Agnes Booth

Agnes Booth

Agnes Booth
Born (1843-10-04)October 4, 1843
Sydney, New South Wales
Died January 2, 1910(1910-01-02) (aged 66)
Other names Marion Agnes Land Rookes
Occupation Actress

Agnes Booth (October 4, 1843 – January 2, 1910), born Marion Agnes Land Rookes, was an Australian-born American actress and in-law of Junius Brutus Booth, John Wilkes Booth, and Edwin Booth.

Biography

The Scrap Book 1907

She was born in Sydney, New South Wales, but migrated to California, United States, in 1858 at the age of 14.

She performed in California, attracting attention and gaining recognition, until 1865 when she moved to New York where she appeared at the Winter Garden (demolished in 1867). In 1866, she joined the Boston Theatre Company, of which she was a member for several years. In 1867, she was married to Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., its manager. Mr. Booth died in 1883, and in 1885 she remarried to John B. Schoeffel.

In 1878 she played Madeleine Renaud in the Union Square Theatre's production of "A Celebrated Case," the program noting that she had "kindly undertaken this part in order to strengthen the cast." From 1881 to 1891, she was with the Madison Square Company. After 1891, she went to Europe, then returned to the United States where she resided in the artist community of New Rochelle, New York and resumed her work on Broadway in nearby New York City. Booth gained fame for her role in the melodrama The Sporting Dutchess along fellow actress and New Rochelle neighbor Cora Tanner.[1]

Reviews

From Belford's Magazine [2:8] (January 1889):

"Agnes Booth has scored a great triumpth as Mrs. Seabrook in "Captain Swift" at the Madison Square. For painstaking attention to detail, nicety of intonation, and powerful expression, Agnes Booth is in the front rank of leading ladies. We have seen her in many society dramas, and in each she has shown a charming appreciation of all the requirements. At the Madison Square, with its cosey (sic) stage, the visitor forgets that he is one of the audience, and feels almost like an intruder upon a scene in a private drawing-room. ... The mingled expression of shame, suffering and maternal love in Agnes Booth's face during [one] scene is one not soon to be forgotten. The audience remains spellbound a moment, then a burst of enthusiastic applause crowns her effort."

References

  1. New York: A Guide to the Empire State; The Workers of the Writers' Program of the Works Projects Administration in the State of New York; Page.244

Sources

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.