Anna Wheaton
{{Short description|Musical theatre actress and singer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Anna Wheaton
| image= The Bacchanal Rag by Louis A. Hirsch, from "The Passing Show of 1912".jpg
| caption= Cover of published sheet music to "The Bacchanal Rag" by Louis A. Hirsch, 1912
| birth_name = Anna Meeker Wheaton
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1894|11|26}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ancestry.com |title= National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 – March 31, 1925; Roll #: 241; Volume #: Roll 0241 – Certificates: 54058-54900, 01 Apr 1915-14 Apr 1915 |publisher= The Generations Network |location= United States|date=2007 | access-date=January 25, 2018|url-access=subscription }}
| birth_place = Savannah, Georgia, United States
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1961|12|25|1894|11|26}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ancestry.com |title= California, Death Index, 1940–1997 [database on-line] |publisher= The Generations Network |location= United States| date=2000 |access-date=January 25, 2018|url-access=subscription }}
| death_place = Pasadena, California, United States{{cite book |title=Theatre World |location=New York |publisher=Crown |page=244 |date=1962 }}
| occupation = actor
| yearsactive = 1900s–1920s
| awards =
}}
Anna Meeker Wheaton (November 26, 1894 – December 25, 1961) was an American musical theatre actress and singer of the early 20th century.
Biography
Wheaton was born on November 26, 1894 (some sources indicate 1893{{cite web |url=http://www.ancestry.com |title= Twelfth Census of the United States (1900) [database on-line], Washington, District of Columbia, Enumeration District: 76, Page: 6A, Line: 17, household of Georgie E. Stewart |publisher= The Generations Network |location= United States|date=June 7, 1900 |access-date=January 25, 2018|url-access=subscription }} or 1896), in Savannah, Georgia.{{cite journal |last1=Dickinson |first1=Justus |date=January 1915 |title=Anna Wheaton Interviews Mr. Dickinson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0WQhAQAAMAAJ |access-date=January 26, 2018 |journal=The Green Book Magazine |location=Chicago |publisher=Story-Press Corporation |volume=XIII |issue=1 |pages=279–283}} As a young child, the family moved to Washington, D.C. While still a youngster, she made her Broadway debut in the American premiere of Peter Pan starring Maude Adams in 1905.
She is perhaps best known for her role as Jackie Simpson in the original production of Oh, Boy! in 1917. The hit musical featured the music of Jerome Kern with lyrics by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse. In the show, she performed "Till the Clouds Roll By" with Tom Powers. She subsequently recorded the song on Columbia Records with James Harrod, where it climbed to the top of the American music charts for six weeks.{{cite book |title=Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954: The History of American Popular Music | location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |publisher=Record Research, Inc. |page=446 |date=1991 }}
Earlier that year, she had a solo hit with "M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I" from the revue, Hitchy-Koo. The song reached number two on the popular music charts.
Personal
Wheaton married Walter Thomas Collins in New York City on June 18, 1919.{{cite web |url=http://www.ancestry.com |title= New York City, Extracted Marriage Index, 1866–1937 [database on-line] |publisher= The Generations Network |location= United States|date=2014 |access-date=January 25, 2018|url-access=subscription }} The couple had one child, Walter Kendall Collins (1921–1996).
Death
She died from a cerebral hemorrhage on December 25, 1961, in a Pasadena, California hospital.
Theatre credits
File:Oh, Boy! 1916.jpg, Anna Wheaton and Hal Forde in Oh, Boy!]]
Selected discography
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
!Single !Label and number |
|---|
| rowspan="7"|1917
|"M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I" |Columbia 2224 |align="center"|2 |
| "Till the Clouds Roll By" (w/ James Harrod) / "Drip, Drip, Drip, Went the Waterfall"{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/2838233-Anna-Wheaton|title= Anna Wheaton Discography |publisher=Discogs |access-date=January 25, 2018}}
|Columbia 2261 |align="center"|1 |
| "Help, Help, I'm Sinking"{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0313308225|title= The Columbia Master Book Discography: Principal U.S. matrix series, 1910–1924.|last1=Brooks |first1=Tim | last2=Rust |first2=Brian | access-date=January 25, 2018}}
|Columbia 2295 |align="center" |
| "There's a Million Reasons Why I Shouldn't Kiss You" (w/ Sam Ash)
|Columbia 2303 |align="center" |
| "How Can Any Girlie Be a Good Little Girl (When She Loves a Naughty Little Boy?)
|Columbia 2334 |align="center" |
| "I Don't Want to be Loved a Little by a Lot of Little Boys (But by One Little Boy a Lot)" (from the musical, His Little Widows)/"I'd Love to be a Monkey in the Zoo"
|Columbia 2384 |align="center" |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.discogs.com/artist/2838233-Anna-Wheaton Anna Wheaton at Discogs]
- [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/anna-wheaton-69046 Anna Wheaton] at the Internet Broadway Database
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Category:American stage actresses