Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and stage actress and playwright "notorious for playing lachrymose parts".[2] Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor.[3]
She made her Broadway debut in New York City in Sweet Kitty Bellairs in 1903.[7] Her first leading role was Fanny Perry in 1909 in Leo Ditrichstein's Is Matrimony a Failure?, produced by David Belasco, and then she played stock. This was followed by The Gamblers (1910), her first great success, and by Within the Law (1912), Common Clay (1915), and other successes (New International Encyclopedia). She was known for her interpretation of Shakespearean roles, playing Juliet, Cleopatra, and Viola on Broadway. She made Broadway history by playing Juliet over 1000 consecutive performances in 1923; critic George Jean Nathan declared her "not ... the best Juliet that I have seen, but she is by all odds the most charming".[8] Cowl's affecting performances led her to be described as having a "voice with a tear."[9] Biographer Charles Higham admired Cowl's "marvelous bovine eyes and exquisite genteel catch in the voice ..."[10]
In June 1911, Cowl traveled on the maiden voyage from Southampton of the RMS Olympic, sister ship of the Titanic which was lost in a famous disaster the following April .[11]
In 1930, Cowl appeared with a young Katharine Hepburn in the Broadway production of Benn W. Levy's play Art and Mrs. Bottle, and in 1934, she created the role of Lael Wyngate in S.N. Behrman's Rain from Heaven opposite actor John Halliday. Noting the challenges posed by Behrman's heightened dialogue, critic Gilbert Gabriel noted approvingly that their scenes together were "models of aristocratic parlando."[12] She also starred in Noël Coward's Easy Virtue.
Cowl was the lead in two silent films, The Garden of Lies (1915) and The Spreading Dawn (1917). Then, after nearly 30 years away from films, she returned for several supporting roles in the 1940s. Her final film was Payment on Demand (1951) with Bette Davis.
Jane Cowl died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, on June 22, 1950, aged 66. Following cremation, her ashes were buried at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.
A biography about Cowl, titled Jane Cowl: Her Precious and Momentary Glory, was published in 2004.[13] It was written by Richard Abe King, who had formerly worked with Cowl.
FamilyEdit
From the Green Book Magazine cover 1912
On June 18, 1906, at her father's apartment on Riverside Drive and 95th Street in New York City, Cowl married Adolph Edward Klauber, the drama critic of The New York Times.[14] A former actor and son of a prominent Jewish photographer in Louisville, Kentucky, Klauber left the Times in 1918 to become a theatrical producer and manager. He and Cowl separated in 1930, shortly after his health began to fail. Klauber returned to live "in strict seclusion" in Louisville, where he died in 1933.[15] The couple had no children.
WorksEdit
Cowl wrote several plays in collaboration with Jane Murfin. They often used the joint pseudonym Allan Langdon Martin. Their works include:
Jane Cowl University of Washington, Sayre collection
(Wayback Machine)
October 22, 2023
jane, cowl, december, 1883, june, 1950, american, film, stage, actress, playwright, notorious, playing, lachrymose, parts, actress, jane, russell, named, cowl, honor, 1920bornjane, baileydecember, 1883boston, massachusetts, diedjune, 1950, 1950, aged, santa, m. Jane Cowl December 14 1883 June 22 1950 was an American film and stage actress and playwright notorious for playing lachrymose parts 2 Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl s honor 3 Jane CowlJane Cowl in 1920BornJane BaileyDecember 14 1883Boston Massachusetts U S DiedJune 22 1950 1950 06 22 aged 66 Santa Monica California U S Resting placeAshes buried in Valhalla Memorial Park CemeteryOther names Crying Jane C R Avery 1 Occupation s Actress playwrightYears active1903 1950SpouseAdolph Klauber m 1906 separated 1930 wbr Contents 1 Biography 2 Family 3 Works 4 Filmography 5 References 6 External linksBiography Edit nbsp Photoplay the Aristocrat of Motion Picture Magazines Volume 9 1915Cowl was born Jane Bailey in Boston Massachusetts to Charles Bailey and Grace Avery 4 5 She attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn New York City 6 followed by some courses at Columbia University 7 She made her Broadway debut in New York City in Sweet Kitty Bellairs in 1903 7 Her first leading role was Fanny Perry in 1909 in Leo Ditrichstein s Is Matrimony a Failure produced by David Belasco and then she played stock This was followed by The Gamblers 1910 her first great success and by Within the Law 1912 Common Clay 1915 and other successes New International Encyclopedia She was known for her interpretation of Shakespearean roles playing Juliet Cleopatra and Viola on Broadway She made Broadway history by playing Juliet over 1000 consecutive performances in 1923 critic George Jean Nathan declared her not the best Juliet that I have seen but she is by all odds the most charming 8 Cowl s affecting performances led her to be described as having a voice with a tear 9 Biographer Charles Higham admired Cowl s marvelous bovine eyes and exquisite genteel catch in the voice 10 In June 1911 Cowl traveled on the maiden voyage from Southampton of the RMS Olympic sister ship of the Titanic which was lost in a famous disaster the following April 11 In 1930 Cowl appeared with a young Katharine Hepburn in the Broadway production of Benn W Levy s play Art and Mrs Bottle and in 1934 she created the role of Lael Wyngate in S N Behrman s Rain from Heaven opposite actor John Halliday Noting the challenges posed by Behrman s heightened dialogue critic Gilbert Gabriel noted approvingly that their scenes together were models of aristocratic parlando 12 She also starred in Noel Coward s Easy Virtue nbsp Advertisement for Jane Cowl in the 1915 Universal film The Garden of LiesCowl was the lead in two silent films The Garden of Lies 1915 and The Spreading Dawn 1917 Then after nearly 30 years away from films she returned for several supporting roles in the 1940s Her final film was Payment on Demand 1951 with Bette Davis Jane Cowl died of cancer in Santa Monica California on June 22 1950 aged 66 Following cremation her ashes were buried at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery A biography about Cowl titled Jane Cowl Her Precious and Momentary Glory was published in 2004 13 It was written by Richard Abe King who had formerly worked with Cowl Family Edit nbsp From the Green Book Magazine cover 1912On June 18 1906 at her father s apartment on Riverside Drive and 95th Street in New York City Cowl married Adolph Edward Klauber the drama critic of The New York Times 14 A former actor and son of a prominent Jewish photographer in Louisville Kentucky Klauber left the Times in 1918 to become a theatrical producer and manager He and Cowl separated in 1930 shortly after his health began to fail Klauber returned to live in strict seclusion in Louisville where he died in 1933 15 The couple had no children Works EditCowl wrote several plays in collaboration with Jane Murfin They often used the joint pseudonym Allan Langdon Martin Their works include Lilac Time 1917 At Daybreak 1917 Information Please 1918 Smilin Through 1919 The Jealous Moon 1928Filmography EditThe Garden of Lies 1915 The Spreading Dawn 1917 Once More My Darling 1949 No Man of Her Own 1950 The Secret Fury 1950 Payment on Demand 1951 References Edit Slide Anthony 1998 Eccentrics of Comedy Lanham Ma Scarecrow Press p 123 ISBN 978 0 8108 3534 4 Ben Iden Payne A Life in a Wood O Memoirs of the Theatre Yale University Press 1977 page 130 Jane Russell A Howard Hughes Find Is 1941 s Best New Star Prospect Life 20 January 1941 page 42 Jane Cowl Her Precious and Momentary Glory page 36 by Richard Abe King c 2004 Retrieved October 27 2014 Notable American Women 1607 1950 A Biographical Dictionary Volume 2 by Edward T James Janet Wilson James Paul S Boyer c 1971 The Cyclopedia of American Biography 1926 page 176 a b Jane Cowl American playwright and actress Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved Jan 10 2020 George Jean Nathan and Henry Louis Mencken Ethics for Dramatic Critics The Smart Set Volume 70 Ess Ess Publishing Co 1922 page 134 Why Miss Cowl Delighted Bell Telephone News Volume 8 1918 page 15 Charles Higham Kate The Life of Katharine Hepburn W W Norton 2004 page 16 Encyclopedia Titanica org June 1911 Olympic s Maiden Voyage correspondence of June 21 2002 Gilbert W Gabriel Rain from Heaven Theatre Guild s Yule Present in S N Behrman s Play New York American 26 December 1934 King Richard 2004 Jane Cowl Her Precious and Momentary Glory Author House ISBN 978 1 4107 6505 5 Klauber Cowl The New York Times 19 June 1906 Adolph Klauber Producer Dies The New York Times 8 December 1933External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jane Cowl Jane Cowl at IMDb Jane Cowl at Women in American History website Jane Cowl at Find a Grave Jane Cowl at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Allan Langdon Martin pseudonym at the Internet Broadway Database Jane Cowl papers 1907 1949 bulk 1927 1945 held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Jane Cowl portrait gallery at NYP Library first of three pages of photos shot by Nickolas Muray devoted to Jane Cowl Wayback Machine Jane Cowl photo gallery at Corbis Jane Cowl University of Washington Sayre collection photo of Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jane Cowl amp oldid 1171815776, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
