Charlotte Saunders Cushman

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Charlotte Cushman as Meg Merrilies in Guy Mannering. (credit: Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)

(born July 23, 1816, Boston, Mass., U.S. — died Feb. 18, 1876, Boston) U.S. actress. She made her opera debut in Boston at age 19, but her singing voice soon failed and she turned to acting. In 1837 she first played her most popular role, Meg Merrilies in Guy Mannering, and she became the first native-born U.S. theatre star. From 1842 she managed a theatre in Philadelphia, where she starred with William Macready in Macbeth. In 1854 – 55 she toured England to great acclaim. Noted for her powerful emotional reach, she portrayed Lady Macbeth and male roles such as Romeo and Hamlet.

For more information on Charlotte Saunders Cushman, visit Britannica.com.

Cushman, Charlotte [Saunders] (1816–76), actress. A relatively tall, burly, homely woman, she is generally acknowledged as the first great tragedienne of the American stage. Born in Boston and descended from several old, distinguished New England families, she is believed to have been self‐educated. Cushman had intended to become an opera singer, but when her singing voice gave out she turned to acting, making her debut in New York in 1835 as Lady Macbeth, a role afterward considered among her finest. She caused a stir in 1837 when she essayed Romeo, thus displaying early on a penchant for men's roles that persisted almost until the end of her career. That same year she first performed the role much of her public most admired her for, Meg Merrilies in the popular dramatization of Guy Mannering. Mary Anderson recalled, “When, in the moonlight of the scene, she dashed from her tent on to the stage, covered with the gray, shadowy garments of the gypsy sibyl, her appearance was ghost‐like and startling in the extreme. In her mad rushes on and off stage she was like a cyclone. . . . When Dick Hatterick's fatal bullet entered her body, and she came staggering down the stage, her terrible shriek, so wild and piercing, so full of agony and yet of the triumph she had given her life to gain, told the whole story of her love and her revenge.” In the fall of 1837 she became a member of the Park Theatre Company, where her roles included Goneril, Emilia, and Volumnia to Edwin Forrest's Coriolanus. She first played another of her famous roles, Nancy Sykes in Oliver Twist, in 1839. “The horror of her death scene was unmatched,” Odell recorded years later. In 1841 she was the first American Lady Gay Spanker. After briefly managing Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre, Cushman performed with Macready in 1844. He saw in her a fine but imperfect actress, so advised her to improve her art in London, where she spent the next several years. When she returned to America in 1852 she had added one more of her celebrated interpretations, Katherine in Shakespeare's Henry VIII, and another of her controversial portrayals of men: Claude Melnotte in The Lady of Lyons. She continued to play actively until 1857, when she announced her “farewell” tour, the first of several of these during her career, bringing her a share of unnecessary ridicule. Her repertory was extensive, including Beatrice, Rosalind, Bianca, and Pauline (in The Lady of Lyons) as well as important roles in contemporary plays. She also continued to play men's parts, eventually adding Hamlet and Cardinal Wolsey to her list. Her last New York appearance was as Lady Macbeth in 1874. During her final years age and ill health plagued her, so she often abandoned traditional acting in favor of readings. Although there was little dissent about the greatness of her acting, especially in serious and tragic roles, some controversy exists about her personality. Most published recollections are highly favorable, recalling her consideration and charity, but several associates remember her peculiarly masculine hardness and her occasional slugging of performers who annoyed her. In 1907 a club was established in Philadelphia as a hostel for traveling actresses and gathering place for theatrical aficionados. Named in her honor, it houses a collection of her personal memorabilia. Biography: Bright Particular Star, Joseph Leach, 1970.

The actress Charlotte Cushman (1816-1876) was the first great American-born tragedienne, in a career spanning 4 decades.

Charlotte Cushman, who was descended from one of the original Pilgrim families, was born in Boston in 1816. Faced with poverty in her late teens, she determined to become an opera singer, a career for which her remarkable voice - a full contralto and almost full soprano - well suited her. But while performing in New Orleans, she strained her voice by reaching too high, and at the age of 19 her singing career ended.

Undaunted, Cushman decided to become an actress. Her debut as Lady Macbeth in New Orleans in 1835 began a career that lasted for 40 years and encompassed almost 200 roles. After her first success Cushman joined New York theater companies, where at least two plays were performed each evening and the bill was changed each day. Here she served a diligent apprenticeship; yet, after 8 years, she was still in "miserable, frightful uncertainty" about her career.

Then in 1843, William Macready, the great English actor, played Macbeth to her Lady Macbeth. He was so impressed by Cushman's undisciplined talent that he urged her to go to London for training. In appreciation for this fortuitous advice, she later said she had "groped in darkness until she met Mr. Macready and learned his method." By 1845 she was hailed in London as an actress with the "godlike gift" of genius. Three years later she played a command performance before Queen Victoria as Katherine in Henry VIII.

When Cushman returned to the United States in 1849, she found herself not only a celebrated actress but a symbol of the achievement of American culture. She sustained her reputation as the greatest American tragedienne until her retirement in 1875.

Her talent lay in portraying women of great passion and pathos; in such roles her muscular frame and powerful yet controlled voice could overwhelm and sometimes frighten the audience. The mysterious old gypsy Meg Merrilies in Guy Mannering was her most famous role, followed by Lady Macbeth, Queen Katherine, and Nancy in the dramatization of Oliver Twist. So strong was her presence that she won praise in men's roles, playing Romeo, Cardinal Wolsey, and Hamlet.

As early as 1852 Cushman made the first of many farewell appearances. She knew that she was suffering from cancer; the disease plagued her for the next 24 years and was finally the indirect cause of her death from pneumonia in Boston in 1876. Yet until the end she continued to act, and when her strength failed, she gave dramatic readings. Both on and off the stage she was a lady of dignity, passion, and majesty.

Further Reading

The most intimate portrait of Charlotte Cushman was done by her friend Emma Stebbins, Charlotte Cushman, Her Letters and Memories of Her Life (1878). It is extremely sympathetic and somewhat sentimental but provides evidence of Cushman's strength and sensitivity in private and public life. William Winters includes private recollections and accounts of her performances in Other Days (1908) and The Wallet of Time, vol. 1 (1913). Two excellent if brief analyses of Cushman's talent and place appear in Lloyd Morris, Curtain Time (1953), and Garff Wilson, A History of American Acting (1966).

Quotes:

"Art is an absolute mistress; she will not be coquetted with or slighted; she requires the most entire self-devotion, and she repays with grand triumphs."

"No artist work is so high, so noble, so grand, so enduring, so important for all time, as the making of character is a child."

Charlotte Saunders Cushman
Born	July 23, 1816(1816-07-23) Boston, Massachusetts
Died	February 18, 1876 (aged 59) Boston, Massachusetts

Charlotte Saunders Cushman (July 23, 1816 – February 18, 1876) was an American stage actress.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Stage/theater career 3 Breast cancer 4 Death 5 Notes and references 6 External links

Early life

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she was encouraged by her mother to take up chores and after attempting maiding unsuccessfully, she tried acting, making her stage debut in 1836 in New Orleans.

She went on to become one of the greatest actresses of her day, successful at home as well as on the London stage. She made England her home for several years, becoming friends with the author Geraldine Jewsbury, who is said to have based a character on Cushman in her 1848 novel The Half Sisters.

Stage/theater career

Charlotte Cushman as Meg Merrilees

She made her stage debut in Boston in 1835, in the opera The Marriage of Figaro. The following year she debuted as Lady Macbeth, and her interpretation was more energetic than previous players. After a successful season in New Orleans, she returned to New York City under contract with the Bowery Theatre. She scored a success to rave reviews in Albany, New York, again playing Lady Macbeth.^[1]

By 1839, her younger sister Susan Webb Cushman became an actress, and at the age of 14 had married Nelson Merriman. Her husband abandoned her when she was pregnant and Charlotte cared for her sister. The two sisters became famous for playing Romeo and Juliet together, with Charlotte playing Romeo and Susan playing Juliet. ^[1]

In 1843, Cushman became involved romantically with Rosalie Sully, a daughter of artist Thomas Sully. By 1844, the romance had ended. She began travelling abroad acting in theater, and Sully died shortly thereafter.

The Cushman sisters, Charlotte and Susan, as Romeo and Juliet in 1846

In 1848, Cushman met journalist, writer and part time actress Matilda Hays. The two women became close friends, and after a short amount of time and some correspondence, they became involved in a lesbian affair. For the next ten years the two would be together almost entirely. They became known for dressing alike, and in Europe were publicly known as a couple.^[1]

In 1849, Cushman returned to the United States and by 1852 had decided to retire from the stage. She took up residence with Hays in Rome, Italy. They began living in an American expatriate community there, made up mostly of many lesbian artists and sculptors of the time. Cushman used her notoriety to promote the works of African American/Native American sculptor Edmonia Lewis, who had become a close friend, and whom Cushman greatly admired.

In 1854, Hays left Cushman for lesbian sculptor Harriet Hosmer, which launched a series of jealous interactions between the three women. Hays eventually returned to live with Cushman, but the tensions between her and Cushman would never be repaired. By late 1857, Cushman was secretly involved with lesbian sculptor Emma Stebbins. One night while Cushman was writing a note, Hays walked in on her. Suspecting that the note was to Stebbins, Hays demanded to see it. Although Cushman maintained that the note was not to Stebbins, she refused to show it to Hays. The altercation that followed was implosive. Hays became enraged, and began chasing Cushman around the house pounding her at every opportunity with her fists. The relationship ended immediately, and Hays moved out. She then sued Cushman stating in her claim that she had sacrificed her own career to support Cushman's career, and therefore was due a certain payment. Cushman paid her an unknown sum, and the two women parted company forever.^[1]

Poster advertising Cushman's appearance as Hamlet in February, 1861.

Emma Stebbins moved in with Cushman shortly after the break-up. Cushman traveled to America for a short tour a couple of months later. Although Cushman maintained that she was devoted to Stebbins, she became involved with another woman not long after her relationship with Stebbins began. Cushman met an 18 year old actress, Emma Crow, the daughter of Wayman Crow, and fell for her. The two women began an affair, and Cushman often called her "my little lover".

Before her departure to Italy, Cushman offered a farewell performance at the Washington Theater in the title role of Hamlet. The poster advertising her appearance describes her as "a lady universally acknowledged as the greatest living tragic actress".^[2]

When Cushman returned to Italy, Crow followed. Not long after arriving in Italy, Crow attracted the attention of Cushman's nephew, Ned Cushman. In April 1861, Ned Cushman and Emma Crow married.^[1]

Breast cancer

In 1869, Cushman underwent treatment for breast cancer. Stebbins ignored her own sculpting career and devoted all of her time to caring for Cushman.

Death

Charlotte Cushman died of pneumonia in Boston in 1876, aged 59, and was interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1915 she was elected to the New York University Hall of Fame.

Notes and references

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Charlotte Cushman biography on glbtq.com. Accessed online 9 November 2006
2. ^ See the poster Image:Cushman in Hamlet poster.jpg.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Charlotte Cushman

External links

• Charlotte Cushman Photograph part of the Nineteenth Century Notables Digital Collection at Gettysburg College
• Death from breast cancer

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