1904), photograph in the National Archives (UK) {{DEFAULTSORT:Russon, Alice Irish 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 1900s in Irish music 1910s in Irish music