Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Frances Ann Denny Drake
American actress and theatrical manager From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Frances Ann Denny Drake (November 6, 1797-September 1, 1875) was an American actress, foremost known as a tragedienne.[1] She had a successful career from 1815 onward, toured all the United States and has been described as the perhaps most well-known actress in America prior to Charlotte Cushman.
Drake was born on November 6, 1797, in Schenectady, New York.[2] Her acting debut came as Julia in the comedy The Midnight Hour in Cherry Valley, New York.[3]
Joseph Jefferson said about her "Before Charlotte Cushman reached the height of her popularity the leading tragic actress of America was Mrs. A. Drake."[4] Drake acted in New York between 1824 and 1835 in various roles, visited England in 1833.[5] Drake's roles in plays included Bianaca in Fazio, Imogene in Bertram, Julia in The Hunchback, and Mrs. Haller in The Stranger as well as most heroines in Shakespeare's works.[6]
In 1823, she married Alexander Drake, who headed the theatrical company in which she was a novice actress.[3] They had a daughter and three sons.[6] After his death in 1930,[3] she married George W. Cutter, an attorney and activist. They lived in Covington, Kentucky,[7] but an unhappy marriage led to a separation, and she once more used Drake as her last name.[3]
On September 1, 1875, Drake died[2] on her son's farm in Oldham County, Kentucky, aged 78.[6]
Remove ads
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads