Maud Madison

Maud Madison (November 19, 1870 – October 4, 1953) was an American actress and dancer.

Maud Madison
Maud Madison, from a 1916 publication.
Born	November 19, 1870 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	October 4, 1953 (aged 82) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Dancer, actress
Children	Beatrice Maude

Early life

Maud Madison was born in San Francisco, California. She was the daughter of actress and suffragist Julie Reinhardt (1844–1924).[1][2] She completed studies at the Boucicault School of Acting in 1889.[3]

Career

Madison started her stage career as an actress in touring companies, and appeared with English actor Richard Mansfield in Richard III.[3] By 1893,[4] she was described primarily as a dancer, specializing in performance of the "crinoline dance"[5] or skirt dance, a popular trend of the day.[6][7] In 1900 she danced with Loie Fuller in Paris, at the Exposition Universelle.[8] While in Paris, she also danced in a cage of lions as a publicity stunt.[9] In 1910, she danced at the opening of the Colonial Opera House in Hamilton, Bermuda.[10]

Inspired by Fuller, Madison took a particular interest in lighting effects and innovative costuming for her performances. She amazed audiences when flags and famous portraits were projected onto her skirts while they whirled and fluttered.[11] "Miss Madison is the originator or many novel effects in ballroom exhibition dances," explained the San Francisco Chronicle in 1916.[12] Madison toured the United States that year, with poet Charles Keeler,[13] interpreting his poems in dances such as "The Harper's Song of Isis" (an Egyptian art-inspired dance), "The Vampire" (a bat-themed dance) and "Princess Papilio" (a butterfly-themed dance).[14] She also taught social dance steps in New York City.[3]

Personal life

Madison had a daughter, Beatrice Maude, who became an actress. Madison died in 1953, at home in Hollywood, California.[15] A collection of her papers is archived in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library.[3]

References

1. "Julie Reinhardt at Rest, as Broadway Still Forgets". Daily News. September 3, 1924. p. 64. Retrieved April 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Aged Suffragist Dies in Poverty". Courier-Post. August 30, 1924. p. 2. Retrieved April 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "archives.nypl.org -- Maud Madison papers". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
4. "Clever Maud Madison". Lincoln Evening Call. March 19, 1893. p. 7. Retrieved April 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Dances in a Hoop Skirt". The World. February 22, 1893. p. 6. Retrieved April 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "The Crinoline Dance". The Baltimore Sun. March 27, 1893. p. 1. Retrieved April 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Nancy A. Hewitt, "Varieties of Voluntarism: Class, Ethnicity, and Women's Activism in Tampa" in Louise A. Tilly and Patricia Gurin, eds., Women, Politics and Change (Russell Sage Foundation 1990): 75. ISBN 9781610445344
8. "Maud Madison's Entertainment". The Florida Star. February 7, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved April 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Hindson, Catherine (December 2008). "Interruptions by Inevitable Petticoats: Skirt Dancing and the Historiographical Problem of Late Nineteenth-Century Dance". Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film. 35: 48–64. ISSN 1748-3727 – via ProQuest.
10. "Bermuda's New Theatre". The New York Times. January 16, 1910. p. 16 – via ProQuest.
11. "Maud Madison Coming". The Daytona Gazette-News. January 25, 1902. p. 2. Retrieved April 17, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Erhard, Ursinus (April 23, 1916). "California Entertainers Score a Hit in New York". San Francisco Chronicle. p. 42. Retrieved April 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Interesting Personalities in the World of the Stage". The Theatre. 24: 80. August 1916.
14. Maclay, Mira Abbott (July 1916). "Charles Keeler, Poet". Overland Monthly. 68: 68.
15. "Miss Maud Madison". The New York Times. October 9, 1953. p. 27 – via ProQuest.

External links

• Maud Madison at Find a Grave