Julia Arthur
Encyclopedia
Julia ArthurAlthough 1868 is accepted as the year of her birth, both The National Cyclopaedia of National Biography and Who Was Who in America give 1869 as the year. was a Canadian
-born stage
and film
actress.
, May 3, 1869, she was the daughter of Thomas J. Lewis, a tobacco manufacturer, and Elizabeth (Arthur) Lewis. Her younger sister, Eleanor Letitia Lewis, became an actress known by the stage name, "Eleanor Dorel." Their mother was a fine Shakesperian reader, but only in an amateur way.
Ida Lewis began acting at the age of 11, in 1879, when she played the part of Gamora in The Honeymoon in some amateur theatricals in her own home. She displayed such remarkable ability, for her age, that a brilliant future for her was predicted. She made her first professional appearance in 1880 with the Daniel Bandmann repertoire company, as the Prince of Wales
in Richard III
and thenceforth she was before the public as Julia Arthur, using the first name of Julia and her mother's maiden name. Her first New York success was at the Union Square Theatre in
"The Black Masque."
At the age of 12, in 1881, she became the leading woman, playing Ophelia, Juliet
, Portia
, Lady Macbeth
, Lady Anne in Richard III
, and other important roles, and remained with the Bandmann company until 1884. A year of study in Germany
followed. Upon her return in 1885 she joined a repertoire company in California
, playing the leading female roles in a number of modern plays, among them the Galley Slave, Called Back, Two Orphans, Woman Against Woman, Captain Swift, Colleen Bawn, Arrah na Pogue, Jim the Penman, The Silver King, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Still Alarm
, Peril, Divroce, and The Private Secretary.
She performed in London, February, 1895, with Sir Henry Irving's Company, as Rosamond in "A" Becket." Subsequently she toured with Sir Henry Irving's Company in the United States.
She performed in Mrs. Burnett's play, "A Lady of Quality."
debut, on February 5, 1893; but her greatest triumph was in Mercedes, a short play by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
. She made such an impression that the author presented her with the full rights to the play.
Arthur made her second appearance on Broadway in Sister Mary, which ran from May 15 to 29, 1894. Later that year she went to England, where she made her London debut on February 1, 1895, as leading woman, next to Ellen Terry
, in Sir Henry Irving
's Lyceum Theatre. She played Elaine in King Arthur; Sophia in Olivia; Queen Anne in Richard III
; Rosamond in Becket
; and Imogene in Cymbeline
, the last said to be her greatest role.
She returned to America in 1896 with the Irving-Terry company, and was so heartily received that she decided to appear the following season with her own company. On October 14, 1897, she presented a dramatization of Mrs Burnett
's novel, A Lady of Quality, herself taking the role of Clorinda Wildairs, and fully justifying her right to appear as a star. The play had its Broadway opening on November 1, 1897.
, on February 23, 1898, Julia Arthur (nee Ida Lewis) married Benjamin Pierce Cheney, Jr.
, only son of the wealthy Boston expressman
, whose country estate is now the Elm Bank Horticulture Center
.
They made their home in Boston, with a summer estate on Calf Island. They were patrons of the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston, donating a number of antiquities. The couple produced no children.
On October 3, 1898, she appeared for the first time as Parthenia in her own production of Ingomar, repeating the successes of the previous year. On November 28, 1898, she produced As You Like It at Wallack's in New York City, and her performance of the part of Rosalind was conceded to be one of the best known to the American stage.
Arthur returned to Broadway on October 24, 1899, in More than Queen, which continued through November 1899.
- Barbara Fritchie: The Story of a Patriotic American Woman - in 1908 with Vitagraph Studios
under director J. Stuart Blackton
. Of the ten films in which she performed, almost all were with Blackton. Her last screen performance was in 1919 in The Common Cause, a benefit film to aid victims of World War I
. It was produced by the "Stage Women's War Relief Fund," a charitable organization created by theatre workers with the American Theatre Wing
as part of the Federal Council of Allied War Charities.
Arthur returned to Broadway in The Eternal Magdalene, which opened on November 1, 1915, and continued to January 1916. She was director and producer as well as star of Seremonda, which ran on Broadway from January 1, 1917, to March 1917. On May 17, 1918, she revived Out There on Broadway, continuing through the end of the month.
opposite Lionel Barrymore
. The play opened on February 17, 1921, and continued into March. It was later reported that she had come out of retirement because of her husband's financial reverses.
The Cheneys lived in relative ease and comfort, though after 1929 in somewhat reduced circumstances owing to financial reverses. Benjamin P. Cheney, Jr., died near Kingman, Arizona
, on June 5, 1942 - ironically, alongside the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, of which he had once been a director. Julia Arthur Cheney died in Boston on March 28, 1950.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actress.
Early life
Born Ida Lewis in Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, May 3, 1869, she was the daughter of Thomas J. Lewis, a tobacco manufacturer, and Elizabeth (Arthur) Lewis. Her younger sister, Eleanor Letitia Lewis, became an actress known by the stage name, "Eleanor Dorel." Their mother was a fine Shakesperian reader, but only in an amateur way.
Ida Lewis began acting at the age of 11, in 1879, when she played the part of Gamora in The Honeymoon in some amateur theatricals in her own home. She displayed such remarkable ability, for her age, that a brilliant future for her was predicted. She made her first professional appearance in 1880 with the Daniel Bandmann repertoire company, as the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
in Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
and thenceforth she was before the public as Julia Arthur, using the first name of Julia and her mother's maiden name. Her first New York success was at the Union Square Theatre in
"The Black Masque."
At the age of 12, in 1881, she became the leading woman, playing Ophelia, Juliet
Juliet
Juliet is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the other being Romeo. She is the daughter of old Capulet, head of the house of Capulet. The story has a long history that precedes Shakespeare himself....
, Portia
Portia
-Biology:*Portia , a genus of jumping spiders*Anaea troglodyta, a brush-footed butterfly commonly known as the Florida Leafwing, Florida Goatweed, or Portia*Portia tree, a plant native to Polynesia*Ctt...
, Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth may refer to:*Lady Macbeth, from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth**Queen Gruoch of Scotland, the real-life Queen on whom Shakespeare based the character...
, Lady Anne in Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, and other important roles, and remained with the Bandmann company until 1884. A year of study in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
followed. Upon her return in 1885 she joined a repertoire company in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, playing the leading female roles in a number of modern plays, among them the Galley Slave, Called Back, Two Orphans, Woman Against Woman, Captain Swift, Colleen Bawn, Arrah na Pogue, Jim the Penman, The Silver King, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Still Alarm
The Still Alarm
The Still Alarm is a melodramatic play by Joseph Arthur that debuted in New York in 1887 and enjoyed great success, and was adapted to silent films in 1911, 1918, and 1926. Though never a favorite of critics, it achieved widespread popularity...
, Peril, Divroce, and The Private Secretary.
She performed in London, February, 1895, with Sir Henry Irving's Company, as Rosamond in "A" Becket." Subsequently she toured with Sir Henry Irving's Company in the United States.
She performed in Mrs. Burnett's play, "A Lady of Quality."
Mature career
In February 1892 she gained her first real success at the Union Square Theatre in New York in the role of the Queen in The Black Masque. This performance made her famous, and from the opening night her services were in great demand. A few weeks later she became leading woman in A.M. Palmer's stock company, then considered the leading one in America. With it she played Jeanne in the Broken Seal; Letty Fletcher in Saints and Sinners; and Lady Windermere in Lady Windermere's Fan - her BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut, on February 5, 1893; but her greatest triumph was in Mercedes, a short play by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Thomas Bailey Aldrich was an American poet, novelist, travel writer and editor.-Early life and education:...
. She made such an impression that the author presented her with the full rights to the play.
Arthur made her second appearance on Broadway in Sister Mary, which ran from May 15 to 29, 1894. Later that year she went to England, where she made her London debut on February 1, 1895, as leading woman, next to Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
, in Sir Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
's Lyceum Theatre. She played Elaine in King Arthur; Sophia in Olivia; Queen Anne in Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
; Rosamond in Becket
Becket
Becket or The Honor of God is a play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's murder in 1170. It contains many historical inaccuracies, which the author acknowledged.-Background:Anouilh's...
; and Imogene in Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
, the last said to be her greatest role.
She returned to America in 1896 with the Irving-Terry company, and was so heartily received that she decided to appear the following season with her own company. On October 14, 1897, she presented a dramatization of Mrs Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
's novel, A Lady of Quality, herself taking the role of Clorinda Wildairs, and fully justifying her right to appear as a star. The play had its Broadway opening on November 1, 1897.
Marriage
At Covington, KentuckyCovington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
, on February 23, 1898, Julia Arthur (nee Ida Lewis) married Benjamin Pierce Cheney, Jr.
Benjamin Pierce Cheney, Jr.
Benjamin Pierce Cheney, Jr. , was an American business executive. He had extensive investments in railroad securities and served as a director of Wells Fargo & Company and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad....
, only son of the wealthy Boston expressman
Express mail
In most postal systems express mail refers to an accelerated delivery service for which the customer pays a surcharge and receives faster delivery. Express mail is a service for domestic mail and is governed by a country's own postal administration...
, whose country estate is now the Elm Bank Horticulture Center
Elm Bank Horticulture Center
The Elm Bank Horticulture Center is the home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, located at 900 Washington Street , Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S....
.
They made their home in Boston, with a summer estate on Calf Island. They were patrons of the Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
in Boston, donating a number of antiquities. The couple produced no children.
On October 3, 1898, she appeared for the first time as Parthenia in her own production of Ingomar, repeating the successes of the previous year. On November 28, 1898, she produced As You Like It at Wallack's in New York City, and her performance of the part of Rosalind was conceded to be one of the best known to the American stage.
Arthur returned to Broadway on October 24, 1899, in More than Queen, which continued through November 1899.
Early cinema
With her growing success on stage in America, Julia Arthur was offered a chance to perform in the fledgling motion picture industry. She appeared in her first silent filmSilent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
- Barbara Fritchie: The Story of a Patriotic American Woman - in 1908 with Vitagraph Studios
Vitagraph Studios
American Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros...
under director J. Stuart Blackton
J. Stuart Blackton
James Stuart Blackton , usually known as J. Stuart Blackton, was an Anglo-American film producer of the Silent Era, the founder of Vitagraph Studios and among the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation...
. Of the ten films in which she performed, almost all were with Blackton. Her last screen performance was in 1919 in The Common Cause, a benefit film to aid victims of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It was produced by the "Stage Women's War Relief Fund," a charitable organization created by theatre workers with the American Theatre Wing
American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
as part of the Federal Council of Allied War Charities.
Arthur returned to Broadway in The Eternal Magdalene, which opened on November 1, 1915, and continued to January 1916. She was director and producer as well as star of Seremonda, which ran on Broadway from January 1, 1917, to March 1917. On May 17, 1918, she revived Out There on Broadway, continuing through the end of the month.
Later life
Julia Arthur said her farewell to Broadway in Macbeth, in which she played Lady MacbethLady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth may refer to:*Lady Macbeth, from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth**Queen Gruoch of Scotland, the real-life Queen on whom Shakespeare based the character...
opposite Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
. The play opened on February 17, 1921, and continued into March. It was later reported that she had come out of retirement because of her husband's financial reverses.
The Cheneys lived in relative ease and comfort, though after 1929 in somewhat reduced circumstances owing to financial reverses. Benjamin P. Cheney, Jr., died near Kingman, Arizona
Kingman, Arizona
Kingman is located in a desert climate on the edge of the Mojave Desert, but its higher elevation and location between the Colorado Plateau and the Lower Colorado River Valley tempers summer high temperatures and contributes to winter cold and rare snowfall. Summer daytime highs reach above 90 °F ...
, on June 5, 1942 - ironically, alongside the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, of which he had once been a director. Julia Arthur Cheney died in Boston on March 28, 1950.
Filmography
- Barbara Fritchie: The Story of a Patriotic American Woman (1908)
- Ruy Blas (1909)
- King Lear (1909)
- The Life of Napoleon (1909)
- Napoleon, the Man of Destiny (1909)
- The Life of Moses (1909)
- Uncle Tom's Cabin (1910)
- The Woman the Germans Shot (1918)
- His Woman (1919)
- The Common Cause (1919)
External links
- Image Gallery at NYPL Digital Gallery