Emily Melville

Melville, Emily [also spelled Emilie and Emelie] (1850–1932), actress. Only five years old when she played the Duke of York to Edwin Forrest's Richard III in Providence, Rhode Island, the Philadelphian was a popular child star in Louisville and elsewhere on what was called the “Western” circuit. She moved to San Francisco in 1868 and for the next sixty years remained one of its most beloved actresses. Much of her early success was as the prima donna of contemporary comic operas, but Melville also earned acclaim for her Ophelia and other dramatic interpretations. As late as the 1920s she played important older parts with the Alcazar Theatre's famous stock company and at other local playhouses.