Jessie Millward (1861 – July 13, 1932) was an English stage actress known for her performances both in Britain and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She played roles in Shakespeare and other classic plays, as well as melodramas and other contemporary works.

Life and career

Millward's father was

Charles Millward Charles Millward (1830–1892) was an English musician, composer, actor, journal proprietor and monumental mason. Compare entry on Sir William Schwenck Gilbert for correction of erroneous titles: In 1865–66, Gilbert collaborated with Charles ...

, a well known

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

writer of the 1860s and 1870s. Jessie made her acting debut in 1881 in London. She first appeared with actor

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 ( ...

the following year, and performed many times with Irving's theatre company, mostly in Shakespeare, over the next three years, and occasionally thereafter, remaining friends with Irving."Jessie Millward: (1861-1932)"
, Shakespeare & The Players, 2003, Emory University, accessed 6 February 2012 In 1885, Millward met, and later became romantically involved with,

William Terriss William Terriss (20 February 1847 – 16 December 1897), born as William Charles James Lewin, was an English actor, known for his swashbuckling hero roles, such as Robin Hood, as well as parts in classic dramas and comedies. He was also a nota ...

, with whom she first starred in the extraordinarily successful ''The Harbour Lights'' by George R. Sims and

Henry Pettitt Henry Alfred Pettitt (7 April 1848 – 24 December 1893), was a British actor and dramatist. With Augustus Harris, he wrote the play ''Burmah'', produced on Broadway in 1896. With G. R. Sims, he created a substantial body of very succes ...

. Terriss and Millward were then engaged at the Adelphi in its melodramas, beginning with ''The Bells of Haslemere'' (1887). Millward and Terriss remained frequent stage partners. In 1889–90, and again in 1893–94, Terriss and Millward toured in the US with Irving. Terriss was murdered outside the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in 1897. She performed for several years from 1890 at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

. She played in the United States many more times, by invitation of producer

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Frohman produced over 700 shows, and among his biggest hits was '' Peter Pan'', both ...

.Silvestre, p. 177 Her many

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

roles included the title role in ''Phroso'' in 1898, Lady Algy in ''Lord and Lady Algy'' in 1899, Countess Zicka in ''Diplomacy'' in 1901 and Clara in ''

The Girl in the Taxi ''The Girl in the Taxi'' is the English-language adaptation by Frederick Fenn and Arthur Wimperis of the operetta ''Die keusche Susanne'' (''Chaste Susanne'', 1910 in Magdeburg), with music by Jean Gilbert. The German original had a libretto by G ...

'' in 1910. In 1907, she married actor John Glendinning.''Who's who'', p. 198 Millward published an autobiography in 1923, ''Myself and Others''.The Stage
''

Munsey's Magazine ''Munsey's Magazine'' was an American magazine founded by Frank Munsey in 1889 as ''Munsey's Weekly'', a humor magazine edited by John Kendrick Bangs. It was unsuccessful, and by late 1891 had lost $100,000 ($ in ). Munsey converted it into ...

'' (October 1903), p. 134(14 July 1932)
Jessie Millward, Actress, Dies at 73
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''Storms, A.D
The Player's Blue Book
p. 82-83 (1901)

Notes

References

*Silvestre, Ruth
''Final Performance: A true story of Love, Jealousy, Murder and Hypocrisy''
Troubador Publishing, 2009 *Smythe, Arthur J
''The Life of William Terriss, Actor''
(Westminster: Archibald Constable, 1898).
"Jessie Millward"
at ''Who's who on the stage'', p. 314–16 and elsewhere, W. Browne & F. A. Austin, 1908

External links

*
Jessie Millward Photos
Billy Rose Theatre Collection * {{DEFAULTSORT:Millward, Jessie English stage actresses 1861 births 1932 deaths