Donald Brian
{{Short description|American entertainer (1877–1948)}}
{{for|the New Zealand cricketer|Donald Brian (cricketer)}}
{{inline|date=April 2016}}
{{infobox person
| name = Donald Brian
| image = DonaldBrian-1914.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Donald Brian c. 1914
| birth_date = February 17, 1877
| birth_place = St. John's, Newfoundland
| death_date = December 22, 1948 (aged 71)
| death_place = Great Neck, Long Island, New York
| occupation = actor
singer
| years_active = 1899–1939
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
- Florence Meagher Gleason Pope (married 1910–?)
- Virginia O'Brien (1 daughter)
}}
}}
File:Brian-The-Merry-Widow-1907.jpg (1907)]]
Donald Brian (February 17, 1877 – December 22, 1948) was an actor, dancer and singer born in St. John's, Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada). In 1907, he starred in the hit operetta The Merry Widow.
Life and career
Brian, a tenor, was employed in a Boston machine shop and, at the age of 16, began performing with a vocal quartet. When he joined a theatrical troupe in New York City, he was soon in demand as a leading man. He had leading roles in more than 20 Broadway musicals. In 1915 Brian signed with film producer Jesse L. Lasky to do two films, The Voice in the Fog (1915) and The Smugglers (1916). After the latter he made no more film appearances until the sound era. His first sound film was an excerpt of his role in Peggy O'Hooligan (1925), made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process.{{cn|date=April 2016}}
Brian was president of the Catholic Actors Guild of America.
He was married twice—to Florence Meagher Gleason Pope in 1910,{{cite news |date=March 12, 1910 |title=Married |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6txNAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA9-PA11 |work=The New York Dramatic Mirror |access-date=2017-07-05 }} and second to stage actress [http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=54812 Virginia O'Brien](1896-?)American and British Theatrical Biography p.710 by J. P. Wearing c.1979 ISBN 0-8108-1201-0 (not to be confused with the film actress born 1919). He and O'Brien had one daughter, Denise.Great Stars of the American Stage (Profile #72) by Daniel C. Blum c. 1952 (reprint 1954)
Brian died on December 22, 1948, in Great Neck, New York, aged 73.{{cite news |date=December 23, 1948 |title=Donald Brian Dies; Retired Actor, 73 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/12/23/archives/ionald-bri-dies-ptireo-actor-7s-prince-daniloin-production-i-here.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2017-07-05 }}
Selected Broadway musicals and operettas
File:The-Theatre-FC-February-1908.jpg
- 1899 – On the Wabash
- 1902 – Florodora
- 1904 – Little Johnny Jones
- 1906 – Forty-five Minutes from Broadway
- 1907 – The Merry Widow
- 1909 – The Dollar Princess
- 1911 – The Siren
- 1913 - The Marriage Market
- 1914 – The Girl From Utah
- 1916 – Sybil
- 1918 – The Girl Behind the Gun
- 1919 – Buddies
- 1921 – The Chocolate Soldier
- 1922 – Up She Goes
- 1925 – Peggy O'Hooligan
- 1926 – No, No, Nanette
- 1939 – Very Warm for May
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120717025016/http://www.tidespoint.ca/books/donald_brian.shtml Donald Brian: the king of Broadway] by Charles Foster (2005) {{ISBN|1-55081-214-9}}
External links
- {{commonscat-inline}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{imdb name|id=0003866|name=Donald Brian}}
- [http://www.musicals101.com/who1c.htm#Brian Who's Who in Musicals]
- [http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/search/collection/sayre/searchterm/donald%20brian/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/cosuppress/ Donald Brian] University of Washington, Sayre collection
- [https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=donald+brian Donald Brian] NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection
- [https://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/3238475623/ Mrs. Donald Brian (Florence Gleason Brian) with Eugene Walter and Charlotte Walker]
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Category:Entertainers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Category:Pre-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador people
Category:20th-century Canadian male actors
Category:Canadian male stage actors