Margaret Lawrence (actress) explained

Margaret Lawrence (actress) should not be confused with Margaret Laurence (actress).

Birth Name:Margaret Whittaker Lawrence
Birth Date:2 August 1889
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, U.S.
Restingplace:Ivy Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia
Occupation:Actress
Yearsactive:1910–1929
Spouse:Orson D. Munn
Wallace Eddinger
Children:2

Margaret Whittaker Lawrence (August 2, 1889 – June 9, 1929) was an American stage actress known for her performances on Broadway and other venues.

Born in Philadelphia to Mr and Mrs. George Lawrence, Margaret Lawrence began her career in Chicago in 1910, appeared in New York in Over Night (1911) and starred in such Broadway plays as Wedding Bells (1919), Lawful Larceny (1922) and Secrets (1922),[1] the latter of which she was also costume designer.[2] She was socially prominent, serving on the advisory boards of several charitable organizations. She collected old plays, reportedly one of the most complete collections of its kind in New York City.[3]

In 1911 she married Orson D. Munn, publisher of Scientific American, with whom she had two daughters. They divorced in 1922, and in 1924 she married actor Wallace Eddinger. Eddinger died in 1929, and on June 9 of that year, Margaret was shot dead by actor Louis Bennison in a murder-suicide.[4] [5] [6] [7]

She was buried in Philadelphia's Ivy Hill Cemetery.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Book: John. Parker. Who's Who in the Theatre. Small Maynard & Company. Boston. 1922. 480.
  2. Book: Owen . Bobbi . The Broadway Design Roster: Designers and Their Credits . 2003 . Greenwood Press . Westport . 9780313319150 . 269 .
  3. News: Miss Lawrence has hobby for old plays. The Washington Times. December 17, 1922. 7 D.
  4. News: Gene. Coughlin. Margaret Lawrence's Fallen Star. The Milwaukee Sentinel. January 2, 1949 . 6–7.
  5. News: Noted Stage Stars in Murder-Suicide. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 10, 1929. 1. cont., p. 5
  6. Book: Frasier, David K.. Suicide in the Entertainment Industry: An Encyclopedia of 840 Twentieth Century Cases. 2005. McFarland. 978-0-7864-2333-0. 33.
  7. News: Margaret Lawrence slain by Louis Bennison, actor, who ends life in her home. The New York Times. June 10, 1929.
  8. Book: Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons. 3rd. 2016. McFarland. 978-0-7864-7992-4. 429.