The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-09-28
a Sketch of the Career of Fanny
Davenport
WAS BORN TO THE A
She Ranked Ahead OF All Actresses
in the United states-A Series OF
Great successes-An Excellent
Business Woman.

Miss Davenport had fervent friend
md sincere admirers in every CITY O
the United States. Her admirers /,
Butte included every theatergoer VIII,
saw her at Maguire's opera house q
year ago in her Sardou plays, Fedora
and L Tosca.' Fanny Davenport had
been prominent for many years. rank.
Ing perhaps in continuous service al
the head of all the actresses in the Unit.
ed States, and during the period of her
Illness the remarkable esteem in which
she was held by the great mass of thea
tergoers was fully demonstrated.
Miss Davenport was born to the stage.
She could trace the history clear
through several generations. Mary Anne
Davenport of the last century was a
noted English actress. Miss Daven-
ports parents were Edward Loomis
Davenport, an actor almost great. and
fanny EIizabeth Winning, an English
actress of a noted family of actors. She
therefore came of rare dramatic stock
She was born in London. England. i'm
1879, n was one of the six Davenport
rnlldren who have appeared upon the
stage, Of whom Edgertcn and Harry
are the only ones still connected with
IL. Her other surviving relatives are
blanche Davenport. residing at Canton.
Pa; Mrs. Harold Tiers of P~hiIadelphia
and Mrs. Seymour. wife of William Sew
mour. the comedian.
1t is told that when a mere child Fam
ny Davenport wrote a play and acted
OF, with the assistance of the children in
the neighborhood who had Aspirations
AT the tender age of IL she had read
every book on a theatrical topic within
!each' which is proof positive that a
love or the stage was born in her. as
children are not commonly fond of such
literary subjects. Her father was for
q time manager OF the Boston Athe-
naeum, and this brought her under the
spell OF many important actors. and
thus every influence was quickly AT
work TO determine her professional ca
reer.
She came to this country with her
mother in the summer of 1854 and he
gan her dramatic career al the Atbe-
naeum when a mere chil' appearing in
n that was the begin
hihg OF a career that has covered a pc
ROO or more han 80 years. AT that
early period she also appeared as one
o. the school children in B~rougham's
puriesque OF 'P~ocahontas. and later i'm
the ballet OF The ~ar-Spanpl Ran-
- - mn AN I
watkins opened the Chambers Street
theater in New York. She had no mari
10 play and no lines to speak however
ana she was first seen in that CITY az an
actress at Niblo's Garden on Feb. Ia
iSeZ, when she played Charles |. m
rant Heart Never Won Fair Lady"
~ me huy Gomez of +. L.. Davenport
Al the age Of IL she was attached IA
the ~Phlladelphia and Boston theaters
and also played a season AT barney Nc,
Cauleys theater in Louisville i'm tho
Black Crook and later essave1 H.
part OF Nancy Sykes. In the fan OF
leos she made a splendid dash forward
rom soubrette at the Arch Street thea
Ter Philadelphia. TO the part of Lady
Spahhef AT the Fifth Avenue thea
-er. New York, shortly after that house
lad come under the anagemen og
Augustin DAILY. u
Durlng the seasons of 1869 TO 1874 she
vas very popular with the DaIv Com-
ANY as Nioletta in Colly Cibber;s "She
I. ouid and She Would Not" Lady
aary IN Mrs. Quickbolt's Maids as
~ Ate ana wives as They Were"
also appeared in Goldsmith's
Good Natured Man" as Polly EccIes
2 caste and the leading roles i'm
SUR, old Heads and Young
iearts' Saratoga THE Bellies
trategem, Play" Diamonds" :
:, "N's OF lndSor, "L'Article {
'~Fernand' and Divorce" in :
hitch latter play she -subseonentiY
AIRED. AT the opening of the new
lIth Avenue theater Miss Dayenport
ppeared at Kitty Compton in For F,
me, and there she remained for wears :
gym such roles as Ophelia, Lady
easIe. IiIburn, Rosalind. Peg Wof- !,
ngton, Nancy Sykes. Pauline and |
n others. including "Pique." in q
.hich play she later made a great sue o
ess as a star. g
In 1889 she went to London. annear- C
as a star at Toole's theater Sept, Q n
I mat year in Diana de Lys.' She L
hot MAKE a great success in the a
ritlsh metropolis, but il was while s.
1ere that her husband and manager q
.dward ID. Price, bought the American <
shts 10 and made an ar u
theeInent with Sardou for all the -.
he wrote for Bernhard Ii
On oct- J. lNS5. she opened I'm "Fe- {
ora' at the Fourteenth street Nov q
ork. She Ia almost as great a sue, 7
'ss by her appearance. she havipg u
one through some treatment while Ia
broad that greatly reduced her flesh Il
; h did in the play. cl
Her next play. which she bought ont &
osca,' from which she made almost OF
90 900. Cleopatra" and Gismond " eI
50 by Sardou, We're her next plays u
AA
no although she spent enormous sums 81
their productions. IL has been esti- al
ated by conservative
AT she cleared S0o0.000 on the -four ~
irdou plays, besides paying the great IN
rench author more money in royalties 70
an had ever been equaled. d,
Miss Davenport was a fine staga n;
anager and produced all Of her own "
" she was also an excellent bust &C
SIS woman. During her starring tours Y,
le was al different times by n
and Erlanger. Benjamin. Stein ri
I'd Edward ID. Price. hi
Miss Davenport was twice married. 10
le was first united 70 Mr.. Price al ct
tnton. Pa, July IL. 1879 and was di- is
reed from him on May 5, 1855. and a
married her leading man, Mel ~
urne Mcdowell, on May 20, 1859. Dc
leir married life was very happy and m
= devoted himself to her
ring her illness, which started while ri
E was playing an engagement I'm Chi III
last April. when she had an at hs