Eleanor Daniels

Eleanor Daniels (28 December 1886 – 18 March 1994) was a Welsh stage and film actress.

Eleanor Daniels
Eleanor Daniels, from a 1914 publication
Born	28 December 1886 Llanarthney, Carmarthenshire, UK
Died	18 March 1994 Darien, Connecticut, US
Other names	Ellyw (bardic name)
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer, vocal coach

Early life

Eleanor Jane Daniels was born in Llanarthney and raised in Llanelli, the daughter David Daniels and Margaret Daniels. Her father was a hay merchant and publican.^[1] She had her first public success at age 13, when she won a prize at a local eisteddfod.^[2] She won three National Eisteddfod chairs by 1907,^[3] and studied acting with the Herbert Beerbohm Tree company.^[1]

Career

Daniels taught school as a young woman, and acted in Welsh stage dramas in Great Britain. She toured the United States with the Welsh Players in 1914.^[4] She moved to the United States soon after, and appeared on stage and in silent films,^[5][6] with good reviews for her work,^[7] though Dorothy Parker commented that "Eleanor Daniels works enthusiastically at being funny."^[8]

Daniels' stage roles included parts in Change (London 1912, 1913, New York 1914),^{[9][10][11][12]} The Joneses (London 1913), Kitty MacKay (1914),^[13][14] Loyalty, Heart of the Heather, Zach, Kitty Darlin' (1917),^[15] Lassies, La La Lucille (1919, 1920),^[16] Ashes (1924),^[17] The Beaten Track (1926),^[18][19] Juno and the Paycock (1926),^[20] and Rain.^[1] Her film appearances included a role in If Winter Comes (1923).^[19][21] She was a vocal coach in New York later in life,^[2] and had an office job with a diabetes charity.^[22]

Personal life

Daniels died in 1994, aged 107 years, in Darien, Connecticut. A blue plaque honouring Daniels was unveiled in Llanelli in 2011.^[22]

References

1. Lyons, Stephen. "Eleanor Daniels". Llanelli Community Heritage. from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
2. "Eleanor Daniels recites, aged 104". BBC News. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
3. "Miss Eleanor Daniels". The Cambrian. 30 August 1907. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2021 – via Welsh Newspapers.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
4. "Hits of the Month". The Theatre. 19: 322. June 1914.
5. "People: Eleanor Daniels". Silent Era. from the original on 14 November 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
6. Patterson, Ada (September 1914). "Actresses Who Have Their Chance This Season". Theatre Magazine. 20: 106.
7. "Miss Eleanor Daniel. American Tribute to Llanelly's Talented Actress". Llanelly Star. 21 February 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 4 April 2021 – via Welsh Newspapers.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
8. Parker, Dorothy (August 1919). "The First Shows of Summer". Vanity Fair. Vol. 11. p. 66.
9. Wearing, J. P. (19 December 2013). The London Stage 1910-1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-9300-9.
10. "Stage Society: 'Chance'". The Observer. 14 December 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 4 April 2021 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
11. "Booth". The Theatre. 19: 158. March 1914.
12. "'Change' is a Rare Play". Harrisburg Daily Independent. 3 March 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 4 April 2021 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
13. "With the First Nighters: Kitty McKay". Goodwin's Weekly. 23: 10. 15 November 1914.
14. "'Kitty MacKay' Moves to the Cort Theatre". The Boston Globe. 4 April 1915. p. 62. Retrieved 4 April 2021 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
15. "Alice Nielsen in Comic Opera". The Boston Globe. 30 October 1917. p. 4. Retrieved 4 April 2021 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
16. "La La Lucille (advertisement)". Chicago Tribune. 30 November 1919. p. 85. Retrieved 4 April 2021 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
17. Mantle, Burns; Sherwood, Garrison P. (1925). The Best Plays and the Year Book of the Drama in America. Dodd, Mead. p. 475.
18. Allen, Kelcey (9 February 1926). "Amusements: 'The Beaten Track' Drama Of Life And Death, Opens At Frolic: Eleanor Daniels And Gavin Muir Excellent In Play With Scene Laid In Wales". Women's Wear. p. 13 – via ProQuest.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
19. "An Old Woman Now". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 7 February 1926. p. 62. Retrieved 4 April 2021 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
20. Allen, Kelcey (16 March 1926). "Vibrant Drama Of Irish Life Finely Acted At Mayfair: 'Juno And The Paycock,' By Sean O'Casey, Is Realistic And Powerful Study Leavened By Homely Humor". Women's Wear. p. 12 – via ProQuest.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
21. Munden, Kenneth White (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. University of California Press. p. 374. ISBN 978-0-520-20969-5.
22. "Silent film actress Eleanor Daniels' plaque in Llanelli". BBC News. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2021.

External links

• Eleanor Daniels at IMDb
• Video of the unveiling of the Eleanor Daniels blue plaque in Llanelli, 2011, on YouTube