Mabel Frenyear

Mabel Frenyear (August 25, 1880 – died after 1921) was an actress and chorus girl on stage and in three silent films.

Mabel Frenyear
Mabel Frenyear, from a 1909 publication.
BornAugust 25, 1880
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, US
Diedafter 1921
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress

Career

Frenyear appeared in three silent films, A Fool There Was (1915), a Theda Bara vehicle,[1] Tit for Tat (1915), a comedy,[2] and Social Quicksands (1918),[3] written by Katharine Kavanaugh. On her first trip to make films in Los Angeles in 1914, she made headlines for criticizing local women's fashion. "Southern California is a wonderland to me, but the women in Los Angeles; oh, they dress so terribly," she declared.[4]

On Broadway, Frenyear's roles included parts in The Girl in the Barracks (1899),[5] The Stronger Sex (1908-1909), The Only Law (1909),[6][7][8] Where There's a Will (1910), You Can Never Tell (1915), The Importance of Being Earnest (1921, as Miss Prism),[9] and Montmartre (1922).[10] She also appeared in productions of The Wizard of Oz,[11] Babes in Toyland, Father and the Boys (1910),[12] The 'Mind-the-Paint' Girl (1912),[13][14] Nothing But the Truth (1916),[15] and Kissing Time (1921).[16]

Frenyear took chorus roles to prepare for her role as a chorus girl in The Only Law.[17] A Minnesota reviewer in 1921 noted that Frenyear was "really pretty and plays her part with spirit."[18] Her stage work was not always so admired; "If Miss Frenyear would not shriek her lines unintelligibly," commented one reviewer in 1915, "the worst defect of the production would be removed."[19]

Personal life

Frenyear married twice. In 1900 she married Edward F. Dunn. She only lived with Dunn for eight weeks, when he sold all her jewelry and gambled the proceeds; they divorced in 1904.[11] By the end of 1904 she remarried, to Thomas R. Finucane; that marriage was almost immediately annulled, because both parties admitted they were "married while intoxicated".[14] In 1911 she was rumored to have married her co-star, Ralph Kellard, but both "laughed at the mere idea".[20]

References
  1. Klepper, Robert K. (2015-09-16). Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies. McFarland. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-4766-0484-8.
  2. "Pastime Airdome". Abilene Daily Chronicle. 1915-07-02. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Amusements". Wairarapa Age. November 10, 1919. p. 3. Retrieved May 4, 2020 – via Papers Past.
  4. "Women of Los Angeles Are Out of Style; Criticism Made by Actress Mabel Frenyear". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1914-05-25. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. The Play: Published Weekly in the Interests of the Theatre and Amusement-going Public. 1900.
  6. White, NY (1909). "Miss Mabel Frenyear in "The Only Law"". The American Vaudeville Archive — Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  7. Pollock, Channing (October 1909). "Unmuzzling the Theatrical Season". The Green Book Magazine. 2: 777–778.
  8. Nathan, George Jean (December 1909). "Players and the Plays". The Burr McIntosh Monthly. 21.
  9. Mantle, Burns; Chapman, John Arthur; Sherwood, Garrison P.; Kronenberger, Louis (1921). Burns Mantle Yearbook. Dodd, Mead. pp. 422.
  10. Kinder, Larry Sean (2016-01-29). Una Merkel: The Actress with Sassy Wit and Southern Charm. BearManor Media. p. 360.
  11. "Mabel Frenyear Dunn is Granted a Divorce". The Topeka Daily Capital. 1904-07-23. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Miss Frenyear Makes a Hit in 'Father and the Boys'". The Buffalo Times. 1910-11-18. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "The New Plays". The Theatre Magazine. 16: 98. October 1912.
  14. "Admits Wine Made Wedding". Chicago Tribune. via Newspapers.com. January 4, 1909. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-05-04.CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. "Mable Frenyear in 'Truth'". Variety. 43: 1. June 2, 1916.
  16. "Kissing Time". Altoona Tribune. 1921-11-24. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Studied Chorus Girls". The Washington Post. 1909-10-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. Lenart, Elta (1921-10-17). "Amusements". Star Tribune. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Plays and Players". Brooklyn Life. 51: 16. April 17, 1915.
  20. "Are Not Married". Syracuse Herald. August 2, 1911. p. 3 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
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