Frances Ann Denny Drake
Born6 November 1797 Edit this on Wikidata
Schenectady Edit this on Wikidata
Died6 September 1875 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 77)
Louisville Edit this on Wikidata
OccupationActor Edit this on Wikidata
Spouse(s)Alexander Drake Edit this on Wikidata
ChildrenJulia Drake Chapman Edit this on Wikidata

Frances Ann Denny Drake (November 6, 1797-September 1, 1875) was an American actress, foremost known as a tragedienne.[1] She had a successful career from 1815 onward, toured all the United States and has been described as the perhaps most well-known actress in America prior to Charlotte Cushman.

Drake was born on November 6, 1797, in Schenectady, New York.[2] Her acting debut came as Julia in the comedy The Midnight Hour in Cherry Valley, New York.[3]

Joseph Jefferson said about her "Before Charlotte Cushman reached the height of her popularity the leading tragic actress of America was Mrs. A. Drake."[4] Drake acted in New York between 1824 and 1835 in various roles, visited England in 1833.[5] Drake's roles in plays included Bianaca in Fazio, Imogene in Bertram, Julia in The Hunchback, and Mrs. Haller in The Stranger as well as most heroines in Shakespeare's works.[6]

In 1823, she married Alexander Drake, who headed the theatrical company in which she was a novice actress.[3] They had a daughter and three sons.[6] After his death in 1930,[3] she married George W. Cutter, an attorney and activist. They lived in Covington, Kentucky,[7] but an unhappy marriage led to a separation, and she once more used Drake as her last name.[3]

On September 1, 1875, Drake died[2] on her son's farm in Oldham County, Kentucky, aged 78.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Robin O. Warren, Women on Southern Stages, 1800–1865: Performance, Gender and Identity
  2. 1 2 "Frances Ann Denny Drake". Britannica. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "A History of the Theater in Louisville". The Courier-Journal. Kentucky, Louisville. January 29, 1922. p. 25. Retrieved November 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ JOSEPH JEFFERSON (1889). THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH JEFFERSON. THE CENTURY CO.
  5. ↑ James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S.; College, Radcliffe (1971). Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Harvard University Press. p. 517. ISBN 9780674627345. The%20Midnight%20Hour%20%22frances%22%20drake.
  6. 1 2 3 "Mrs. Drake Returns To Fresh Triumphs". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 27, 1936. p. 59. Retrieved November 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Tenkotte, Paul A.; Claypool, James C. (17 October 2014). The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-8131-5996-6. Retrieved November 27, 2020.



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