Nora Dunblane (born 1879 – ) was an American actress and short story writer.

Early life and education

Nora Dunblane 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 Miss Rounds' School and the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

(graduating in 1899), and was involved with the Brooklyn Cantata Club."Plays and Players"
''Brooklyn Life'' (December 26, 1903): 28. via

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After graduating, she was active in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni society, and served on its library committee in 1904, with elocutionist Helena Zachos.

Stage career

Dunblane was a "clever young American actress" on Broadway at the turn into the 20th century, often seen in

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

roles. Dunblane's stage credits included roles in ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

'' (1898) with

Richard Mansfield Richard Mansfield (24 May 1857 – 30 August 1907) was a German-born English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and the play ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1887 play), Dr. Jekyll and Mr ...

, ''Hearts are Trumps'' (1900), ''The Cuckoo'' (1900), ''Her Majesty'' (1900), ''Lovers' Lane'' (1901), ''Her Atonement'' (1899 and 1901), '' The Worst Woman in London'' (1903), ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'' (1903), ''His Sister's Shame'' (1903), and ''Don Carlos'' (1905). In 1900, she performed in an all-star benefit at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, raising funds for Roman Catholic orphanages.

Writing

Dunblane was a writer during and after her acting days. Her short fiction, often romance stories, appeared in magazines and newspapers, with titles including "The Girl in the Bookshop" (1903), "Beating the Game" (1907), "Studio Number Six: The Story of a Musician" (1907), "Romance at Ryerson's" (1908), "Two Ways of Love" (1912), "Love's Command" (1913), "Otilla's Triumph" (1914), "The White Gardenia" (1915), "The Girl Who Was Charming" (1915), and "Jasmine's Decision" (1915).Nora Dunblane
"Jasmine's Decision"
''The Des Moines Register'' (September 19, 1915): 52. via

In culture

The band Tommy McClymont & The Panacea Jamband recorded a song, "Nora Dunblane", about the actress, on their album ''May the Ladies Treat You Kindly'' (2016). (McClymont is from

Dunblane Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...

, Scotland, and was inspired to write the song by a photograph of the actress.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunblane, Nora 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American women writers 1879 births Year of death missing 20th-century deaths 20th-century American short story writers American stage actresses