Miriam Nesbitt
Encyclopedia
Miriam Nesbitt was a stage and film actress.
Born Miriam Schanke or Skanke, she studied at the Stanhope-Wheatcroft Dramatic School, before landing a part in Daniel Frohman
's play The Tree of Knowledge under the stage name Miriam Nesbitt. She went on to perform on Broadway a number of times in the first decade of the twentieth century. She also acted in over 120 silent films, beginning in 1908 with Saved by Love. Fellow actor Marc McDermott
appeared with her in many of these productions, among them Aida
(1911), based on Verdi's opera with Mary Fuller
and Marc McDermott, The Declaration of Independence (1911), in which she played Mrs. John Adams
to McDermott's Thomas Jefferson
; The Three Musketeers: Part 1 and Part 2 (1911), where she portrayed the Queen
to his Cardinal Richelieu; the 1913 serial Who Will Marry Mary?
; and The Man Who Disappeared
, a 1914 serial. On April 20, 1916, she married her frequent Edison Studios
co-star Marc McDermott. She retired in 1917; her last film, A Builder of Castles, also starred her husband.
Born Miriam Schanke or Skanke, she studied at the Stanhope-Wheatcroft Dramatic School, before landing a part in Daniel Frohman
Daniel Frohman
Daniel Frohman was a Jewish American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer.Frohman was born in Sandusky, Ohio...
's play The Tree of Knowledge under the stage name Miriam Nesbitt. She went on to perform on Broadway a number of times in the first decade of the twentieth century. She also acted in over 120 silent films, beginning in 1908 with Saved by Love. Fellow actor Marc McDermott
Marc McDermott
Marcus McDermott was an Australian-born American actor who starred on Broadway and in over 180 American films from 1909 until his death.-Early life and career:...
appeared with her in many of these productions, among them Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
(1911), based on Verdi's opera with Mary Fuller
Mary Fuller
Mary Claire Fuller was an American stage and silent film actress and screenwriter.-Early life:Born in Washington, D.C., to Nora Swing and attorney Miles Fuller, she spent her childhood on a farm. As a child, she was interested in music, writing and art...
and Marc McDermott, The Declaration of Independence (1911), in which she played Mrs. John Adams
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth...
to McDermott's Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
; The Three Musketeers: Part 1 and Part 2 (1911), where she portrayed the Queen
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
to his Cardinal Richelieu; the 1913 serial Who Will Marry Mary?
Who Will Marry Mary?
Who Will Marry Mary? is a 1913 action film serial starring Mary Fuller. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Mary Fuller - Mary Cuyler* Ben F. Wilson - Captain Justin Bradford * Richard Tucker - Duke Leonardo de Ferrara...
; and The Man Who Disappeared
The Man Who Disappeared
The Man Who Disappeared was a 1914 American drama film serial directed by Charles Brabin. The film is considered lost.-Cast:* Marc McDermott - John Perriton* Herbert Yost - Nelson Wales * Miriam Nesbitt - Mary Wales...
, a 1914 serial. On April 20, 1916, she married her frequent Edison Studios
Edison Studios
Edison Studios was an American motion picture production company owned by the Edison Company of inventor Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films as the Edison Manufacturing Company and Thomas A. Edison, Inc. until the studio's closing in 1918...
co-star Marc McDermott. She retired in 1917; her last film, A Builder of Castles, also starred her husband.
External links
- photograph of Miriam Nesbitt, New York Public Library Digital Gallery
- photograph of Nesbitt, University of Washington Digital Collections
- another photograph, University of Washington Digital Collections
- photograph of Miriam Nesbitt (third from left) with friends, 1908, from her personal collection
