Anna Laura Fish (February 20, 1852 – February 10, 1886),Fish, Lester Warren - ''The Fish Family in England and America,'' 1948, p. 45 better known by the stage name Laura Don, was an American actress, stage manager, playwright and artist who died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

while still in her early thirties. She wrote the play ''A Daughter of the Nile'', that found its greatest success after her death, and was the mother of the writer

Glen MacDonough Glen MacDonough (1870 – March 30, 1924) was an American lyricist, librettist, and playwright. He is best-remembered today as the librettist of Victor Herbert's operetta, ''Babes in Toyland (operetta), Babes in Toyland'' (1903). Early life ...

('' Babes in Toyland'').

Early life

Anna Laura Fish was born in Greenwich, New York, the daughter of Peter and Catherine (''née'' Losee) Fish. Her father worked as a

wheelwright A wheelwright is a Artisan, craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker - as also in shipbuilding, shipwright ...

and possibly had additional income that accounted for his family's comfortable circumstances.Laura Don Dead. ''The New York Times'' February 5, 1886, p. 5 At an early age she submitted ''Gathering Pond Lilies'' for publication in '' Frank Leslie’s Ladies Magazine,'' the first of a number of her

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

to appear in Leslie's periodical over her life. She was an accomplished landscape and portrait artist with at least one of her paintings exhibited at the New York

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

selling for $150. In the late 1860s she married twice; first to George S. Fox, who operated a photography studio in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

. For a time she assisted him with his photography business before their marriage fell apart over her desire to pursue a career in theatre. She next married a theatrical agent named Thomas B. MacDonough, a union that in 1870 would produce their son Glen, born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

.Winter, William Jefferson - ''The Life of David Belasco'', Volume 1, 1918, pp. 225-226
accessed 5. 29.13

Stage

Laura Don began her acting career with a traveling troupe performing in Brooklyn and later spent time with John Ellsler's company in Cleveland. By August 1875, (as Laura Don) she was playing

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. Due to Hamlet's actions, Ophelia ultima ...

to E. L. Davenport's

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

at New York's Grand Opera House. At the same venue that September, she played Isabel, the principle female lead in ''The Pioneer Patriot: or the Dawn of Liberty'' with Harry Watkins and Joseph F. Wheelock and in July 1876 at

Hooley Hooley is a village in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. Within its small grid of streets is the 13th-century church of Chipstead which has been, since time immemorial, its ecclesiastical parish. Hooley is connected via pa ...

’s Theatre in Brooklyn, the Spanish beauty, Donna Jovita Castro, in

Bret Harte Bret Harte ( , born Francis Brett Hart, August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a caree ...

's ''Two Men of Sandy Bar''. At

Booth's Theatre Booth's Theatre was a theatre in New York built by actor Edwin Booth. Located on the southeast corner of 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue, Booth's Theatre opened on February 3, 1869. The theatre featured a grand vestibule with Italian marble floor ...

in late 1878 she was Mary Meredith in ''

Our American Cousin ''Our American Cousin'' is a three-act play by English playwright Tom Taylor. It is a farce featuring awkward, boorish American Asa Trenchard, who is introduced to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family e ...

'' to George Parkes’

Lord Dundreary Lord Dundreary is a character of the 1858 English play ''Our American Cousin'' by Tom Taylor. He is a good-natured, brainless aristocrat. The role was created on stage by Edward Askew Sothern. The most famous scene involved Dundreary reading a let ...

and Frank Hardenberg's Asa Trenchard, and the following January she appeared at The New Fifth Avenue Theatre in ''Dr. Clyde'' as Lady Hammond. On June 16, 1880, Don sailed for England aboard the Cunard liner S.S. Seythia with Frank Mayo's company''My Mother-in-Law. ''The Era'', ''London, England, December 3, 1881, p. 4c and was back in New York by that September to assume the role Antonia in Archibald Clavering Gunter's '' Two Nights in Rome'' during the closing days of its run at

Union Square Theatre Union Square Theatre was the name of two different theatres near Union Square, Manhattan, New York City. The first was a Broadway theatre that opened in 1870, was converted into a cinema in 1921 and closed in 1936.(8 October 1921)Two landmarks ...

. On February 7, 1881, Don began a two-month run as Erima in ''Fresh, the American'' and on November 28 of that year she starred in the American debut of

George Robert Sims George Robert Sims (2 September 1847 – 4 September 1922) was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and ''bon vivant''. Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for ''Fun'' magazine and '' The Referee'', but he was soon ...

' ''My Mother-in-Law,'' both staged at Abbey's Park Theatre on 932 Broadway, New York. Her play, ''A Daughter of the Nile'', premiered on September 6, 1882, at the

Standard Theatre Standard Theatre or Standard Theater may refer to: ;in Australia *Royal Standard Theatre, in Sydney, known as "Standard Theatre", since demolished ;in Canada; * Standard Theatre (Toronto, Ontario) ;in the United States *Standard Theatre, early n ...

in Manhattan with Don in the lead role of Egypt. ''A Daughter of the Nile'' is a

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

that revolves around an American woman and her mysterious guise as an Egyptian. Some critics found the play lacking, others thought it creative and before its time.''Music and Drama,'' September 23, 1882, p. 8
accessed 5.29.13 After a modest run in New York, Don took the play on the road with scheduled engagements at Montreal, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston. Not too many years later, the actress

Effie Ellsler Euphemia "Effie" Ellsler (September 17, 1855 – October 8, 1942) was an American actress of stage and screen whose career had its beginnings when she was a child and lasted well into the 1930s. She was best remembered over her early career for ...

would find success touring in Don's play that by then had been re-titled ''Egypt, or a Daughter of the Nile.''Odell, George Clinton Densmore - ''Annals of the New York Stage: 1885-1888'', 1970, p. 557

All Miss Don's versatility is called into play in ''A Daughter of the Nile.'' Her poetry and passion are seen in her creation of Egypt, her literary skill in the dialogue, her artistic instincts in the exquisite costumes. Right here I may say that Miss Don's eye for color is more correct than
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
's; the lining of the cloak, as it is, is perfection, the bars of red are exactly what is wanted. ''Music and Drama,'' September 23, 1882

Last years

''Circa'' 1884, Don traveled to San Francisco to join the cast of Baldwin Theatre, then under the directorship of

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of ...

. Soon, Belasco pictured Don in the role of

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

and began working with her for an upcoming production. At times he found her difficult and moody, but when Belasco noticed traces of blood on her lips after she fainted during a rehearsal, he realized she was ill. Don later spent the better part of a year in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionGreenwich, New York, where she died on February 10, 1886. Before her death, Don had reportedly reconciled with George Fox, her first husband.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Don, Laura 1852 births 1886 deaths American stage actresses American women dramatists and playwrights People from Glens Falls, New York People from Greenwich (town), New York 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American actresses 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in New York (state)