Emily Wakeman Hartley (1872 – February 20, 1935) was an American actress and theatrical manager, founder of the Stamford Theatre in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

Early life

Emily I. Wakeman was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, the daughter of Thaddeus B. Wakeman and Emily Ludlam Wakeman. Her father was a lawyer and writer interested in philosophy. Her mother was a

clubwoman The club movement is an American women's social movement that started in the mid-19th century and spread throughout the United States. It established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While wome ...

, active in working for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. Emily Wakeman attended

Friends Seminary Friends Seminary is an independent K-12 school in Manhattan. The oldest continuously coeducational school in New York City, in recent years it has served approximately 800 students. The school's vision statement declares its purpose is "to prep ...

and the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

Career

Emily Wakeman was an actress as a young woman, usually playing comic or character roles, including Broadway appearances in ''Caleb West'' (1900), ''Lover's Lane'' (1901), ''Marta of the Lowlands'' (1903), ''A Case of Frenzied Finance'' (1905), ''The Firm of Cunningham'' (1905), ''The House of Mirth'' (1906), ''The Three Daughters of Monsieur Dupont'' (1910), and ''The Runaway'' (1911). Emily Wakeman Hartley was the founder, fundraiser, and manager of the Stamford Theatre, which opened in 1914. It became a popular venue for touring performers and for new shows, before they debuted in New York. She also lectured on creativity, saying "One of the great faults of the present generation is that too few make use of their gray matter; I mean that they do not seem to realize that they have something within themselves, and do not need to depend wholly upon outside matters for amusement. And a person who always has to be amused or entertained cannot be happy, for he hasn't the creative spirit." Emily Wakeman Hartley ran unsuccessfully for the Connecticut state senate in 1922."Emily W. Hartley, Actress, Dies at 62"
''New York Times'' (February 22, 1935): 21. She retired from managing the theatre in 1927.

Personal life and legacy

In 1902, Emily Wakeman married Randolph Hartley, a librettist, publicist, and opera critic; his grandfather was poet and editor

Rufus Wilmot Griswold Rufus Wilmot Griswold (February 13, 1815 – August 27, 1857) was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, New ...

. They had a son, Randolph Wakeman Hartley (born in 1909, when Emily was 37 years old). They lived in

Cos Cob, Connecticut Cos Cob is a neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. It is located on the Connecticut shoreline in southern Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County. It had a population of 6,873 at t ...

. Emily Wakeman Hartley was widowed in 1931"In Memory of Randolph Hartley"
''New York Times'' (April 20, 1931): 16. and died in 1935, from a heart attack, aged 62 years. In 1987, an Emily Wakeman Hartley Theater Series began in Stamford, named in her memory.Alvin Klein

''New York Times'' (September 27, 1987).

References

External links

Two photographs of Emily Wakeman Hartley tending a garden
from the

Museum of the City of New York The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown, in 1923Beard, Rick. "Museum of the City of New York" in to preserve and present the history ...

.
Emily Wakeman's listing on IBDB.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Emily Wakeman 1872 births 1935 deaths People from Cos Cob, Connecticut Actresses from Stamford, Connecticut Friends Seminary alumni American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Clubwomen