Agnes Bartholomew Explained

Agnes Bartholomew
Birth Date:1885
Birth Place:Glasgow
Death Date:10 September 1955
Death Place:Glasgow
Occupation:Actress, singer, elocutionist
Spouse(S):Harry Lumsden
Holmes Herbert

Agnes Bartholomew (1885 – 10 September 1955) was a Scottish stage actress, singer, and "one of the leading elocutionists in Britain."[1]

Early life and education

Bartholomew was born in Glasgow, the daughter of parents from Stirlingshire. She studied acting with Genevieve Ward, at Tree's Academy of Dramatic Art in London.[2] "My family didn't want me to go on the stage, but they have changed their minds since," she told a Canadian newspaper in 1912.[3]

Career

Bartholomew acted on the stage in Merely Mary Ann, Diana of Dobson’s, Mrs Gorringe’s Necklace, The Little Minister, The Professor's Love Story, The £12 Look, Christina (1911),[4] Auntie Mirren (1914),[5] The Old Lady Shows her Medals (1919, 1928),[6] [7] Macpherson, and Wee Macgreegor. She was a member of the Glasgow Repertory Theatre. She often played older women, even in her twenties.[8] She appeared on Broadway in the comedy A Scrape o' the Pen (1912).[9] She worked on one film, A Man Called Peter (1955), but her scenes were cut before the film was released.[10]

Bartholomew made recordings reciting the works of Robert Burns and other Scots poets, and recited at Burns dinner events.[11] As her first husband was secretary to the Trades House of Glasgow, she was active in charity work for that body. She sang at a 1919 benefit for blinded soldiers and sailors, in Kilmarnock.[12]

Bartholomew performed in Canada and the United States in 1922.[13] [14] In 1934, while touring in Canada again, she gave a recital for the Scottish Charities of Vancouver.[15] [16]

Personal life

Bartholomew married Harry Lumsden in 1914; he died in 1939. Her second husband was English actor Holmes Herbert; they married in 1952. She died in 1955, in Glasgow, after several months' illness.[17] Her gravesite is with her second husband's, in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 6 December 1919 . Miss Agnes Bartholomew . 3 . Carluke and Lanark Gazette . August 24, 2023 . The British Newspaper Archive, via The Wikipedia Library.
  2. News: 1925-05-01 . Miss Agnes Bartholomew, A Striking Personality . 2 . Irvine Herald and Ayrshire Advertiser . 2023-08-25 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: 1912-10-19 . 'A Scrape O' the Pen'; Graham Moffat's New Scottish Play Likened to a Series of Phil May Sketches . 19 . The Leader-Post . 2023-08-25 . Newspapers.com.
  4. Book: Wearing, J. P. . The London Stage 1910-1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel . 2013-12-19 . Scarecrow Press . 978-0-8108-9300-9 . en.
  5. Web site: Fairfull-Smith . George . November 2022 . April 1914: "Auntie Mirren" at the Alhambra - Miss Agnes Bartholomew, the Well-Known Scottish Actress, and Company . 2023-08-24 . Glasgow’s Cultural History . en.
  6. March 1919 . Our Glasgow Letter . The Caledonian . 18 . 11 . 492.
  7. News: 1928-04-20 . 'The Old Lady Shows her Medals'; Splendid Performance by Adrossan and Saltcoats Players' Club . 3 . Irvine Herald and Ayrshire Advertiser . 2023-08-25 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Darnton . Charles . 1912-10-26 . At 25 She Plays Granny so Only the Twinkle in her Eye Shows She isn't an 'Auld Body' . 5 . The Evening World . 2023-08-25 . Newspapers.com.
  9. January 1913 . About People: A Department of Interesting Personalities . Ladies' Home Companion . 40 . 13.
  10. Book: Gevinson, Alan . Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960 . 1997 . University of California Press . 978-0-520-20964-0 . 629 . en.
  11. News: 1923-01-20 . Scotland's Premier Elocutionist; Visit of Miss Agnes Bartholomew . 7 . The Perthshire Advertiser, etc. . 2023-08-25 . Newspapers.com.
  12. 2 February 1920 . Music in Kilmarnock . The Scottish Musical Magazine . 1 . 6 . 185.
  13. News: 1922-03-02 . Miss Bartholomew to be Guest Today at Kiwanis' Lunch . 7 . The Calgary Albertan . 2023-08-25 . Newspapers.com.
  14. News: 1922-01-23 . Caledonian Club Program Wednesday . 8 . The Morning Call . 2023-08-25 . Newspapers.com.
  15. News: 1934-11-17 . Famous Scottish Entertainer . 21 . The Vancouver Sun . 2023-08-24 . Newspapers.com.
  16. News: 1934-11-03 . Aids Scottish Charities . 8 . The Province . 2023-08-25 . Newspapers.com.
  17. Web site: Fairfull-Smith . George . November 2022 . Let's Not Forget Agnes Bartholomew, a "Noted Scots Actress", Who Died in Glasgow, in September 1955 . 2023-08-24 . Glasgow’s Cultural History . en.

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