LEST WE FORGET JEANNE EAGELS
(June 26, 1890 - Oct. 3, 1929)

"Bernhardt of the Sticks"

With her striking beauty and considerable theatre experience behind her, she made her way to New York in 1911.  Believing herself destined to be great, more than another decade would pass before she enjoyed a brief but brilliant reign as one of America's leading actresses.

In 1916 and 1917 she played opposite George Arliss in Paganini and The Professor's Love Story. He later praised her "unerring judgment and artistry) (Up the Years From Bloomsbury, by George Arliss).

She appeared in some silent films while she was appearing on Broadway at night. She had to use stimulants and sedatives to cope with the emotional demands and rigorous work schedule,

Unquestionably her greatest critical and popular success occurred with the premiere of John Colton and
Clemence Randolph's Rain on November 7, 1922
at the Maxine Elliott Theatre. As Sadie Thompson, the rowdy San Francisco harlot who seduces a minister, she achieved "toast of the town" status during the play's 648 performances. John Corbin's review summarized the acclaim. "Miss Eagels. . .rises to the requirements of this difficult role with fine loyalty to the reality of the character and with an emotional power as fiery and unbridled in effect as it is artistically restrained." (New York Times,
November 8, 1922.)  After the New York run she made a triumphant national tour for two years.

On March 21, 1927, she played her final role for the legitimate stage as Simone, a rich woman who falls in love with a man hired to masquerade as her paramour in a French farce entitled Her Cardboard Lover.  Brooks Atkinson targeted fundamental weaknesses in her performance: "The ironic caprices of a temperamental Parisian lady do not trip lightly from her fingertips, and her voice and gestures lack the subtle grace imperative for such a part." (NY Times, March 22, 1927).  With typical determined effort and diligent study, she improved her performance during the fun to make it one that historians rank among her finest.

Claiming illness due to ptomaine poisoning, she canceled a week of performances in Her Cardboard Lover in Milwaukee as well as another week in St. Louis.  Shortly thereafter the company disbanded, and, after hearings in early 1928, Actors' Equity barred her from appearing with other members of the association until September 1929 and fined her two weeks' salary ($3600).  During the exile, she turned to successful engagements in vaudeville and motion pictures. Her debut in sound came in The Letter, a 1929 Paramount release, based upon the Somerset Maugham story.  Her performance as Leslie Crosbie, considered an acting triumph, earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress.

Her life ended during a visit to New York's Park Avenue Hospital where she had been receiving regular treatments for a "nervous disorder."  On October 3, 1929, while awaiting a consultation with her physician, a convulsion seized her, and she collapsed and died almost instantly.

John D. Williams, her director in Rain, praised her thorough apprenticeship in the tent theatres, her keen sense of listening on stage, her careful and controlled diction, and her unflagging loyalty to the author's intent. (Eulogy, NY Times, Oct. 12, 1929).
Her natural ability to strike a fine balance of fire and discipline in her roles brought justified acclaim to her meteoric career.

Resource:  Notable Women in the American Theatre. 1989  Landis K. Magnuson