Florence Bindley (July 24, 1868 – May 14, 1951) was an American musical theatre,

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 ...

, 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.

Early life

Florence J. Elmer was from

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, but was raised partly in England. She started on stage at age 3, as "Baby Bindley", dancing and playing novelty instruments made by her father. At age 6, she performed for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

."Began Stage Career at Three"
''Salt Lake Tribune'' (January 30, 1910): 10. via

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Career

Bindley appeared on Broadway and in variety shows, including ''Heroine in Rags'' (1887), ''The Pay Train'' (1892), ''Captain's Mate'' (1894), ''A Midnight Marriage'' (1904), ''The Street Singer'' (1904), ''The Belle of the West'' (1905), ''The Girl and the Gambler'' (1906), ''In the Nick of Time'' (1908), and ''Major Meg'' (1916), which included a display of "her famous zylophone specialty." "She is at all times charming, magnetic, and possesses a beautiful singing voice," commented the ''Pittsburgh Press'' in 1904, "together with marked emotional and comedy ability." She was billed as "The Girl with the Diamond Dress," for an unusual costume she wore, first on the vaudeville stage and later in ''The Street Singer.'' A later vaudeville act of Bindley's, "An Afternoon at Home" (1909), featured musical monologues, singing and dancing.

Personal life

Florence Elmer married twice. Her first marriage, to her cousin Edward Everett Bindley, ended in divorce in 1890."'Baby' Seeks Divorce"
''The Times'' (October 30, 1890): 2. via

She remarried to silent film actor

Darwin Karr Darwin S. Karr (1875–1945) was an American stage and silent film actor. He appeared in over 140 films up to 1922. He began appearing in films by the Vitagraph company. He was married to Florence Bindley. Personal life and death Karr was marri ...

by 1910. She was widowed when he died in 1945. Florence Bindley died in 1951, aged 82 years, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

References

External links

Florence Bindley's listing at IBDB.An advertisement from 1904
"Forrester & Mittenthal present Florence Bindley in ''The Street Singer'' a musical drama by Hal Reid", in the Prints and Photographs collection of the Library of Congress.
A cigarette card featuring Florence Bindley
in the collection of Duke University Libraries. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bindley, Florence 1868 births 1951 deaths American vaudeville performers Entertainers from Newark, New Jersey