Wilhelmina "Minnie" Dorothy Peper (June 17, 1878 – January 15, 1960), known professionally as Jane Oaker, was an American theatre actress.

Early life

Wilhelmina Dorothy Peper was born in

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 ...

, the daughter of Christian C. Peper, a wealthy tobacco manufacturer.Johnson Briscoe
''The actors' birthday book''
(Moffat, Yard and Company 1908): 145. Peper attended

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

, and the New York School of Dramatic Art. "I am ready to assert most positively and from personal observation that a big bank account is of the greatest importance in pushing a girl forward in a dramatic career," she wrote of her wealthy background, adding "a trunkful of imported toggery will give the rich girl an opportunity to appear in one of those coveted roles that calls for no more talent than a series of handsome gowns."

Career

Oaker started on the stage in the 1900, as

Hermia Hermia is a fictional character from Shakespeare's play, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She is a girl of ancient Athens named for Hermes, the Greek god of trade. Overview Hermia is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves one man, Lysan ...

in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''. In 1903 she headed the Jane Oaker Stock Company. Broadway appearances by Oaker included roles in ''The Pit'' (1904), ''

The Pillars of Society ''The Pillars of Society'' (or "Pillars of the Community"; original Norwegian title: ''Samfundets støtter'') is an 1877 play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen had great trouble with the writing of this play. The ending is ...

'' (1904), ''The Silver Girl'' (1907), ''Love Among the Lions'' (1910), ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' (1910), ''Cousin Lucy'' (1915), '' Lightnin''' (1918–1921), and ''Los Angeles'' (1927–1928). On the London stage, she was seen in ''

The Butter and Egg Man ''The Butter and Egg Man'' is a 1925 play by George S. Kaufman, the only play he wrote without collaborating. It was a Broadway theatre, Broadway hit during the 1925–26 season at the Longacre Theatre. Adapted to film six times, it is still perf ...

'' (1927). She starred in

Clyde Fitch William Clyde Fitch (May 2, 1865 – September 4, 1909) was an American dramatist, the most popular writer for the Broadway stage of his time (). Biography Born in Elmira, New York and educated at Holderness School and Amherst College (clas ...

's comedy ''Girls'' on tour in 1908. In 1907 the ''New York Times'' reported that Oaker saved a five-year-old child in the path of an oncoming car on Broadway. In 1924 she was hurt as a passenger in an automobile accident in San Francisco.

Personal life

Oaker married actor

Hale Hamilton Hale Rice Hamilton (February 28, 1880 – May 19, 1942) was an American actor. Biography Hamilton was born in Fort Madison, Iowa in 1880. (His birth year is sometimes listed as either 1879 or 1880.) His brother was politician John Daniel Miller ...

in 1901. They divorced in 1912, just before Hamilton married another actress,

Myrtle Tannehill Myrtle Tannehill Nichols (May 18, 1886 – July 25, 1977) was an American actress on stage and in silent films. Early life Myrtle Tannehill was born into a theatrical family. Her mother was actress Maude Giroux, and her father was actor and playw ...

. Oaker died in St. Louis in 1960, and was buried in the city's

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine has several architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as the Louis Su ...

."Mrs. Jane Hamilton Funeral Held Here"
''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' (January 19, 1960): 9. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oaker, Jane 1878 births 1960 deaths Vassar College alumni 20th-century American actresses American stage actresses