Katharine Cornell

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Howard Beach: Katharine Cornell, around 1920

Katharine "Kit" Cornell (born February 16, 1893 in Berlin , † June 9, 1974 in Tisbury , Massachusetts ) was a popular American actress .

Life

Katharine Cornell was born as the only child of the doctor Peter Cornell and his wife Alice Miller in Berlin. Her childhood and adolescence in Buffalo , New York was overshadowed by her mother's depression and alcoholism . Together with her father, who later became the manager of the Star Theater , she attended a performance by Maude Adams in the role of Peter Pan and made the decision to become an actress herself.

Cornell attended the renowned Miss Merrill's School in Mamaroneck , where she studied acting and taught herself from 1915 to 1916. After his mother's death, Cornell became a member of the Washington Square Players theater company , a forerunner of the Theater Guild , and later of the well-known Jessie Bonstelle Stock Company .

At the age of 28 years she was a "separate beds-marriage" with the homosexual Broadway - producers Guthrie McClintic one (1893-1961). Although McGuthrie and Cornell's marriage was never consummated sexually, the two actors had a close friendship that led them to professional success and happiness. They were considered a dream couple in America in the 1920s and 1930s. Despite great Broadway success, she stayed away from the Hollywood film industry for a lifetime . Her profession was the stage and later television. Her performances were loved by audiences and critics alike, which quickly earned her the nickname "The First Lady of the American Stage".

Broadway performances (selection)

Carl van Vechten : Katharine Cornell, 1933
  • 1921: Nice People
  • 1922: A Bill of Divorcement
  • 1923: Will Shakespeare
  • 1928: The Age of Innocence
  • 1935: Romeo and Juliet
  • 1947: Antony and Cleopatra

Awards

literature

  • Lucille M. Pederson: Katharine Cornell - A Bio-Bibliography , Westport, Connecticut - London (1994)

Web links

Commons : Katharine Cornell  - Collection of Images
personal data
SURNAME Cornell, Katharine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cornell, Katherine; Cornell, Kit
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH February 16, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin , German Empire
DATE OF DEATH June 9, 1974
Place of death Tisbury , Massachusetts , United States