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| Mary F. Scott-Siddons as Rosalind |
Last week in my
Women with Hats post, I posted a photograph/CDV taken by Napoleon Sarony
of New York of an unidentified woman wearing a gypsy-like costume. Sarony
was famous for photographing the many actors and actresses of the theater. I was looking at vintage photos on e-Bay and
typed in “actress” and as I was scrolling through them came across several
photographs of my subject –
Mary Frances Scott-Siddons. She was indeed an actress; in fact she was
descended from the famous theatrical
family that produced Sarah Siddons, John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble and
Fanny Kemble.
Sarah Kemble Siddons (1775-1831), called the "Tragic Muse" was her great-grandmother and had a prestigious acting award named for her by
the Chicago group, the Sarah Siddons Society.
Each year since 1952 the society
awards the coveted
Sarah Siddons Award for Distinguished Achievement to a theater actor for an outstanding performance. Some of these great
actors have included Helen Hayes, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Claudette
Colbert, and too many more to mention.
The award was actually created after a reference to a fictitious award
of the same name in the 1950 movie “All About Eve.”
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| Mary F. Scott-Siddons |
As I delved into research about my subject and her famous
family I unearthed almost more information than I could process. As the story goes, her grandfather George
Siddons was sent to India in 1803 at the direction of King George III as a
favor to Mrs. Siddons. According to
Edwin A. Lee in “Mary Frances Scott- Siddons -A Remembrance,” King George said,
“Send him to India—India—fine place—make a fortune there.” Mary F. Scott-Siddons was born in Bengal, India in 1844
to George Siddons’ son William Young Siddons and his wife the daughter of Col.
Earl. Early in life Mary demonstrated a talent for
theatrical recitation. She also strongly
resembled her famous great-grandmother who died thirteen years before her
birth. At the age of sixteen she
returned to England to further her education with her mother and sister after
her father’s death. At the age of
eighteen as she was preparing to go on the stage she married a young naval
officer named Thomas Chanter whose parents objected to his marriage into a
theatrical family. The story passed down in theater lore is that they created a last name using his mother’s name Scott and her name
Siddons.
She made her acting debut using this new name in Nottingham,
England in the role of Lady Macbeth, however, the role it was reported, was not suited for her. On April 8, 1867
at the Haymarket Theatre in London she appeared as Rosalind in “As You Like It.” The Bell’s Life of London said of her
performance, “The lady bears a striking likeness to her great ancestress,
though her form and figure may be pronounced neat and graceful rather than majestic. Her conception of a character, confessedly
one of the most beautiful in the catalogue of Shakespeare’s heroines, was
marked by great intelligence…..and the applause bestowed of the most enthusiastic
nature.”
Mrs. Scott-Siddon’s first American appearance as a reader
of Shakespeare and other poets in 1867-68 attracted much attention largely
because of her rare beauty; her features were aquiline, her eyes large and
lustrous, her figure slender. She appeared
at the Boston Museum and made her
metropolitan debut on the dramatic stage as Rosalind at the New York Theater on
November 30, 1868. The picture I posted last week has been reported to be from her role as Rosalind, a role she performed in repeated engagements. The criticism from this performance as
reported in the New York Tribune was for the most part complimentary, “She is
not a great actress, but she is largely gifted with talents, and more that all,
with that spark of vital earnestness which makes talent magnetic. While in New York she also appeared in “Romeo
and Juliet,” “Taming of the Shrew,” and “King Rene’s Daughter.” Upon her next engagement in New York in
October of 1869 she appeared as Viola in “Twelfth Night.” The Daily Times gave a pleasant review in
part saying, “She infused into the part a sprightliness, a fascination, an arch
humor and at times, a subtlety and delicacy of appreciation that were truly
delightful and proved her to be a genuine daughter of Kemble.”
According to the New York Times (obituary) “her theatrical
experiences in this country lasted a number of years and were presumably
profitable. As an actress, however, her
style was amateurish and her manner cold……For a number of years the sales of
her photographs were very large. She was a remarkably good subject for the camera.”
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| Thomas & Mary Scott-Siddons |
According to Edwin A. Lee who personally knew the Scott-Siddons, she worshiped at the shrine of Thespis" and her husband Captain “Scott" was a votary of “Bacchus” which
caused them to separate and which also most likely caused his death probably sometime in the
late 1870’s. After a long absence from
America Mrs. Scott-Siddons returned to this country in the early 1890’s and
resided for a while in New York. After
one failed attempt at acting at Palmer’s Theatre in a version of Augier’s “L’Aventuriere” she was no longer seen in the public eye. She died in Paris on 19 Nov, 1896 at the age
of fifty-two.
Sources:
1. New York Times, Obituary, Mrs. Scott-Siddons, Published: November 20, 1896.
2. Wikipedia
3. Mary Frances Scott-Siddons - A Remembrance by Edwin A. Lee, The Muse Volume Edited by Charles Elston Nixon, The Philharmonic Co, 1903, Pub. Monthly by Arthur B. McCoid, New York (Google e-book).
4. www.kemblefamily.com
5. Folger Shakespeare Library
6. The Broadway League,
7. Meserve-Kundhart Foundation
