Ethel Barrymore is shown as 'Ophelia' in 'Hamlet' (1925) and Marilyn Miller is depicted in her title role of 'Sunny' (1925) Alexander Stirling Calder made the sculptures. The statues are in a deteriorated condition.
Marilyn Miller
(b. 1898, Evansville, Ind. – d. NYC 1936)
was the pseudonym of Mary Ellen Reynolds a popular American musical comedy actress in the 1920s. She joined the family vaudeville act in Dayton Ohio in 1910. She toured with them for 10 years. Lee Shubert of the theatre owning family discovered her at the Lotus Club in London and brought her to New York to work in the Winter Garden. She debuted there in 1914 in 'The Passing Show of 1914.'In 1918, Florence Ziegfeld became her manager and she his sometime mistress. This led to appearances in 'Fancy Free' and the 'Ziegfeld Follies of 1918.' In 1920, she starred in 'Sally,' the story of a poor dishwasher who rises to fame as a ballerina. It was a hit, and the play made her a star. Miller had a beautiful smile, a good figure and grace. In 1924 she appeared in 'Peter Pan,' her only nonmusical role. She became the reigning queen of musical comedy. As such she appeared in 'Sunny' (1925), which starred Miller as a circus bareback rider who loves and (eventually) marries a millionaire. The score, which included the song 'Who?', was the first collaboration between Jerome Kern and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. She also appeared in 'Rosalie' (1928), 'Smiles' (1930), and 'As Thousands Cheer' (1936), her last play. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and appeared in screen versions of 'Sally,' and 'Sunny.' In 1931, she appeared in 'Her Majesty in Love.' Miller was a tempestuous character with a legendary temper. She had drug and alcohol problems and a bad marriage. She died unexpectedly of acute sinus infection in 1936.
Ethel Barrymore
(b. 1879 Philadelphia, PA – d. Hollywood, CA 1959)
born into one of America's most famous acting families (sister of Lionel and aunt of John Drew Barrymore), Ethel Barrymore was a leading Broadway star. She made her stage debut in New York City in 1894. She was an early activist in Actors Equity, the theatre union, and was involved in the 1919 strike.Barrymore lived in London where she worked with Henry Irving in 'The Bells' (1897). Other important roles include: 'Peter the Great' (1898), 'Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines' (1901), 'Alice Sit By the Fire' (1905), 'Mid-Channel' (1910) and 'Trelawney of the Wells' (1911). In 1914, Barrymore made her film debut in 'The Nightingale' (1914). She preferred the theatre, but she made several films including 'None But the Lonely Heart' (1944), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and 'The Spiral Staircase' (1946). She published her autobiography, 'Memories,' in 1955. She said of her profession, 'For an actress to be a success, she must have the face of a Venus, the brains of a Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of a MaCaulay, the figure of Juno, and the hide of a rhinoceros.'
Alexander Stirling Calder
(b. 1870 Philadelphia, PA – d. Philadelphia, PA 1945)
came from a family of sculptors and artisans, and is perhaps best-known as the father of Alexander Calder, the noted modern sculptor. Calder was educated at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (1886-90) where he studied under Thomas Eakins. In Paris, he attended the École des Beaux-Arts and worked in the workshop of Alexandre Falguière. He started by assisting his father in the sculpture program at Philadelphia City Hall, and went on to make numerous public sculptures throughout the Philadelphia area.Six of the 12 9-foot, cast-stone statues he made 1897 and which graced the facade of the Witherspoon Building at 1319 Walnut and Juniper, are now in the garden of the Presbyterian Historical Society. He also sculpted the Swann Memorial in Philadelphia. He went on to sculpt monumental archways in Pasadena, CA and the Depew Memorial Fountain in Indianapolis, IN. In 1912, Calder, along with Karl Bitter, was named head of the sculpture program for the Pacific-Panama International Exposition. Calder rented a studio in NYC and there employed the tragic model Audrey Munson, who posed for him and other important artists. In 1918, he made 'Washington as President, Accompanied by Wisdom and Justice' for the Washington Arch in NYC. He is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery Bala Cynwyd, PA.
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1) Times Square Map [22]
