RARE! "Twelfth Night" EH Sothern Twice Signed 3X5 B&W Postcard Todd Mueller COA

Description

Up for auction a
RARE! "Twelfth Night" E. H. Sothern Twice Signed 3X5 B&W Photo Postcard. There is a crease down the center of the photo not affecting the signatures.
This item is certified authentic by Todd Mueller Auctions and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-3119D
Edward Hugh Sothern
(December 6, 1859 – October 28, 1933) was an American actor who specialized in dashing, romantic leading roles and particularly in
Shakespeare
roles. Sothern was born in
New Orleans, Louisiana
, the son of English actor
E. A. Sothern
and his wife Frances Emily "Fannie" Stewart (d. 1882). Sothern was educated in England at
St Marylebone Grammar School
. His brothers and sister all became actors: Lytton Edward Sothern (1851–1887); George Evelyn Augustus T. Sothern (1864–1920), who used the stage name Sam Sothern; and Eva Mary Sothern. Sothern's father had encouraged pursuits other than the stage, but Sothern had already caught the acting bug. His first professional acting appearance was in 1879 as the cabman in an American revival of
Brother Sam
, a show written by
John Oxenford
in 1862 for his father, and in which his father played the lead. After playing in Boston and touring in the U.S., he sailed for England, making his London debut in 1881 on a double bill as Mr. Sharpe in
False Colours
and Marshley Bittern in
Out of the Hunt
. The next year, he played Arthur Spoonbill in
Fourteen Days
and then toured in Britain with
Charles Wyndham
's company.
In 1883, he returned to the U.S. and toured first with
John McCullough
and then
Helen Barry
. Back in New York, in 1884, he played Eliphaz Tresham in
The Fatal Letter
, Melchizidec Flighty in
Whose Are They?
, which he wrote himself, and in
Nita's First
. The next year, he was Alfred Vane in
Favette
, Knolly in
Mona
, John in
In Chancery
and Jules in
A Moral Climate
. He was hired by
Charles
and
Daniel Frohman
in the
stock company
of the
old Lyceum Theatre
in New York, where he starred as a leading man for the next twelve years.
[2]
He made a hit as the lovesick auctioneer in the romantic comedy
The Highest Bidder
(1887). He was especially known for his heroic portrayal of Rudolph Rassendyl in the first stage adaptation of
The Prisoner of Zenda
, by
Anthony Hope
, which he first played in 1895. The role made him a star.
[2]
In 1896, Sothern married actress
Virginia Harned
.
After he left the Lyceum, he continued in romantic roles in New York. In 1899, he played
d'Artagnan
in
The King's Musketeers
, and in 1900 he played Heinrich in
The Sunken Bell
and Sir Geoffrey Bloomfield in
Drifting Apart
. For several years, Sothern dreamed of mounting a spectacular and precise production of
Hamlet
. He finally opened the play in New York in 1900, but during the first week, he was stabbed in the foot by Laertes' sword and was stricken with
blood poisoning
, closing the production. After he recovered, he revived the piece on tour, but the sets and costumes were destroyed by a fire in
Cincinnati, Ohio
. In 1901, he played the title role in
Richard Lovelace
and then
François Villon
in
If I Were King
. In 1903, he played the title role in
Markheim
and Robert, the King of Sicily, in
The Proud Prince
, after which he toured again.
In 1904, he began an extremely successful partnership with actress
Julia Marlowe
, beginning with their appearances as the title roles in
Romeo and Juliet
, Beatrice and Benedick in
Much Ado About Nothing
, and the leads in
Hamlet
. They toured all over the U.S. in these plays, adding
The Taming of the Shrew
,
The Merchant of Venice
and
Twelfth Night
to their repertoire in 1905. Unhappy with their compensation from their manager,
Charles Frohman
, they continued under the management of the
Shubert Brothers
, from then on receiving a percentage of the profits. In 1906, together with Marlowe, he played the Duc d'Alençon in
Percy MacKaye
's
Jeanne d'Arc
, the title role in Sudermann's
John the Baptist
and Heinrich in
The Sunken Bell
, receiving favorable reviews: "He plays the idealist thoughtfully and intelligently.... He plays it with a fire and enthusiasm that approach closely to genius."
[2]
By this time, Marlowe and Sothern were known as the premier
Shakespearean
actors in their day. Sothern was particularly admired as Benedick and Malvolio.
After another season in New York and then on tour, Sothern, Marlowe and their company crossed the Atlantic to play in London. They were unable to attract audiences in England, however, and returned to America after a season. Back in the U.S., they presented Shakespeare at affordable prices at the
Academy of Music
in New York, allowing audiences to see the performances who had not previously been able to afford their productions. Marlowe and Sothern dissolved their company and formed separate companies for a time. Sothern played Raskolnikov in
Laurence Irving
's adaptation of
Crime and Punishment
, entitled
The Fool Hath Said in His Heart
. He also starred in
Hamlet
and
If I were King
, as well as playing
Lord Dundreary
, his father's famous role, in
Our American Cousin
. Also in 1908, he played the title role in
Paul Kester
's adaptation of
Don Quixote
that was written especially for him. In 1909, he played the title role in
Richelieu
. At the end of 1909, Sothern and Marlowe reunited in
Antony and Cleopatra
at the
New Theatre
in New York under the direction of
Louis Calvert
. In 1910 they toured in
Macbeth
, receiving enthusiastic notices and bringing the production to New York, where it was a hit. They then continued to tour their Shakespearean repertoire, also playing special performances of the plays for children at schools. Sothern divorced Harned to marry Marlowe in 1911. In 1914, Sothern played the title character in
Charlemagne
, and the next year he played Jeffery Panton in
The Two Virtues
and Dundreary in
Lord Dundreary
. In 1916, he played the title character in
David Garrick
, a role that his father had created. Sothern appeared in several early films, including
The Chattel
(1916) and
The Man of Mystery
(1917). He also wrote about a dozen plays that he appeared in, although most of them are lost.After more touring with Marlowe in Shakespeare, the two brought their production of
The Merchant of Venice
to New York in 1921. Soon afterwards, Marlowe's health was failing, and she retired in 1924, although she lived until 1950. In 1925, Sothern played Edmund de Verron in
Accused
, and in 1926, he played Tiburtius in
What Never Dies
. In 1928, he began to lecture about Shakespeare on successful speaking tours, continuing on the lecture circuit until his death in 1933.
He and Marlowe had homes in
Luxor, Egypt
and
Lausanne, Switzerland
.
Sothern died in
New York City
at the
Plaza Hotel
, of pneumonia, in 1933 at the age of 73 and was cremated.