Molly Pearson
Encyclopedia
Molly Pearson was a Scottish
stage actress of the early 20th century. She was born in Edinburgh
.
, the United States
, (particularly Broadway), Australia
and Africa
. She came to America with the Olga Nethersole
Company.
A January 1908 production of Carmen
presented by Nethersole featured Pearson playing Dolores. The English
troupe was joined by American
actor Frank Mills when it played the Majestic Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana
.
She was in the supporting cast of The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1909), a play which starred Johnston Forbes-Robertson
. The play was written by Jerome K. Jerome
. The Robertson company, of London, England origin, presented the theatrical entertainment at the Maxine Elliott Theatre
.
In October 1911 Pearson appeared at Collier's Comedy Theatre as the leading lady
in the Scottish
play, Bunty Pulls The Strings, written by Graham Moffat
. Pearson read for the role of Bunty in Moffat's presence at the Haymarket Theatre
prior to being engaged to portray the character in New York City
. In the remote Scottish village where the play has its setting (fiction)
, a typical woman wears a hoop skirt. The attire was both fashionable and a part of enforced decorum for women in 1800. Many theatergoers saw Bunty which ran for an entire season. The Grand Opera House, York
staged the play before its final run in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.
While in New York, Pearson was a guest of the Century Theatre
Club which convened at the Hotel Astor on 27 October 1911. She was accompanied by fellow Scottish actress Margaret Nyblock. Pearson described the history of Scottish plays and players while
Nyblock gave some readings in a Scottish accent
.
Edith Taliafero and Margaret Greene worked with Pearson in Tipping the Winner (1914). The play was produced by the Longacre Theatre
, 220 West 48th Street, in Manhattan.
Hobson's Choice
(1916) is a Scottish play which starred Pearson, Viola Roach, Whitford Kane and Olive Wilmont Davis. It was staged at Teller's Theatre, 912 Broadway, Brooklyn, New York.
In February 1917 Pearson acted in The Professor's Love Story before an audience at the Savoy Theatre
. It was produced by H.B. Irving and featured George Arliss
in the role of Professor Goodwillie. Jeanne Eagels
, then a very young performer, was among the players.
The Belmont Theatre at 121 West 48th Street, New York City, staged Penny Wise in March 1919. Similar to Bunty in its theme, the setting of this play is Lancashire
. It is a farcical comedy in three acts. Pearson performed the part of Rosa Dobbins.
Critics considered this production lacking in both charm and humour when compared to Bunty. The plot centred around a mother who attempted to collect life insurance
on her son, who was imperfectly dead. Pearson played the wife of the unfortunate son. Her role was somewhat secondary to that of her devious mother-in-law.
Pearson was affiliated with the Theatre Guild
repertory company in 1927 and 1928. Her fellow actors included Frederic March and Erskine Sanford. Touring many cities, towns and hamlets in the United States
, the company's repertory consisted of The Silver Cord, The Guardsman, Arms and the Man, and Mr. Pim Passes By.
Robert W. Lillard, a member of the staff of the New York Herald Tribune
, penned White Flame. The play was presented to audiences at the Vanderbilt Theatre in November 1929. Produced by James Kenney, Pearson was a cast member.
Pearson came to the Forrest Theatre (Eugene O'Neill Theatre
) in a 1931 run of Lean Harvest, written by Ronald Jean. Nigel Bruce
, Leslie Banks
, Vera Allen and Ada Potter were in the acting troupe.
She retired from the stage in 1940. In the 1930s she continued acting in productions of The Unsophisticates, Lean Harvest, The Anatomist, Save Me The Waltz, and Young Mr. Disraeli. Her final performance was in Ladies In Retirement.
.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
stage actress of the early 20th century. She was born in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Theatrical career
Pearson was an actress who performed in numerous places around the world, including EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, (particularly Broadway), Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. She came to America with the Olga Nethersole
Olga Nethersole
Olga Isabella Nethersole, CBE, RRC was an English actress, theatre producer, and wartime nurse/health educator.-Biography:...
Company.
A January 1908 production of Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
presented by Nethersole featured Pearson playing Dolores. The English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
troupe was joined by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor Frank Mills when it played the Majestic Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
.
She was in the supporting cast of The Passing of the Third Floor Back (1909), a play which starred Johnston Forbes-Robertson
Johnston Forbes-Robertson
Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson was an English actor and theatre manager. He was considered the finest Hamlet of the nineteenth century and one of the finest actors of his time, despite his dislike of the job and his lifelong belief that he was temperamentally unsuited to acting.-Early life:Born in...
. The play was written by Jerome K. Jerome
Jerome K. Jerome
Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...
. The Robertson company, of London, England origin, presented the theatrical entertainment at the Maxine Elliott Theatre
Maxine Elliott Theatre
The Maxine Elliott Theatre was a Broadway theater located at 109 West 39th Street in New York City. Built in 1908, it was demolished in 1960. The theater was designed by architect Benjamin Marshall of the Chicago firm Marshall and Fox....
.
In October 1911 Pearson appeared at Collier's Comedy Theatre as the leading lady
Leading lady
Leading lady is an informal term for the actress who plays a secondary lead or supporting role, usually a love interest, to the leading actor in a film or play. It is not usually applied to the leading actress in the performance if her character is the protagonist.A leading lady can also be an...
in the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
play, Bunty Pulls The Strings, written by Graham Moffat
Graham Moffat
William Graham Moffat was a Scottish actor, director and playwright. He is best known for his 1910 comedy Bunty Pulls the Strings....
. Pearson read for the role of Bunty in Moffat's presence at the Haymarket Theatre
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
prior to being engaged to portray the character in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In the remote Scottish village where the play has its setting (fiction)
Setting (fiction)
In fiction, setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may...
, a typical woman wears a hoop skirt. The attire was both fashionable and a part of enforced decorum for women in 1800. Many theatergoers saw Bunty which ran for an entire season. The Grand Opera House, York
Grand Opera House (York)
The Grand Opera House is a theatre in York, England. It is currently operated as part of the Ambassador Theatre Group. It plays host to touring productions of plays, musicals, opera and ballet, one-off performances by comedians, and other theatrical and musical events...
staged the play before its final run in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
.
While in New York, Pearson was a guest of the Century Theatre
Century Theatre
The Century Theatre, originally the New Theatre, was a theater located at 62nd Street and Central Park West in New York City. Opened on November 6, 1909, it was noted for its fine architecture but due to poor acoustics and an inconvenient location it was financially unsuccessful...
Club which convened at the Hotel Astor on 27 October 1911. She was accompanied by fellow Scottish actress Margaret Nyblock. Pearson described the history of Scottish plays and players while
Nyblock gave some readings in a Scottish accent
Accent
-Speech and language:* Accent , pronunciation characteristic of a certain locality* Accent , of a word* Stress , tone levels and emphasis used in many languages for words or grammar* A diacritical mark is also known as an accent....
.
Edith Taliafero and Margaret Greene worked with Pearson in Tipping the Winner (1914). The play was produced by the Longacre Theatre
Longacre Theatre
The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 220 West 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.-Theatre History:Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts in 1912, it was named for Longacre Square, the original name for Times Square...
, 220 West 48th Street, in Manhattan.
Hobson's Choice
Hobson's Choice
Hobson's Choice is a play by Harold Brighouse, the title coming from the popular expression, Hobson's choice — meaning no choice at all.The first production was at the Princess Theatre in New York. It then transferred to London on June 24, 1916 at the Apollo Theatre, before moving to the Prince of...
(1916) is a Scottish play which starred Pearson, Viola Roach, Whitford Kane and Olive Wilmont Davis. It was staged at Teller's Theatre, 912 Broadway, Brooklyn, New York.
In February 1917 Pearson acted in The Professor's Love Story before an audience at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
. It was produced by H.B. Irving and featured George Arliss
George Arliss
George Arliss was an English actor, author and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award.-Life and career:...
in the role of Professor Goodwillie. Jeanne Eagels
Jeanne Eagels
Jeanne Eagels was an American actress on Broadway and in several motion pictures. She was a former Ziegfeld Follies Girl who went on to greater fame on Broadway and in the emerging medium of sound films....
, then a very young performer, was among the players.
The Belmont Theatre at 121 West 48th Street, New York City, staged Penny Wise in March 1919. Similar to Bunty in its theme, the setting of this play is Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. It is a farcical comedy in three acts. Pearson performed the part of Rosa Dobbins.
Critics considered this production lacking in both charm and humour when compared to Bunty. The plot centred around a mother who attempted to collect life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
on her son, who was imperfectly dead. Pearson played the wife of the unfortunate son. Her role was somewhat secondary to that of her devious mother-in-law.
Pearson was affiliated with the Theatre Guild
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players.Its original purpose was to...
repertory company in 1927 and 1928. Her fellow actors included Frederic March and Erskine Sanford. Touring many cities, towns and hamlets in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the company's repertory consisted of The Silver Cord, The Guardsman, Arms and the Man, and Mr. Pim Passes By.
Robert W. Lillard, a member of the staff of the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
, penned White Flame. The play was presented to audiences at the Vanderbilt Theatre in November 1929. Produced by James Kenney, Pearson was a cast member.
Pearson came to the Forrest Theatre (Eugene O'Neill Theatre
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
The Eugene O'Neill Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 230 West 49th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was built for the Shuberts as part of a theatre-hotel complex named for 19th century tragedian Edwin Forrest...
) in a 1931 run of Lean Harvest, written by Ronald Jean. Nigel Bruce
Nigel Bruce
William Nigel Ernle Bruce , best known as Nigel Bruce, was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson in a series of films and in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes...
, Leslie Banks
Leslie Banks
Leslie Banks, CBE was an English theatre and cinema actor, director and producer, now best remembered playing gruff, menacing characters in black and white movies of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
, Vera Allen and Ada Potter were in the acting troupe.
She retired from the stage in 1940. In the 1930s she continued acting in productions of The Unsophisticates, Lean Harvest, The Anatomist, Save Me The Waltz, and Young Mr. Disraeli. Her final performance was in Ladies In Retirement.
Marriage
In May 1913 Pearson married Ethlebert D. Hales who played the father in Bunty Pulls The Strings. Hales also portrayed Reverend Davidson in Rain (1922) with Jeanne Eagels. Molly and Ethelbert Hales left New York and travelled via the West Indies to Southhampton, England on her honeymoonHoneymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
.
Death
Molly Pearson Hales died in Sandy Hook, Connecticut in 1959, (see Molly Pearson at IMDb.com) following an extended illness. She was 83. Her husband predeceased her.External links
- Molly Pearson at IBDb.com
- Molly Pearson at IMDb.com