Betty Callish (August 24, 1886 – after 1941) was a Dutch-born actress, singer, and violinist who performed in

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, English,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. In 1941, as Roxo Betty Weingartner, she became a postulant of the Third Order Regular CSMV, a cloistered religious community at the Convent of St Thomas the Martyr in Oxford.

Early life

Babette Calisch was born in

Baarn Baarn () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, near Hilversum in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The municipality of Baarn The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche. T ...

, the daughter of Salomon Oreste Calisch and Aleida Oppenheim. Her parents were Jewish; her mother was a first cousin to Dutch feminist

Aletta Jacobs Aletta Henriëtte Jacobs (; 9 February 1854 – 10 August 1929) was a Dutch physician and women's suffrage activist. As the first woman officially to attend a Dutch university, she became one of the first female physicians in the Netherlands. I ...

. She knew

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

from childhood, and on her advice studied acting, learned to play the violin, and trained as a singer in Berlin.

Career

She started acting in London, as a student at

Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End theatre, West End, winning ...

's academy, now known as the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

. In England, Callish appeared ''Lady Ben'' (1905)'','' ''

Leah Kleschna ''Leah Kleschna'' is a drama in five acts by C.M.S. McLellan produced for the first time on Broadway by Minnie Maddern Fiske, Harrison Grey Fiske and the Manhattan Company with set design provided by Frank E. Gates and E. A. Morange. The play ...

'' (1905), ''The Little Stranger'' (1906), ''A Waltz Dream'' (1911) and ''Orpheus in the Underground'' (1912). She was also seen in London productions of ''The Laughing Husband'' and '' Sadie Love''; she appeared in both these shows on Broadway, as well, in 1914 and 1915. She starred in ''The Great Lover'' (1916) in Chicago. and in ''The King'' (1917-1918)''.'' "She is a pretty

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

," commented American critic

Burns Mantle Robert Burns Mantle (December 23, 1873February 9, 1948) was an American theater critic and screenwriter. He founded the ''Best Plays'' annual publication in 1920.Chansky, Dorothy (2011)"Burns Mantle and the American Theatregoing Public" in ''T ...

, "who both sings and plays violin – pleasantly but neither with surpassing skill." In 1941, after a divorce and a time in treatment for

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

, Betty Weingartner became a postulant at the Third Order Regular CSMV, a cloistered religious community at the Convent of St Thomas the Martyr in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. There, she was known as "Marica".

Personal life

Betty Callish married (in 1922) and divorced (by 1931) Austrian conductor

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian Conducting, conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zadar, Zara, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Dalmatia, Austrian Empire (now ...

; she was his fourth wife. He dedicated a symphony to her during their marriage. She was a confidante of Queen

Marie of Romania Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last queen of Romania from 10 October 1914 to 20 July 1927 as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I. Marie was born int ...

. She died after 1941.

References

External links

* *
A cigarette card featuring Betty Callish
in the George Arents Collection, New York Public Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Callish, Betty 1886 births Year of death missing People from Baarn Jewish actresses Dutch violinists Dutch women violinists 20th-century Dutch women singers Dutch stage actresses 20th-century Dutch actresses Musicians from Utrecht (province) Felix Weingartner