- Olga Nethersole
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Olga Isabella Nethersole, CBE, RRC (18 January 1869[1] – 9 January 1951) was an English actress, theatre producer, and wartime nurse/health educator.
Contents
Biography
She was born in London, of Spanish descent on her mother's side, and made her stage début at Theatre Royal, Brighton in 1887.[2] From 1888 she played important parts in London, at first under Rutland Barrington and John Hare at the Garrick Theatre.
She toured Australia and America, playing leading parts in modern plays, notably Clyde Fitch's Sapho, where she was arrested for "violating public decency" and later found innocent at trial.[3][4] Her powerful emotional acting, however, made a great effect in some other plays, such as Carmen, in which she again appeared in America in 1906.[5]
She served as a nurse in London throughout World War I and later established the People's League of Health, for which she received the Royal Red Cross (RRC) in 1920.[4] She combined her theatre work with health work for the rest of her life. She was created a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1936.
She died on 9 January 1951 in Bournemouth, England.[6][4]
Performances
This is a partial list of her notable performances:[5]
- Mary Magdalene, 5 December 1910 - December 1910
- The Writing on the Wall, 26 April 1909 - May 1909
- The Enigma, 8 February 1908 - 1 March 1908
- I Pagliacci, 8 February 1908 - 1 March 1908
- Sapho, 1908
Legacy
Between 1885 and 1890, her portrait was painted in Omaha, Nebraska by artist Herbert A. Collins.[7]
References
- ^ Some sources cite 1870 as her year of birth, although there is no record of any Olga Nethersole born around that time at GRO/Findmypast.co.uk
- ^ "NETHERSOLE, Olga". Who's Who 59: p. 1293. 1907. http://books.google.com/books?id=yEcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1293.
- ^ "The Sapho Affair". American Experience. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/1900/peopleevents/pande30.html. Retrieved 2011-03-19. "During one performance, Olga Nethersole was placed under arrest for "violating public decency." Her trial transfixed the city for weeks. Instructed by the trial judge that they were "not the guardians of the morals of this community", the jury took only 15 minutes to find her innocent. No sooner had the judge laid down his gavel, than the curtain rose again on Sapho. This time, the crowds were even bigger."
- ^ a b c "OLGA NETHERSOLE DIES AT AGE OF 80; Famed British Actress, Whose Role in 'Sapho' Led to Puror, Quit Stage to Aid Poor Revolted Against Prudery Turned to Welfare Work Made Her Stage Debut in 1888". New York Times. 11 January 1951. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0915F9395D147B93C3A8178AD85F458585F9. Retrieved 2011-03-19. "Olga Nethersole, one of Britain's most popular actresses of earlier generations, died at Bournemouth yesterday."
- ^ a b "Olga Nethersole". Internet Broadway Database. http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=7946. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
- ^ "Olga Nethersole Dies In England". Associated Press. 11 January 1951. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1781642912.html?FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+11%2C+1951&author=&pub=The+Sun+(1837-1985)&desc=Olga+Nethersole+Dies+In+England&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2011-03-19. "Olga Nethersole, English actress whose impassioned performances in long gone years drew international attention..."
- ^ Biography of Herbert Alexander Collins, by Alfred W. Collins, February 1975, 4 pages typed, in the possession of Collins' great-great grand-daughter, D. Dahl of Tacoma, Washington
External links
- Article about Olga Nethersole
- Olga Nethersole's photo section at the New York Public Library
- Olga Nethersole at Internet Broadway Database (IBDb)
- People's League of Health papers at LSE Archives
- Olga Nethersole; PeriodPaper.com c. 1910
- Olga Nethersole; findagrave.com
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Categories:- 1951 deaths
- People from London
- English nurses
- English people of Spanish descent
- English stage actors
- English theatre managers and producers
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Female wartime nurses
- Members of the Royal Red Cross
- Year of birth uncertain
- British stage actor stubs
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