Pauline Hall (born Pauline Fredrika Schmidgall;Browne, Walter and Frederick Arnold Austin.
Who's who on the stage: the dramatic reference book and biographical dictionary of the theatre, Volume 1
' (1906), p. 120. February 26, 1860 – December 29, 1919) was an American stage actress and singer.

Biography

One of the most popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century

prima donna In opera or ''commedia dell'arte'', a prima donna (; Italian for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pe ...

s in America, Hall left school at the age of 14 and began her career as a dancer in her native

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, in 1875. Shortly thereafter, Hall joined the Alice Oates Opera Company, leaving it to spend time touring in straight plays with Mary Anderson. By 1880 she was working for Edward E. Rice, who cast her in several of his musical productions, giving her, among others, the trouser role of the hero Gabriel in a revival that year of ''Evangeline''. Hall continued to be a favorite in comic and light operas around the country until 1890. However, her greatest success came when she played the title role in the first American production of ''

Erminie ''Erminie'' is a comic opera in two acts composed by Edward Jakobowski with a libretto by Claxson Bellamy and Harry Paulton, based loosely on Charles Selby's 1834 English translation of the French melodrama, '' Robert Macaire''. The story concer ...

'' (1886–1888). She performed ''Erminie'' a record-breaking 800 times while on Broadway and touring around the United States, which made her a household name."Cabinet Card photograph of Pauline Hall"
''uncg.edu''. Retrieved 2010-10-24. Hall toured with her own companies from 1890 to 1896, and later entered

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

, reportedly earning as much as $600 a week by 1898. In all, she played in over two dozen Broadway

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s. She appeared in revivals of ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'' and ''

The Geisha ''The Geisha, a story of a tea house'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and Jame ...

'' in 1912 and 1913"Pauline Hall Dies At Yonkers Home"
''The New York Times'', December 30, 1919. and in Ziegfeld productions near the end of her career. Although popular as an actress and singer, Hall was never given good notices by reviewers, who thought she was mediocre. She had an alluring figure, however, and she maintained it until her death in 1919 while playing in

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 ...

's ''The Gold Diggers''. Hall was married to Edward White from 1881 to 1889. She was then married to theatrical manager George B. McLellan (brother of playwright C. M. S. McLellan), from 1894 to 1902; she had a daughter by him in 1895."Back After Eight Years."
''The New York Times'', December 14, 1910. Hall died of

bronchial pneumonia Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 It is ofte ...

, at the age of 59, in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

References

External links

* * *
Pauline Hall: ''North American Theatre Online''
AlexanderStreet.com)
portrait and short bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Pauline 1860 births 1919 deaths American female dancers American dancers 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Cincinnati American vaudeville performers