Edna May Pettie (September 2, 1878 – January 1, 1948), known on stage as Edna May, was an American actress and singer. A popular postcard beauty, May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian musical comedies.
May was born in Syracuse, New York, to Edgar and Cora Petty. The family later changed the surname to "Pettie". Her siblings were Adelbert, Jennie and Marguerite.[1] At the age of 5, she played Little Willie Allen in a production of Dora. The next year, her performances "charmed a number of audiences lately with her child voice".[2] By the age of 7, she had joined a children's opera company and performed Gilbert and Sullivan productions in Syracuse. She studied music at the New York Conservatoire as a teenager.[3]
May made her professional debut in 1895 in Si Stebbings in Syracuse. She then moved to New York to take the small role of Clairette in Oscar Hammerstein's Broadway show, Santa Maria.[4] That year, she married Fred Titus, who held a world record for cycling. They had no children and divorced in 1904.[1]
The cover of the vocal score of The Belle of New York
In 1897, May played Violet Grey in The Belle of New York with only moderate success. The following year, the production played in London, becoming a hit and running for 697 performances, making May a star. After that, among others, she played Gabrielle Dalmonte in An American Beauty in London (1900), Olga in The Girl from Up There (1901) in New York and then London, Edna Branscombe in Three Little Maids (1902), Lillian Leigh in The School Girl (1903–1904) in London and New York, Say-So-San in The Darling of the Guards (1904) in London,[5] Alesia in La Poupée (1904) in London, and Angela in The Catch of the Season (1905) in New York. The Belle of Mayfair followed in London in 1906. May played the title character in Nelly Neil in London in 1907.
May was known for her beauty and received tremendous attention from male admirers. In 1907, she married millionaire Oscar Lewisohn and retired from the stage. The couple settled in England. They had no children, and Lewisohn died in 1917.[1]
May lived at Winkfield in Berkshire during her retirement, but made brief returns to the stage in 1911 benefit performances of The Belle of New York at the Savoy Theatre in London and 1915's The Masque of Peace and War in London. Also in 1911, she appeared in the film Forgotten; or An Answered Prayer. She starred in a 1916 film called Salvation Joan, donating the proceeds to charity.[6]
^ abcPascoe, Charles L. "Edna May", Edna May website
^"A Festival To-Morrow Night", The Syracuse Standard, June 1, 1885. See also: "In the Church of Christ", The Syracuse Standard, March 25, 1885, praising her singing of "Cuckoo Song" at a benefit in the church.
^"Studying Vocals in New York", The Sunday Herald, May 5, 1895
^"Olympia Theatre Opened; Santa Maria, by Oscar Hammerstein, Done in a Showy Way", The New York Times, September 25, 1896, p. 3.
^Culme, John. "Postcard of the week", Footlight Notes, 18 April 2009, accessed 13 February 2013, quoting "The Darling of the Guards", The Illustrated London News, 27 February 1904
^"Edna May Returns as a Movie Star", The New York Times, 10 April 1916, accessed 13 October 2010
Further readingedit
Pascoe, Charles. Edna May – Superstar: 1878-1948: Stage Actress of the Edwardian Era (2011; self-published, Montreal) ISBN9780986853005
Nicholson, Shirley. An Edwardian Bachelor, Roy Sambourne 1878–1946 (1991), The Victorian Society. ISBN0901657301
Edna May University of Washington, Sayre collection
portrait gallery(NY Public Library)
Clippings about May
Edna May in The Belle of New York
Collected Works of Edna May available for download at Internet Archive
portrait
April 25, 2024
edna, pettie, september, 1878, january, 1948, known, stage, american, actress, singer, popular, postcard, beauty, famous, leading, roles, edwardian, musical, comedies, 1907born, pettie, 1878, september, 1878syracuse, york, city, diedjanuary, 1948, 1948, aged, . Edna May Pettie September 2 1878 January 1 1948 known on stage as Edna May was an American actress and singer A popular postcard beauty May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian musical comedies Edna MayMay c 1907BornEdna May Pettie 1878 09 02 September 2 1878Syracuse New York City U S DiedJanuary 1 1948 1948 01 01 aged 69 Lausanne SwitzerlandOccupation s Actress singerYears active1883 1907SpouseOscar Lewisohn m 1907 died 1917 wbr Contents 1 Life and career 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External linksLife and career edit nbsp Edna May c 1900 May was born in Syracuse New York to Edgar and Cora Petty The family later changed the surname to Pettie Her siblings were Adelbert Jennie and Marguerite 1 At the age of 5 she played Little Willie Allen in a production of Dora The next year her performances charmed a number of audiences lately with her child voice 2 By the age of 7 she had joined a children s opera company and performed Gilbert and Sullivan productions in Syracuse She studied music at the New York Conservatoire as a teenager 3 May made her professional debut in 1895 in Si Stebbings in Syracuse She then moved to New York to take the small role of Clairette in Oscar Hammerstein s Broadway show Santa Maria 4 That year she married Fred Titus who held a world record for cycling They had no children and divorced in 1904 1 nbsp The cover of the vocal score of The Belle of New York In 1897 May played Violet Grey in The Belle of New York with only moderate success The following year the production played in London becoming a hit and running for 697 performances making May a star After that among others she played Gabrielle Dalmonte in An American Beauty in London 1900 Olga in The Girl from Up There 1901 in New York and then London Edna Branscombe in Three Little Maids 1902 Lillian Leigh in The School Girl 1903 1904 in London and New York Say So San in The Darling of the Guards 1904 in London 5 Alesia in La Poupee 1904 in London and Angela in The Catch of the Season 1905 in New York The Belle of Mayfair followed in London in 1906 May played the title character in Nelly Neil in London in 1907 nbsp May in 1915 by William Orpen May was known for her beauty and received tremendous attention from male admirers In 1907 she married millionaire Oscar Lewisohn and retired from the stage The couple settled in England They had no children and Lewisohn died in 1917 1 May lived at Winkfield in Berkshire during her retirement but made brief returns to the stage in 1911 benefit performances of The Belle of New York at the Savoy Theatre in London and 1915 s The Masque of Peace and War in London Also in 1911 she appeared in the film Forgotten or An Answered Prayer She starred in a 1916 film called Salvation Joan donating the proceeds to charity 6 She died in Lausanne Switzerland at the age of 69 References edit a b c Pascoe Charles L Edna May Edna May website A Festival To Morrow Night The Syracuse Standard June 1 1885 See also In the Church of Christ The Syracuse Standard March 25 1885 praising her singing of Cuckoo Song at a benefit in the church Studying Vocals in New York The Sunday Herald May 5 1895 Olympia Theatre Opened Santa Maria by Oscar Hammerstein Done in a Showy Way The New York Times September 25 1896 p 3 Culme John Postcard of the week Footlight Notes 18 April 2009 accessed 13 February 2013 quoting The Darling of the Guards The Illustrated London News 27 February 1904 Edna May Returns as a Movie Star The New York Times 10 April 1916 accessed 13 October 2010Further reading editPascoe Charles Edna May Superstar 1878 1948 Stage Actress of the Edwardian Era 2011 self published Montreal ISBN 9780986853005 Nicholson Shirley An Edwardian Bachelor Roy Sambourne 1878 1946 1991 The Victorian Society ISBN 0901657301External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edna May Edna May at IMDb Edna May at the Internet Broadway Database Site dedicated to Edna May Photos biography and press articles Photographs Edna May University of Washington Sayre collection portrait gallery NY Public Library Clippings about May Edna May in The Belle of New York Collected Works of Edna May available for download at Internet Archive portrait Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edna May amp oldid 1191299945, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
