Clare Eames
{{Short description|American actress and stage director (1894–1930)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{infobox person
| name = Clare Eames
| image = Clare-Eames.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Eames in 1925
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1894|08|05}}
| birth_place = Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1930|11|08|1894|08|05}}
| death_place = Richmond, London, England
| resting_place =
| other_names =
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1918–1930
| spouse = {{marriage|Sidney Howard
|1922}}
| children = Clare Eames Howard
| relatives = Emma Eames (aunt)
}}
Clare Eames (August 5, 1894 – November 8, 1930) was an American actress and stage director, and the first wife of playwright Sidney Howard.
Early years
Eames was born August 5, 1894, in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Clare (Hamilton) and Hayden Eames.{{cite news|title=Chooses Stage Career|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20372999/clare_eames/|work=The Tampa Tribune|date=May 20, 1917|location=Florida, Tampa|page=23|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = May 25, 2018}} {{Open access}} Her maternal grandfather was Maryland governor and senator William Thomas Hamilton. Her aunt was American soprano Emma Eames.{{cite news |date=November 9, 1930 |title=Clare Eames Dead; Brilliant Actress |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/11/09/archives/clare-eames-dead-brilliant-actress-american-star-underwent-two.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2018-03-05 }}
Eames' family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when she was 11 years old. From there, she went to Paris to live with her aunt and studied drama.{{cite news|title=Clare Eames Brings More Local Color to 'Prince and the Pauper'|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20373457/clare_eames/|work=Hartford Courant|date=January 13, 1921|location=Connecticut, Hartford|page=37|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = May 25, 2018}} {{Open access}} She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.{{cite news|title=Walter Abel of 'Parlor Story' Played at Old Provincetown|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20372512/walter_abel/|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=March 2, 1947|location=New York, Brooklyn|page=29|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = May 25, 2018}} {{Open access}}
Career
File:Prince-and-Pauper-Eames.jpg in Amélie Rives' stage adaptation of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper (1920)]]
In 1919, Eames joined the repertory theatre headed by Ethel Barrymore.{{cite news|title=Former Hartford Girl in Ethel Barrymore's Company|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20373193/clare_eames/|work=Hartford Courant|date=September 30, 1919|location=Connecticut, Hartford|page=15|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = May 25, 2018}} {{Open access}}
After World War I, Eames was considered one of the leading new female lights of the Broadway stage, performing classical roles in plays by Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. She made her stage debut in 1918. As a virtual unknown on Broadway, she won acclaim for her performance as the young Princess Elizabeth in a 1920 stage adaptation of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper.{{cite magazine |date=January 1921 |title=Frontispiece: Clare Eames as Princess Elizabeth|url=https://archive.org/stream/theatremagazine33newyuoft#page/5/mode/1up |magazine=Theatre Magazine |page=5 |access-date=2018-03-06 }} After her starring role in John Drinkwater's one-act play Mary Stuart (1921), Eames quickly rose to the top rank in the American theatre.
Eames made a handful of silent pictures, but died before having the opportunity to appear in sound films.
Personal life
Eames was engaged to Lieutenant Philip Livingston Rose, who was killed in action on October 6, 1918.
In 1922 Eames married playwright Sidney Howard. He divorced her in March 1930 after she had moved to England. He was awarded custody of their young daughter Clare, later known as Jennifer Howard.
Death
She died November 8, 1930, at a hospital in Richmond, London, England, following surgery. She was 36.Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912–1976 a compilation of editions published annually by John Parker; 1976 version published by Gale Research CompanyWho Was Who on Screen 3rd Edit. by Evelyn Mack Truitt, p.212; c.1983Silent Film Necrology 2nd Edit. by Eugene Michael Vazzana, p. 150; c.2001
Theatre credits
File:Mary-Stuart-Clare-Eames.jpg's Mary Stuart (1921)]]
| class="wikitable" |
| Date
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| April–May 1918
| The Big Scene | | Greenwich Village Theatre, New York City{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/clare-eames-14669|title=Clare Eames|publisher=Internet Broadway Database|access-date=2018-03-06}} |
| October 6, 1919 – May 1920
| Déclassée | Lady Wildering | Empire Theatre, New York City |
| November 1, 1920 – March 1921
| The Prince and the Pauper | Booth Theatre, New York City |
| March 21 – April 1921
| Mary Stuart | Ritz Theatre, New York City |
| March 21 – April 1921
| Man About Town | |
| September 1–?, 1921
| Swords | Fiamma | National Theatre, New York City |
| March 13 – April 1922
| The First Fifty Years | Ann Wells | Princess Theatre, New York City |
| November 1923
| The Mummy | Provincetown Playhouse, New York City |
| February 3 – June 1924
| Fashion | Mrs. Tiffany |
| March 15 – April 1924
| Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | 48th Street Theatre, New York City |
| May 16–?, 1924
| Hedda Tesman |
| September 27 – November 1924
| The Little Angel | Sarah Bornemissza |
| December 24, 1924 – April 1925
| Candida | Miss Proserpine Garnett |
| February 24 – May 1925
| | Director (with Dudley Digges) |
| October 21 – November 14, 1925
| Lucky Sam McCarver | Carlotta Ashe | Playhouse Theatre, New York City |
| November 23, 1925 – January 1926
| Lavinia | Klaw Theatre, New York City |
| November 23, 1925 – January 1926
| The Lady |
| February 2–?, 1926
| Mrs. Rita Allmers | Guild Theatre, New York City |
| October 11 – November 1926
| Juarez and Maximillian | Carlotta |
| November 29, 1926 – April 1927
| Ned McCobb's Daughter | Carrie Callahan | John Golden Theatre, New York City |
| January 3 – February 1927
| The Brother Karamozov | Katerina Ivanova Verhovovtseva |
| September 13, 1927 – ?
| The Silver Cord | Christina | St Martin's Theatre, London{{cite book |last=Howard |first=Sidney |date=1927 |title=The Silver Cord |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scSqdUrbE_0C&pg=PA3 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |isbn=9780573615436 |oclc=654735252 }} |
| January 22–23, 1928
| The Unquiet Spirit | Marceline | Apollo Theatre, London{{cite book |last=Wearing |first=J. P. |date=2014 |title=The London Stage 1920–1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5vFEAwAAQBAJ |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-9302-3 }}{{Rp|563}} |
| November 19 – December 10, 1928
| Nurse Wayland | Henry Miller's Theatre, New York City |
| January 28 – April 12, 1930
| Milestones | Gertrude Rhead | Criterion Theatre, London{{cite book |last=Wearing |first=J. P. |date=2014 |title=The London Stage 1930–1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2mYAwAAQBAJ |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-9304-7 }}{{Rp|6}} |
| July 2–6, 1930
| The Procurator of Judea | |
| August 27–30, 1930
| John o' Dreams | |
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1924
| Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall | Queen Elizabeth | {{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/persondetails/32339 |title=Clare Eames |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=2018-03-05 }} |
| 1925
| {{sortname|The|Swan|The Swan (1925 film)}} | Princess Dominica |
| 1925
| Mrs. Parr |
| 1929
| {{sortname|The|Three Passions}} | Lady Bellamont |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Clare Eames}}
- {{IBDB name|14669}}
- {{IMDb name|0247179}}
- [https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=clare+eames Portrait of Clare Eames](NY Public Library Billy Rose Collection)
- [https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/sayre/id/23212 Clare Eames in the Mary Pickford film Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall] (University of Washington, Sayre collection)
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eames, Clare}}
Category:Actresses from Hartford, Connecticut
Category:American stage actresses