Edna May Spooner (May 10, 1873July 14, 1953), sometimes spelled as Edna Mae Spooner, was an American actress, playwright, and
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 ...
performer.
Early life
Edna May Spooner was born in
Centerville, Iowa
Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,412 in the 2020 census, a decline from 5,924 in 2000. After the turn of the 20th century Centerville's coal mining industry attracted ...
, the daughter of Benjamin Spurgeon "Spurge" Spooner and Mary Gibbs Manson "Mollie." Spooner. Her parents founded the Spooner Stock Company, a touring company of actors. Her mother was a member of the New York Theatrical Managers' Association. Her younger sister was actress and director
Cecil Spooner, who married playwright Charles E. Blaney. Her maternal uncle was actor
Corse Payton
Corse Payton (18 December 1866, Centerville, Iowa – 23 February 1934 Brooklyn, New York) was an American actor and theatre impresario who famously billed himself as "The World's Best Bad Actor". Predominantly a stage actor, he established his ow ...
.
Career
Spooner and her sister toured and performed with the Spooner Stock company for many years. "The springtime and the Spooners have come again," commented writer
Willa Cather
Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', ''The Song of the Lark (novel), The Song of the Lark'', a ...
, on the family's perennial appearances in
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...
.
Spooner was a fixture in
Brooklyn's theatres. She and her mother and sister leased and ran the Bijou Theatre for several years. and she had her own company, the Edna May Spooner Stock Company. The Spooners also ran a theatre in
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
for a time. She also directed shows, with her mother as manager and her sister as actress. Some of her popular roles were in
's ''St. Elmo'' (1910),
Zaza
Zaza may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Zaza (play), ''Zaza'' (play), written by French playwrights Pierre Berton and Charles Simon
* Zaza (1915 film), ''Zaza'' (1915 film), a film directed by Edwin S. Porter
* Zaza (1923 film), ''Zaza'' (1 ...
,
Camille,
Juliet
Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...
,
Nell Gwynne
Eleanor Gwyn (also spelled Gwynn, Gwynne; 2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687) was an English stage actress and celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on t ...
.
Spooner appeared on Broadway in ''Babbling Brookes'' (1927), and in one silent picture, ''
Man and Wife'' (1923). She wrote a historical drama, ''Madame du Barry'' (1908), and translated and adapted ''The Obstinate Family'', a German one-act farce.
Controversies
In 1901, Spooner and slightly younger fellow actress
Edna May
Edna May Pettie (September 2, 1878 – January 1, 1948), known on stage as Edna May, was an American actress and singer. A popular postcard beauty, May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian musical comedies.
Life and career
May was ...
were engaged in legal and publicity struggles over their shared given name. In the end, both women continued to be called "Edna May" in professional contexts. In 1902, Spooner received a written death threat from a disgruntled theatre worker, angry that her mother would not hire him.
Personal life
In 1912, Edna May Spooner married fellow actor Arthur Behrens, also known as Arthur Whaley. They divorced in 1921.
[Harvey Douglass]
"When Brooklyn Went Stage Struck"
''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' (March 24, 1933): 17. She was active in the Iowa New Yorkers, a club for Iowa natives in New York City, and in the Actors' Church Alliance. She retired from the stage in 1929, moved from Connecticut to California with her sister in 1947, and died in 1953, in
Sherman Oaks, California
Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...
, aged 80 years.
["Miss Edna May Spooner" ''New York Times'' (July 16, 1953): 21. ]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spooner, Edna
1873 births
1953 deaths
American stage actresses
American vaudeville performers
People from Centerville, Iowa