Mabel Bert (née Scott, 1862 – 1945) was an Australian-born American actress.

Early life

Bert was born in Australia in 1862. Her father was A.C. Scott whose family was very wealthy. They immigrated to the United States in 1865, settling in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to allow Mabel better schooling. She was educated in

Mills Seminary Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

in Oakland, California.

Career

Mabel was an actress, known for ''

Straight Is the Way ''Straight Is the Way'' is a 1934 American drama film directed by Paul Sloane, written by Bernard Schubert, and starring Franchot Tone, May Robson, Karen Morley, Gladys George, Nat Pendleton and Jack La Rue. It is based upon the stage play ...

'' (1921), '' The Wonderful Thing'' (1921) and '' Blackbirds'' (1920). She started as an actress by chance. She was behind the scenes with a friend during the performance of ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

'' and was asked at the last minute to replace a missing actress who had three lines. At the beginning of her career, she played with various companies throughout California for two years and in 1886 joined a stock company in San Francisco for leading parts. For 14 months she took a new part every week, including Shakespeare's plays, old comedies, melodramas, society plays and burlesques. In 1887, she went east and joined one of

Frohman Brothers The Frohman brothers were American theatre owners, including on Broadway, and theatrical producers who also owned and operated motion picture production companies. The brothers were: * Daniel Frohman (1851–1940) * Gustave Frohman (1854–1930) ...

' companies in ''Held by the Enemy''. Since that time, Bert took leading parts in various plays and appeared in all of the important cities of the U.S. She played leads for the John A. Stevens Company at the old Grand Opera House, San Francisco.

Personal life

She left school when she was 17 years old, and on 25 May 1879, she married Edward G. Bert, theatrical manager working for his brother, Fred Bert, a pioneer theater man of Oakland. She made her debut on the stage in 1880. In 1887, she began a relationship with Arthur McKee Rankin (known as

McKee Rankin Arthur McKee Rankin (1841–1914) was a Canadian born American stage actor and manager. He was the son of a member of the Canadian Parliament. After a dispute with his father he left home to become an actor. He made his stage debut in Rochester, N ...

) and became pregnant. She gave birth to a baby girl,

Doris Rankin Doris Marie Rankin (August 24, 1887 – March 18, 1947) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Born in New York City, Rankin was the daughter of actor McKee Rankin and Mabel Bert. She was married to actor Lionel Barrymore from 1 ...

, who later married

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blyth; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

, Bert's costar in ''Arizona''. In 1888 her husband filed for divorce on the ground of desertion. In 1892, Rankin's wife filed for divorce, but Rankin, a devoted Catholic, did not marry Bert. Rankin already had two daughters ( Gladys and Phyllis) from his marriage to

Kitty Blanchard Elizabeth "Kitty" Blanchard ( – December 14, 1911) was an American stage actress from Pennsylvania. A popular actress in 1870s and 1880s, she married actor McKee Rankin (1841–1914). Their children married into several other famous stage fa ...

. On 28 July 1893, Bert married

Forrest Robinson Forrest Robinson (1858 – January 6, 1924) was an American stage and silent era actor. He was a leading man at the Boston Museum (theatre), Boston Museum Theater and acted in numerous theatrical productions in New York. He has also appeared in ...

, who was an actor from Broadway and later starred in films of

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

. They met when performing together in ''The Lost Paradise''. After becoming a widow in 1924, she lived with her daughter in Denver in the 1930s.

Works

* Stage Play 1925: ''Accused'' as Mme. De Verron * Movie 1921: '' The Wonderful Thing'' as Lady Sophia Alexandria Mannerby * Movie 1921: ''

'' as Aunt Mehitabel * Movie 1920: '' Blackbirds'' * Stage Play 1918: ''Turn to the Right'' * Stage Play 1915: '' Daddy-Long-Legs'' * Stage Play 1914: ''Young Wisdom'' as Mrs. Claffenden: "The girls' mother played splendidly by Mabel Bert." * Stage Play 1912: ''The Senator Keeps House'' as Mrs Ida Flower: "Miss Mabel Bert played the part of Mrs. Ida Flower with great skill, delicacy and charm." * Stege Play 1911: ''Sire'' as Mlle de Saint-Salbi: "One of the most sympathetic and charming character portrayals that has been seen on the Pittsburgh stage in a long time." * Stage Play 1911: ''What the Doctor Ordered'' * Stage Play 1910: ''The Faith Healer'' * Stage Play 1909: ''Ragged Robin'' * Stage Play 1906: ''The Crossing'' as Mrs. Temple: "The finished acting of Miss Mabel Bert saved it from exceeding tameness" * Stage Play 1906: ''The Light Eternal'' * Stage Play 1906: ''The Price of Money'' * Broadway 1899-1900-1901-1903-1905: ''Ben Hur'' as Mother of Hur * Stage Play 1899: ''Arizona'' as Estrella Bonham * Stage Play 1898: ''The Master'' as Mrs. Thomas Faber: "Mabel Bert as the wife of the stern "Master" cannot well be too much praised for her earnest and natural performances." * Stage Play 1896: ''The Liar'' as Elaine Rousseau * Stage Play 1894: ''The Lost Paradise'': "Among the actors and actresses who made up the stock company and the Bijou last summer, none were more genuinely appreciated than young Forrest Robinson and Mabel Bert." * Stage Play 1892: ''Little Tippett'' * Stage Play 1891: ''The Canuck'' as Angelique Bisquitte * Stage Play 1890: ''The Fatal Card'' * Stage Play 1890: ''Shenandoah'' * Stage Play 1890: ''The Masqueraders'' * Stage Play 1889: ''Hearts-Ease'' as Lady Neville * Stage Play 1889: ''Undine'' * Stage Play 1889: ''Hazel Kirk'' * Stage Play 1889: ''Convict 1240'' * Stage Play 1889: ''The Silver King'' * Stage Play 1889: ''The Kantuck'' * Stage Play 1888-1889: ''The Runaway Wife'' * Stage Play 1888: ''The New Danites'' as Miss Dido * Stage Play 1887: ''Allan Dare'' * Stage Play 1887: ''Wife and Child'' as Lady Alice * Stage Play 1886: ''49'' as Carrots * Stage Play 1886: ''The Last Days of Pompeii'' * Stage Play 1886: ''Under the Polar Star'' * Stage Play 1886: ''Falsely Accused, or, The Deadwood Stage'' as Pix * Stage Play 1886: ''The Two Orphans'' as Louise * Stage Play 1886: ''The Golden Giant'' as Ethel Wayne and later as Bessie Fairfax * Stage Play 1886: ''Everybody's Friend'' as Mrs Featherly * Stage Play 1886: ''The Field of the Cloth of Gold'' * Stage Play 1886: ''Rob Roy'' * Stage Play 1886: ''Guy Mannering'' as Julia Mannering * Stage Play 1886: ''Erin O'Chorra'' as Norah Delaney * Stage Play 1886: ''Money'' as Clara Douglas * Stage Play 1886: ''Second Sight'' * Stage Play 1886: ''Hoodman Blind'' * Stage Play 1886: ''Notre Dame'' as Esmeralda * Stage Play 1886: ''The Danites'' as Widder and later as Billy Piper: "A young lady of great talent as an actress, and of extreme beauty" * Stage Play 1885: ''A Wall Street Bandit'' * Stage Play 1885: ''Macbeth'' as Lady Macduff and later as Lady Macbeth * Stage Play 1885: ''Brought to Justice'' as Nell Forrest * Stage Play 1882: ''Step by Step'' as Shop Girl * Stage Play 1882: ''A Prisoner for Life'' (debut)

References

External links

*
Mabel Bert
portraits (University of Louisville, Macauley Theatre collection) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bert, Mabel 1862 births American stage actresses Australian stage actresses American film actresses Australian film actresses American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses Australian silent film actresses 20th-century Australian actresses Emigrants from colonial Australia to the United States 1945 deaths Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century