ELLALINE TERRISS : PORTRAIT OF A STAGE ACTRESS : NAPOLEON SARONY : CABINET CARD

This vintage real photo postcard features acclaimed theater actress, Miss Ellaline Terriss (1871-1971). Ellaline Terriss was a British actress and singer who was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ellaline was the daughter of leading actor William Terriss. He was murdered in 1897 by a deranged actor. She began her acting career in the 1880s. She was best known for her roles in musical comedies and her performances in popular shows such as “The Shop Girl” (1895) and “The Circus Girl” (1896). Terriss was also a talented singer, and her beautiful voice and charming personality made her a popular figure on the London stage. She was considered one of the leading actresses of her day and was known for her versatility, grace, and style. Throughout her career, Terriss appeared in numerous productions in London and on tour in Britain and the United States. She was also the wife of actor and producer, Seymour Hicks, who was a leading man in his own right. She continued to perform and was a prominent figure in the theatrical world until her retirement in the 1920s. Toward the end of her career, Terriss appeared in silent films and made a successful transition into talkies. This cabinet card portrait was taken by celebrated photographer Napoleon Sarony. He was based in New York City. A hand stamp on the reverse of the photograph identifies Siegel-Cooper Company. This firm was a department store in Chicago, Illinois. The store had it’s own photo studio and one wonders if this photograph was an item for sale within that studio. SOLD

SWASHBUCKLING THEATRE ACTOR AND MURDER VICTIM: WILLIAM TERRISS

William Terriss (1847-1897) was an English theatre actor known for his swashbuckling roles. He played Robin Hood and a number of Shakespeare roles. He was also known for his early demise; the victim of a murder. His killer was a disgruntled and deranged actor who held a grudge against Terriss for getting him dismissed from a role he played in one of Terriss’s productions. Interestingly, Terriss still helped him financially and theatrically after his dismissal. Terriss was murdered outside of the Adelphi Theatre where he had arrived to prepare for that evenings performance of “Secret Service”. Terriss’s daughter, Ellaline Terriss was a star of Edwardian Musical Comedy and his son, Tom, was a well known film director,writer and actor. William Terriss was an adventurer and an outdoorsman in real life, not just in theatrical roles. Before entering acting in 1867 he pursued merchant service, medicine, sheep farming in the Falklands, and Tea Planting in Bengal. The photographer of this Cabinet Card was Falk, a well known celebrity photographer in New York City.