Marie Booth Russell
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Marie Booth Russell (1874 – October 31, 1911) was an English actress.


Early life

Marie Booth Russell was born in
Brooklyn 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 ...
. She attended St. Joseph's Academy in
Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, England ...
, and
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
in Boston.


Career

Russell appeared many times on
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 ...
, often in Shakespeare dramas with her husband, including ''
Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...
'' (1904, 1905, 1907, 1909), ''
Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
'' (1904, 1907, 1909), ''
King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...
'' (1905, 1907, 1909), ''
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'' (1905, 1907, 1909), ''
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 ...
'' (1905, 1909), ''
The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...
'' (1907), ''
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
'' (1907), '' King John'' (1909), and ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' (1909). She was also in several Broadway productions of '' Richelieu'' (1904, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1911), ''The Light of Other Days'' (1903), and in ''Louis XI'' (1909). "Miss Russell has very beautiful eyes," commented one American reviewer in 1907, "but she uses them too noticeably, which detracts from her work." Her physical performance continued to draw criticism. "A worse exhibition of wriggling, writhing, moaning, gurgling, and mouthing cannot be imagined than she indulged in," commented another American reviewer in 1909, adding "If only she could learn the value of simplicity and naturalness." An obituary put the issue diplomatically, saying "Her acting was more satisfying to the public than to the critics." Russell was an enthusiastic horsewoman. She also wrote articles for magazines, and was public in her support for
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
.


Personal life

Marie Booth Russell had a daughter, Louisa (born 1894), from an early marriage. She became the third wife of British actor
Robert B. Mantell Robert Bruce Mantell (7 February 1854 – 27 June 1928) was a Scottish-born stage actor who made several silent films. He used the name Robert Hudson early in his career, as his mother objected to her son becoming an actor. Born in Scotland a ...
in 1899, and helped to raise his daughter, Ethel (born 1895). She died in 1911, at her home in
Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey Atlantic Highlands is a borough in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the Bayshore Region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,414, an increase of 29 (+0.7%) from the 2010 census count of 4,38 ...
, aged 37 years, after "a malady of long standing gradually gained the mastery over her strong constitution," or kidney disease complicated by pneumonia. Russell's protegee, American actress Genevieve Hamper, became Mantell's fourth and last wife.


References


External links

* *
A 1904 theatrical poster featuring Marie Booth Russell and Robert B. Mantell
in the collection of the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
.
A photograph of Marie Booth Russell
in the collection of the
Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materia ...
.
An autographed photograph of Marie Booth Russell
from 1908, in the J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs,
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Marie Booth 1874 births 1911 deaths Shakespearean actresses Actresses from Brooklyn