Verna Mersereau (1896–1935), also known as Verna Mersereau Capra, was an American actress, dancer and pantomimist who performed on stage and screen. She appeared in several films with multiple forms of ancient dance. A New Jerseyan by birth, she ended up spending her childhood in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, where she became known as the "Idora Park baby" because of her father's amusement park construction. She was highly interested in dance and theater from a young age, being trained by her aunt and taking trips to Europe and Asian countries in order to learn various dance styles. Going on to be featured in numerous plays even in her teenage years, Mersereau was considered one of the best classic dancers of the time and her use of pantomime was among the greatest in

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 ...

theater. Her successes would see her dancing performed in multiple films and, later in life, before royalty in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. She left the stage in 1933 after contracting an illness that would ultimately lead to her death in 1935.

Childhood and education

Born in 1896 in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

where she finished with

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

. After the family had resettled in

, Mersereau's father, an amusement park constructor, created the Oakland amusement park during her childhood. Mersereau was known to roam around the construction area, which resulted in her being given the nickname the "Idora Park baby". As a teenager and young adult, she studied dance and made trips to Europe and "the

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

" to train in different styles. She also spent time training her dances with her aunt Theodora Warmolts Van Ness in the

eastern United States The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern ...

Career

In 1909 during her early teens, Mersereau joined the Kolb & Dill Farce Comedy company to begin appearing in plays in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

. The following year, she appeared in the play ''Mizpah'', where she performed an Assyrian dance. She later went into

theater after reaching adulthood and performed at the

Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished *Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed by ...

. For the 1914 production of ''The Dancer'', she performed as the female lead, with Mersereau using her well known history as a classical dancer to perform the "Dance of the Pyramids" and the "Dance of the Rameses" in the film. After appearing in several early films where she presented her dancing capabilities, she returned to theatre and signed an exclusive contract with the Pantages theatre despite multiple film studios trying to hire her. In 1917, she performed a solo act, with a single assistant, of her dancing play ''A Romance of Old Egypt'', described by '' The Victoria Daily Times'' as "representing her unusual expressive arm flexibility". The ''Times'' also said that she was "one of the most successful of the classic dancers now before the public" and that her original plays featuring her dancing pantomime were "one of the finest expositions of the art on the vaudeville stage today." Completing a number of theatre performances in the following years, she later joined the Richard Wilbur company and their tour of the countries across Asia as the company's leading woman. They toured across multiple countries in Asia, arriving in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

in April 1927. The tour resulted in her performing in the lead role for the play ''Rain'' for royalty in

Calcutta, India Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary fin ...

. Her final performance was in 1933 after joining the Sacramento Players for ''Night Over Taos''. Afterwards, she had to leave the theater due to an illness. She entered into the Weimar

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

in March 1935 to try and recuperate.

Theater

*''Playing The Ponies'' (1909) *''Mizpah'' (1910) *''The Vengeance of the Goddess'' (1912) *''A Romance of Old Egypt'' (1917) *''Making The Movies'' (1919)

Filmography

*''The Dance of Death'' (1914) *''The Dancer'' as Evelyn Wade (1914) *'' Cupid's Round Up'' (1918) as Peggy Blair *''

Chalk Marks ''Chalk Marks'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by John G. Adolfi and starring Marguerite Snow and June Elvidge. It was distributed by Producers Distributing Corporation. Cast Preservation With no prints of ''Chalk Marks'' lo ...

'' (1925) as Josie Jennings

Personal life

Mersereau was married to George F. McCormick in 1924, but they later divorced. She remarried in early 1934 to Joseph Capra. She died of a long-term illness over several years on September 26, 1935, at her home in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mersereau, Verna 1896 births 1935 deaths Actresses from Paterson, New Jersey Actresses from Oakland, California American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses American musical theatre actresses American vaudeville performers 20th-century American dancers Dancers from New Jersey Dancers from California American female dancers Musical theatre female dancers