Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell (
December 41860 –
June 6 1922) was an
American actress and
singer.
Born Helen Louise Leonard
Clinton, Iowa, Lillian Russell became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th century and early 20th century, known for her beauty and style, as well as for her voice and stage presence.
Russell's father was newspaper publisher Charles E. Leonard, and her mother was author Cynthia Rowland Leonard. Her family moved to
Chicago in 1865, where she attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart and the Park Institute.
Early career
At the age of 18, she and her mother left for
New York where Leonard studied singing under
Leopold Damrosch. She joined the chorus of a Brooklyn production of
Gilbert and Sullivan's
comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore in 1879 and two weeks later married the orchestra leader, Harry Graham.
In 1879, having changed her name to "Lillian Russell," she made her first appearance on Broadway at
Tony Pastor's Theatre. Pastor, known as the father of
vaudeville, was responsible for introducing many well-known performers. Russell immediately gained popularity, and she toured with Pastor and later starred in some of his
comic operas.
Russell married her second husband, composer
Edward Solomon, in 1884 and travelled with him to England. There she starred in Solomon's
Polly and Grundy and Solomon's
Pocahontas. While in London, she was cast in the title role of Gilbert and Sullivan's
Princess Ida, but she was dismissed during rehearsals. She then returned to America, touring in Solomon's comic operas. They had a daughter named Dorothy. In 1886, Solomon was arrested for
bigamy, and Russell filed for divorce, joining the J. C. Duff Opera Company, with which she toured for two years.
She married actor John Haley Augustin Chatterton (known as "Giovanni Perugini") in 1894, but they soon separated. Russell continued starring with various opera companies, including the McCaull Opera Company and later her own company. For many years, Russell was the foremost singer of
operettas in America. Her voice, stage presence and beauty were the subject of a great deal of fanfare in the news media, and she was extremely popular with audiences. Actress Marie Dressler observed, "I can still recall the rush of pure awe that marked her entrance on the stage. And then the thunderous applause that swept from orchestra to gallery, to the very roof." Among Russell's best-known roles were in Gilbert and Sullivan's
Patience and
The Sorcerer as well as
Jacques Offenbach's
The Princess of Trebizonde,
The Brigands, and
The Grand Duchess.
In 1899, Russell joined the Weber and Fields's Music Hall, where she starred in their entertainments until 1904. "Come Down, Ma Evenin' Star," from their 1902 production
Twirly-Whirly, became the signature song of Russell's later years and is the only one that she is known to have recorded.
Later years
After 1904, Russell began to have vocal difficulties, and she switched to non-musical comedies, touring under the management of James Brooks, but she eventually returned to singing. In 1912, she married her fourth husband, Aleander Pollock Moore, owner of the Pittsburgh Leader, and mostly retired from the stage. For forty years, Russell was also the companion of businessman
"Diamond Jim" Brady, who showered her with extravagant gifts of diamonds and gemstones and supported her extravagant lifestyle.
In later years, Russel wrote a newspaper column, advocated women's sufferage, and was a popular lecturer. During
World War I, she recruited for the U.S. Marine Corps and raised money for the war effort. Russell became a wealthy woman, and during the
Actors' Equity strike of 1919, she made a major donation of money to sponsor the formation of the
Chorus Equity Association by the chorus girls at the
Ziegfeld Follies.
Lillian Russell died on
June 6 1922, shortly after a completing a fact-finding mission to Europe on behalf of President
Warren Harding. She was buried with full military honors. She is interred in a private mausoleum in the
Allegheny Cemetery in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
*
Brief biography of Russell*
Profile of Russell and description of papers in library's collection*
Another profile of Russell*
Image galleries*
IBDB page on 1940 film about Russell
