Cissie Loftus
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Cecilia Loftus (born Marie Cecilia Loftus Brown; 22 October 1876 – 12 July 1943) was a Scottish actress, singer,
mimic In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. In the simples ...
,
vaudevillian Vaudeville (; ) is a theatre, theatrical genre of variety show, 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 comic ...
, and
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
performer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


Early life

Loftus was born in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland. Her father, Ben Brown, was part of the successful variety group, Brown, Newland & Le Clerc.Frank Cullen (2004) ''Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America'', Routledge, Taylor and French, New York Her mother, Marie Loftus, was 18 years old when Cecilia was born. An actress, pantomimic, and music hall performer, Marie later became a star of
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
, billed as "The Sarah Bernhardt of the Halls". Daughter Cecilia was given an education at the Convent of the Holy Child, Raikes Parade,
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
, England which moved in 1890 to the premises at Layton Hill Convent, Blackpool which it still occupies although now, after various name changes, splits and mergers, it is known as St. Mary's Catholic College. In July 1893, 17-year-old Cissy Loftus made her début at the Oxford Music Hall in London, followed by an appearance at the Palace Theatre of Varieties. After an early career in
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
and variety performing impersonations of well-known actresses of the day, such as
Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque. Biography Emma Laure Esther Guilbert was born in Paris on 20 January 1865 to a modestly w ...
, she appeared at the Gaiety Theatre in musical comedy for one season.


Theatre

In 1894, she 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 ...
at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City. Loftus toured with the Ada Rehan Company and the Augustin Daly Company before she first appeared at Koster & Bial's on 21 January 1895. With the Rehan troupe she played Washington, DC,
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, and
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
as "Miss Cecile" in a playbill. Her exit from Daly's organisation occurred after Loftus was offered larger salaries in New York City. Other roles she played prior to 1895 were "Winnie" in ''The Last Word'' and "Audrey" in '' Love's Labour's Lost''. Critics did not speak kindly of her work in these parts, to her dismay. Loftus became an international favourite in vaudeville along with Vesta Tilley and Harry Lauder. She then began to appear in the legitimate theatre, appearing in ''The Children of the King'' at the
Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
, in 1898.Johnson Briscoe (1909) ''The Actors' Birthday Book'', Moffat, Yard and Company, New York The following year she returned to the United States to tour in vaudeville and was seen by Sir
Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...
in 1901 at the Knickerbocker Theatre. He was so impressed that he engaged her to appear with him in the roles that Dame Ellen Terry could no longer play. She later toured with Irving, although the earnings were not as great as those on the music hall circuit. In 1905, she successfully essayed the very serious role of Nora in
Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...
's ''
A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...
''. Later that year she played Peter Pan to considerable acclaim in the second British production of Barrie's play. The next year she toured with ''The Diamond Express'' and appeared at the Royal Variety Performance at the Palace Theatre in 1912. In 1914, Loftus played the part of Desdemona in ''
Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...
'' at the Lyric Theatre (New York).


Burlesque, Broadway, and lyricist

She had a successful career both in
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
, as an accomplished mimic, and on Broadway. Some of the productions she appeared in are ''The Man of Forty'' (1900), ''If I Were King'' (1901) by her husband Justin Huntly McCarthy, ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' (1903) with E.H. Sothern, the Victor Herbert operetta '' Dream City'' (1906), ''Venus'' (1927) with Tyrone Power, Sr., ''Three-Cornered Moon'' (1933) with Ruth Gordon, Clare Boothe Luce's '' Abide With Me'' (1935), and ''Little Dark Horse'' (1941). As Cissie Loftus, she wrote lyrics and music for songs in a number of productions, including ''The Belle of Bridgeport'' (1900) and '' The Lancers'' (1907).


Films

Loftus also appeared in cinema from the 1910s to the 1940s, with roles that included ''Clorinda Widairs'' in '' A Lady of Quality'' (1913), ''Mrs. Sinclair'' in '' Young Sinners'' (1931), ''Grandmother Lovell'' in '' The Old Maid'' (1939), and ''Granny Tyl'' in ''The Blue Bird'' (1940).


Personal life

When she was seventeen, she eloped with Justin Huntly McCarthy (1859–1936), an Irish writer, and associate of her friend and admirer
Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the theatre crit ...
. They married in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
on 29 August 1894. The groom was twice as old as the bride. The marriage failed, and the couple divorced. In 1908, she married Alonzo Higbee Waterman, an American doctor."CISSY LOFTUS MRS. WATERMAN; Wed Chicago Doctor June 9 – Will Remain on Stage, Live in London" (3 July 1909) ''The New York Times''
/ref> By 1914, both her marriage and health were in a perilous state, and an acrimonious divorce ensued in 1920. Her health and the premature birth of their son, Peter, had made her increasingly dependent on alcohol and painkillers. In November 1922, she was arrested for possession of morphine and atropine. Her fellow actress, Eva Moore bailed her for a surety of £100, and she was put on probation for twelve months at the Great Marlborough Street Magistrates Court. In 1923, she left Great Britain for good, and sailed to New York City to return to Broadway and pursue a career in Hollywood. Loftus died from a heart attack and the effects of alcoholism at the Lincoln Hotel in New York City, on 12 July 1943, aged 66. Her mother had predeceased her by only three years. She is buried in
Kensico Cemetery Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, New York, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city ...
,
Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...
,
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
, in a plot provided by the
Actors' Fund The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 17,000 people directly each year. Se ...
.


Filmography


References


Sources

*


Further reading


by Alyson J. Shaw (2004) "The Divinity and the Disciple: Oscar Wilde in the Letters of Max Beerbohm 1892–1895", Northeastern University
accessed on 27 November 2006.

accessed on 7 April 2009. *Busby, Roy (1976) ''British Music Hall: An Illustrated Who's Who from 1850 to the Present Day''


External links

* *
Cecilia Loftus
photo gallery NY Public Library Billy Rose Collection
Cecilia Loftus
University of Washington, Sayre collection
Cissie Cecilia Loftus; PeriodPaper.com 1910
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loftus, Cissie 1876 births 1943 deaths Scottish stage actresses Scottish film actresses British burlesque performers British music hall performers 19th-century Scottish women singers Scottish musical theatre actresses Scottish vaudeville performers Scottish women comedians Comedians from Glasgow Actresses from Glasgow Actresses from New York City Singers from New York City Scottish women singer-songwriters Scottish singer-songwriters Burials at Kensico Cemetery 20th-century Scottish women singers 20th-century Scottish actresses Scottish expatriate actresses in the United States