CORNELL, KATHARINE

(1893-1974)

   Katharine Cornell was among the most versatile, respected stage actresses of the early 20th century, moving easily from comedy to drama, from the classics to contemporary plays. Her father had been a theatre manager, but moved to Berlin to study medicine, and there Cornell was born. Her first significant stage appearance was with the prestigious Washington Square Players in 1916, followed by stints with various theatrical companies including that of Jessie Bonstelle. She then scored notable success in Nice People (1921) and in Clemence Dane's A Bill of Divorcement (1921). In 1923, she starred in Will Shakespeare and The Enchanted Cottage, but her performance in the title role of the 1924 revival of George Bernard Shaw's Candida further elevated her stature. Other great roles included Iris March in The Green Hat (1925), Leslie Crosbie in The Letter (1927), Ellen Olen-ska in The Age of Innocence (1928), Madeline Carey in Dishonored Lady* (1930), and her most emblematic character, Elizabeth Barrett in The Barretts of Wimpole Street* (1931). She became a manager in partnership with her husband, director Guthrie McClintic,* whom she married in 1921. Like her contemporaries Helen Hayes and Tallulah Bankhead, Cornell committed herself to lengthy, arduous tours, which continued unabated after 1930 until her retirement in 1961.