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Belle Archer

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Belle Archer, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes

Belle Archer (born Belle Mingle[1] June 5, 1859[2] - September 19, 1900) was an American actress and singer. She was also known as Belle Mackenzie.[3] She was notable for starring in a three-year, cross-country touring production of A Contented Woman and for creating the role of Cousin Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore.

Early years

Archer was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, the daughter of J.L. Mingle,[4] a businessman with Western Union.[5] She grew up in Easton and was educated there.[4] As a youngster, Archer ran away from the Philadelphia Normal School[6] with a friend with the goal of joining a theatrical troupe. She was stopped in Baltimore, however, and taken back to her home.[7]

Career

Before she was 16 years old, Archer debuted on stage in Baltimore under theater manager John T. Ford.[5] In 1879, billed as Belle Mackenzie, "she had created the role of Cousin Hebe" when the comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore premiered in Philadelphia.[8] As early as 1881, she was performing in New York City in the play Won at Last.[9] In 1882, she was signed to a three-year contract with Madison Square Theatre, with her initial role that of heading the production of Hazel Kirke.[10] Archer became the leading lady for actor Charles H. Hoyt, succeeding his wife, Caroline Miskel Hoyt. She also starred in A Contented Woman,[11] touring the United States for three years in that production, and acted for about two years each with companies headed by E.H. Sothern and Alexander Salvini.[4]

An article in the March 1899 issue of Munsey's Magazine credited Archer with being the first female press agent. "Besides being a clever actress," it said, Miss Archer has the distinction of having opened a new field for woman's work. This was in 1893, when she went in advance of Carrie Turner as press agent."[12]

In 1888, Archer received $1,200 per year from a New York photographer for the right to print photographs of her.[13]

Personal life

On September 19, 1880, she married actor H.R. Archer in Norfolk, Virginia.[14] They met when he joined a theatrical company in which she was acting, and they married soon afterward.[15]

Death

On September 19, 1900,[11] Archer died in the Warren, Pennsylvania, emergency hospital following a blood clot on her brain.[5] She was buried in the family plot in Easton Cemetery, Easton, Pennsylvania.[16] The cemetery contains a six-foot-tall stone with "a coin-shaped profile" of Archer.[17] The statue contains the epitaph, "To the name Belle Archer, the master leaning reached a hand and whispered, 'It is finished.'"[17]

References

  1. ^ "The Highest Bidder". The Wilkes-Barre Record. Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. April 13, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved July 15, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Summa, Marie; Summa, Frank; Buscemi, Leonard S. (2000). Historic Easton. Arcadia Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 9780738504933. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Belle Mackenzie Married". The Atlanta Constitution. Georgia, Atlanta. September 23, 1880. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b c "She Is Dead". The Evening Democrat. Pennsylvania, Warren. September 20, 1900. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b c "The Lounger". The Honolulu Republican. Hawaii, Honolulu. September 30, 1900. p. 2. Retrieved July 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Belle McKenzie [sic] Married". The Charlotte Observer. North Carolina, Charlotte. September 23, 1880. p. 3. Retrieved July 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "Belle Mackenzie". The Atlanta Constitution. Georgia, Atlanta. September 29, 1880. p. 4. Retrieved July 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ Collins, Thomas P. (2015). Arizona on Stage: Playhouses, Plays, and Players in the Territory, 1879-1912. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 191–195. ISBN 9781493016600. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  9. ^ "New York Amusements". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. April 17, 1881. p. 5. Retrieved July 15, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ "Amusements". Detroit Free Press. Michigan, Detroit. January 31, 1882. p. 6. Retrieved July 15, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ a b "Belle Archer the Actress Dead". Hartford Courant. Connecticut, Hartford. September 20, 1900. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ "The Stage". Munsey's Magazine. Frank A. Munsey & Company: 961. March 1899. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Coulisse Chat". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri, St. Louis. March 4, 1888. p. 18. Retrieved July 15, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ^ "Theatrical Sensation". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. September 21, 1880. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ^ "Actress Belle Archer Dead". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. September 20, 1900. p. 3. Retrieved July 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  16. ^ "Belle Archer Buried". The Allentown Leader. Pennsylvania, Allentown. September 22, 1900. p. 1. Retrieved July 16, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  17. ^ a b Gehman, Geoff (October 28, 2006). "Curiosity, familiarity mingle at the cemetery". The Morning Call. Pennsylvania, Allentown. p. D 3. Retrieved July 15, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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