For the Love of an Actress

The Edwardian actress was, for many, the very epitomy of the womanhood of her time. They were the popular superstars of their day, the equivalent of the modern day catwalk model, movie queen (movies were in their infancy back then) and pop princess all in one. With their faces regularly appearing on billboards and in the newspapers, many were instantly recognisable in an era when many other notable public figures could have passed down the street quite unremarked. Consequently they attracted many admirers - even the plainest amongst them, once she had risen to prominence in her profession, could be assured of no shortage of courtiers and paramours, whilst the most beautiful could command the attention of the most powerful of men of all, from wealthy financiers to the landed gentry and even into royalty.

But to be the object of such attentions could be a double-edged sword. For a few at least of these love-struck admirers, the lure of marrying an actress was so great that the frustration of this desire would drive them to the very edge of reason, and sometimes beyond. And on some of these occasions events transpired which led to tragedy or ruin for themselves, or for the object of their obsessions. Here are the stories behind a few extreme cases.

Four Suicides

Budapest, August 18th, 1896 - Count Arthur Pallavicini, a handsome young Hungarian nobleman only 21 years of age, committed suicide in a case of unrequited love. The object of his desire was Ethel Barrison, one of the five Barrison sisters, well known American variety artistes who were at the time conducting a European tour. Totally infatuated with Miss Barrison, the Count tried in every way to persuade her to marry him but she continually spurned his advances. Pushed beyond reason in his distress, he shot himself with a revolver, leaving a suicide note in which he begged Miss Barrison to press a kiss upon his coffin. Unexpectedly, she complied.

London, October 29th, 1905 - Shortly after Gertie Millar had become the wife of the composer Lionel Monckton, an ardent admirer broke into her home, a mansion in fashionable Russell Square, and committed suicide in her boudoir. Gunther Holzhausen was a German nobleman, the scion of a rich and powerful family, who had fallen head over heels in love with Miss Millar after being introduced to her in Nice. He followed her to London where she had tea with him a few times but then tried to distance herself from him when his obsession became clear. She then tried to avoid further contact with him and consistently refused his promises of expensive gifts if only she would extend her friendship with him. He became such a nuisance that he had to be barred from the theatre where Gertie was appearing, and to her relief seemed to disappear for a while. Until, that is, the fateful night when he gained entry to Gertie's home by breaking in through a window, and committed suicide in her boudoir by blowing his brains out with a revolver. Gertie and Lionel Monckton were sleeping in an upstairs room when the shot rang out, and Lionel immediately locked the room containing the dying man until the police and a surgeon arrived.

Boston, July, 1906 - Reinhardt Steinson, a young Swedish mechanical engineer, ended his life by taking cyanide of potassium when his hopes were dashed of marrying fellow countrywoman Camille Clifford. Steinson became acquainted with Miss Clifford when she first arrived in America and was working as a domestic in Boston. The couple became very close and Steinson had every hope of one day making her his wife. Even after Camille became an actress and quickly rose to the very zenith of her profession they kept in touch by mail, and spent much time in each others company whenever Miss Clifford was in Boston. But then came news of her engagement and subsequent marriage to the Hon. Henry Lyndhurst Bruce, causing a great change in Steinson's outlook on life. The heartbreak was more than he could bear, and he took his life.

London, August 8th, 1907 - Shirley Falcke, the eighteen year old son of a wealthy American Industrialist had become infatuated with the beautiful actress Iris Hoey, whom he met and befriended in a Strand restaurant. When his father arranged to send him to Canada to part him from Miss Hoey, he arranged to meet her for supper and in a fit of melancholy declared his intention to kill himself. Fearing for his safety, Miss Hoey refused to allow him to journey home alone. During the cab ride, Falcke suddenly produced a revolver and put it to his head, Miss Hoey tried to pull his hand away but he snatched it free and instantyle shot himself. His last words, to a policeman who arrived on the scene, were "I did it all myself".

Five Murders

New York, January 7th, 1872 - James Fisk Jr., one of the most prominent men in New York, was shot and killed by his former friend turned rival in love, Edward J. Stokes. Fisk had fallen deeply in love with the actress Josie Mansfield and installed her in a luxury apartment. He then introduced her to his friend Edward Stokes but found to his regret that matters of love overthrow those of mere friendship. The two men fell into a feud over Miss Mansfield which became increasingly bitter, with Stokes threatening to betray secrets of Fisk's business dealings. Matters came to a head in the Grand Central Hotel when Stokes drew a gun and shot his former friend dead.

New York, March 4th, 1901 - A young and exceptionally beautiful sixteen year old Italian actress, Minnie Cralla, was murdered by a spurned suitor. Miss Cralla was a member of an Italian company playing at the Italian Theatre on Mulberry Street in New York. Her killer, Antonio Friolli, had prevailed upon the young girl to marry him many times but she repeatedly refused. Friolli attended the show on the fateful night and then waited outside the theatre until Miss Cralla came out in the company of her mother. Friolli then pulled out a revolver and fired five shots, striking her twice, once in the temple and once in the back. A policeman nearby gave chase as Friolli ran off and he was apprehended a short distance away. Sadly, Miss Cralla died of her injuries within a few minutes.

Chicago, June 4th, 1901 - Promising actress Edna Stokes was murdered by Edward Forshay, an actor in the same stock company. Forshay and Miss Stokes had experienced a troubled relationship and had quarrelled a few days previously, whereupon he had beaten her badly. In consequence, Miss Stokes broke off their relationship and gave instructions to the proprietor of the Vernon Hotel where she was staying not to admit him. When Forshay attempted to call on her the proprietor refused to let him through, but permitted him to wait in the parlor so that Miss Stokes could come down and talk to him. As soon as she appeared however, Forshaw pulled a gun and shot her twice, killing her instantly. He then ran from the building but was soon captured. Suicide notes were found on his person and he explained that he had intended to kill himself also but when the time came did not have the nerve.

London, September 28th, 1912 - Actress Flo Dudley (real name Florence Alice Bernadette Silles) was killed by a man who had cruelly tricked her into a promise of marriage. Miss Dudley was a widow with a six year old son who had turned to the stage for a living following the death of her husband. Whilst playing at the Tivoli in Manchester she was introduced to Edward Hopwood who represented himself as a rich bachelor. In the ensuing months Hopwood spent much money on gifts for Miss Dudley whilst protesting his love for her and begging her to marry him. Eventually she accepted, not least to secure a future for her son. Hopwood then contacted Miss Dudley's agent and cancelled all her contracts as we would not allow her on stage again, and the couple went off on an idyllic holiday in Brussells, having first placed her son in boarding school. Shortly after their return to England however, Florence discovered to her horror that he was a married man with three children and in severe financial difficulties. She resolved immediately to have nothing more to do with him and contacted her agent to find work so that she might return to the stage. But Hopwood would not give up on her, and tricked her into meeting him at a restaurant by sending a telegram in the name of a friend of hers. Confronted by Hopwood at the restaurant, and against her better judgement, she allowed him to entertain her there and then escort her in a taxicab to Fenchurch Street Station for her train back to Ilford where she was staying. When they were very close to the station the cab driver heard three loud reports and stopped the cab to see what had occurred. Almost immediately Miss Dudley burst out and proclaimed she had been shot, whereupon two more shots rang out from inside the cab as Hopwood turned the gun on himself. Miss Dudley died of her wounds within a few minutes, Hopwood survived long enough to be hung for his crime.

London, April 9th, 1925 - Pretty child actress and dancer Grace Diana Blakaller was murdered outside her mother's home in London by Earnest Rhodes, a young German valet, who slashed her throat as she made to kiss him goodnight. The girl screamed and dragged herself to the doorstep of her mother's home but died later in hospital. Rhodes made good his escape but surrendered himself to the authorities two days later. In explanation for his crime Rhodes said she was always teasing him and in his statement regarding the night in question added "Grace laughed in my face and said 'you poor fool' when I asked to see her on Easter. As we were kissing good night, a short distance from her mother's home, I pulled a razor from my pocket and cut her throat."

Murder or Suicide?

New York, June 4th, 1904 - In a chilling precursor to the London incident involving Iris Hoey, a young man was shot dead whilst riding in a cab with a famed actress. But this time there was no dying declaration that he did it all himself, and the finger of suspicion fell upon his charming companion. The deceased's name was Frank "Caesar" Young, a young Englishman living in New York, and his paramour was Ann Eliza "Nan" Patterson. The couple had been been conducting an affair, despite both being married when they met. Nan divorced her husband soon after, and he had become estranged from his wife.

Miss Patterson claimed that Young had committed suicide because she refused to elope to Europe with him. Young had been due to sail to Europe on the day of the shooting, ostensibly to be with his wife, but they had made plans for her (Miss Patterson) to follow him to Europe on a later sailing to continue their relationship. She had had second thoughts however, and broke it to him in the cab that day that she had abandoned the idea, and had no intention of following him to Europe. Young then reached over and grabbed her wrists drawing her towards him. She turned her face away from him, and a few seconds later heard rather than saw the fatal shot.

The prosecution claimed rather that Miss Patterson had killed Young in cold blood because he was breaking with her in order to be reconciled with his wife. He had no reason to commit suicide they said, and the defendant had been heard to make threats against him. Furthermore, they claimed that the weapon that killed Young had been Miss Patterson's, secured for her only the previous day by her brother in law. Young had arranged to meet Miss Patterson on that fateful day to break with her and try to secure the return of certain letters that she held. Instead Miss Patterson, who was known to have a fiery temper, then pulled the gun and killed him.

The cab driver could throw no light on what had occured. He was unable to look inside the cab immediately after hearing the shot because of the need to calm the horse that had been spooked by the sudden report. Both Young's and Patterson's hands showed traces of gunpowder suggesting both had been in proximity to the weapon when it was fired, but a witness who claimed to have watched from the street supported Miss Patterson's story. The case was never resolved. After one mistrial and two hung jury's the prosecutor decided not to continue and Miss Patterson, who had been held without bail from the beginning was released. The indictment was not quoshed however, and could have been reinstated at any time. Miss Patterson's found it difficult to resume her career after the case, and within a few years dropped out of sight.

Mary Anderson's Crazy Admirer

USA, 1882-1888 - In Elmira in 1882, an impressionable man named James P. Dougherty saw Mary Anderson playing in "The Lady of Lyons" and immediately fell in love with her. He tried to secure an interview with her after the performance but was politely refused. His attentions did not end there however, over the next six years he followed her to New York and even to London, sending her innumerable gifts and bouquets of flowers but was always refused a meeting. Eventually, in New York in 1888, his actions led to his arrest for harassing Miss Anderson with his constant attentions. At the time of his arrest he was found to be carrying a large revolver and seemed to be convinced that Miss Anderson was equally in love with him, and that it was only through the actions of jealous rivals that he was being kept apart from her. Following the arrest, Miss Anderson attended upon the detectives office and tried to reason with Dougherty. Speaking kindly with him, she told him that he was deluding himself and that she had never encouraged his attentions. Such was his state of unreason however, that he insisted that she had misled him and that he had received bows and smiles from her. On gaining a promise from Dougherty that he would not follow her any more, Miss Anderson took pity on him and begged the detective to let him go. The detective however, was concerned for Dougherty's state of mind and held him over for evaluation. He was subsequently committed to the Flatbush Asylum in New York. Unfortunately, his stay there apparently did him little benefit. Shortly after his release two years later, he returned with a handgun and shot dead the assistant medical superintendent, Dr. George W. Lloyd. Following his arrest for that offence he cheerfully told police that he had intended to shoot 'the whole crowd' there.

Two Unsolved Poisonings

USA, 1899 - An unidentified young man, described by witnesses as being around twenty years of age, called at the hotel where Miss Cora Tanner, a celebrated actress, was staying in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. He left a box of caramels and a large bouquet of roses at the hotel office for Miss Tanner, and these were duly delivered to her room when she returned to the hotel that evening. Shortly after breathing in the fragrance of the roses and eating one of the candies Miss Tanner became violently ill. Alerted to sounds of distress coming from her her room, hotel staff burst in the door and found her writhing on the floor in agony, unable to speak. A doctor called to the room suspected poisoning and note was made of the single piece of candy missing from a box upon her table. Tests later revealed both the caramels and the flowers to have been liberally sprinkled with hydrocyanic acid (cyanide), a clear attempt on her life which almost succeeded. Although made critically ill for a few days, Miss Tanner did subsequently make a full recovery. Police traced the box of candies to the establishment from which they had been purchased but were unable to obtain any further clues as to the identity of the purchaser. The source of the poison was not traced. No-one was charged with the crime, nor was any motive firmly established - although police did indicate that a young man from another city was their prime suspect.

London, 1920 - Peggy O'Neill, a young American actress, almost died after eating chocolates that had been laced with Strychnine and Arsenic. The chocolates had been sent anonymously to her dressing room. Miss O'Neill ate some of the chocolates, and fed one to her pet dog which subsequently died. Police were unable to trace the person responsible for sending the chocolates.

Poisoned by Magnolias

Oakland, USA, 1913 - Pretty actress Lovell Alice Taylor was almost killed by a gift of flowers given to her over the footlights by a well meaning admirer. Miss Taylor took the bouquet of Magnolias back to her hotel room where, it being a cold night, she slept with the windows tightly closed and the heating turned well up. The heat and lack of circulation caused the room to fill with an overpowering odour of the flowers as she slept. When Miss Taylor failed to keep an appointment with her sister the following morning, the latter entered her room and found her unconscious. A doctor was called, and after about an hour Miss Taylor was revived with no lasting effects. Magnolia blossoms are known to have a mildly toxic scent but, although some caged birds are known to have died from it, such a reaction in humans is extremely rare.

The Actress Who Cost a King His Throne

Portugal, 1908 - The newly crowned King Manuel of Portugal became totally infatuated with the beautiful French actress Gaby Deslys, with whom he had a very public affair. At a time when his subjects were steeped in poverty and in his country in need of firm leadership he lavished expensive gifts upon her and neglected his Kingly duties in order to become a 'stage-door Johnny'. Shortly after their affair began Gaby began wearing fabulous strings of pearls and her press agents put it about that the King had gifted these to her. She also spent much time with him sailing aboard his private yacht. That he should waste such fortunes on a foreigner whilst they went hungry was more than his people could bear and the tide of public opinion turned solidly against him. It was this swing in the political climate, swelling the ranks of the Republicans who had assassinated his father and brother, that allowed the latter to seize power and depose him. After a reign of two years, in October 1910, the King was forced to flee to British Gibraltar, and lived out the remainder of his life in exile in England. Whilst it cannot be said that the revolution that drove King Manuel from his country would never have occured had it not been for his dalliance with Miss Deslys, there is little doubt that it brought about a situation that made the revolution inevitable.

In her serialised autobiography (published in the Syracuse Herald shortly after her death) Miss Deslys relates accounts of two other occasions on which her suitors let their passions get the better of them. In New York in 1913, a wealthy local stockbroker wrote a letter to her in the following terms "I am madly in love with you. Unless you see me I shall do something desperate. Please meet me." Gaby relates that she "decided to see the young man. to prove that his love was misplaced, and persuade him that such threats as he made were silly and hardly worthy of an American". The young man was admitted to her dressing room whereupon he proposed to her and insisted they should go away and get married. She tried to reason with him in her poor English but he would not be swayed. When she refused him he rushed out into the street and, producing a revolver, attempted unsuccessfully to shoot himself. Then, during a subsequent visit to New York, an even more tragic incident occured. A male friend of Miss Deslys, a young man who had become deeply enamoured of her, took exception to some disparaging remarks made about her by a local young woman. When she refused to retract he pulled a revolver and, aiming it at her, insisted she withdraw her remarks. Calling his bluff, the woman instead repeated her comment whereupon the youth pulled the trigger and shot her dead.

More Royal Scandals

Prague, December, 1903 - Many newspapers ran a story that Princess Elizabeth, granddaughter of the Emperor of Austria and wife of Prince Otto of Windish-Gratz, had shot and killed Clara Ziegler, a beautiful young actress with whom her husband was infatuated and whom she had, according to the report, found in the Prince's private apartments at Prague. Also shot, according to the story, was a valet who tried to bar the Princess' way into the Prince's apartments. Although the story grew in detail with each telling, it was later found to have been a complete fabrication put about by jealous rivals of the actress in question. Whilst this story in itself may have been a hoax however, the Emperor's indiscretions with actresses were well known, giving the ring of truth to the lie.