Ernita Lascelles Ranson (May 1, 1890 – June 23, 1972) was an English actress, novelist, and playwright.

Ernita Lascelles
A white woman with light eyes, wearing a dark garment with a deep V neckline, hands clasped to her chest
Ernita Lascelles, from the Library of Congress
BornMay 1, 1890
Chile
DiedJune 23, 1972 (aged 82)
New Hope, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other namesErnita Lascelles Ranson
Occupation(s)Actress, playwright, novelist
SpouseHerbert Walter Ranson (m. 1908-1970; his death)
Children2

Early life and education edit

Lascelles was born to English parents in Chile. She studied acting with Richard Boleslavski in 1923.[1]

Career edit

Lascelles was a stage actress in New York City and London. Her stage credits included roles in Much Ado About Nothing (1904), Doctor Faustus (1904), The Comedy of Errors (1904), Love and a Half-Pence (1906),[2] When Knights Were Bold (1907),[3] Lady Windemere's Fan (1911),[4] The Miniature (1911),[4] The Double Game (1912),[4] A Gauntlet (1913),[5] The Son and Heir (1913)[6] Disraeli (1914),[7][8] The Philanderer (1914),[9] Plaster Saints (1914),[10] When the Young Vine Blooms (1915), Gamblers All (1917),[11] The Tragedy of Nan (1919),[12] Polly with a Past (1919),[13]The Madras House (1921), From Morn til Midnight (1922), Back to Methuselah (1922),[14] The Dice of the Gods (1923), The Living Mask (1924),[15] The Mongrel (1924),[16] Adam Solitaire (1925), Fanny's First Play (1932),[17] One Wife or Another (1933),[18] The Silver Box (1935),[19] and Murder with Pen and Ink (1935).[20] She later starred in a 1944 production of Medea at Columbia University, but a reviewer found her performance "appalling, though admirably consistent in its misreading".[21]

Her first novel, The Sacrificial Goat (1923),[22] was set in the London theatre world, with a working actress as the main character, and another character based on George Bernard Shaw.[23][24] Plays by Lascelles included a farce, Listen to Me (1926),[25] The Bride Confesses (1932),[17][26] Oh Youth! (1934)[27] and historical plays Fire (1942), about Thomas Cranmer,[28] and Lucretia (1927), about Lucrezia Borgia.[29]

In 1953, Lascelles was on the staff of a girls' camp in Vermont.[30]

Personal life edit

Lascelles married fellow English actor Herbert Walter Ranson in 1908. They had daughters Joan and Naomi.[31] Her husband died in 1970,[32] and Lascelles died in 1972, aged 82, in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

References edit

  1. ^ Stangeland, John (2022-11-08). Aline MacMahon: Hollywood, the Blacklist, and the Birth of Method Acting. University Press of Kentucky. pp. Chapter 3, note 8. ISBN 978-0-8131-9608-4.
  2. ^ Wearing, J. P. (1981). The London stage, 1900-1909 : a calendar of plays and players. Internet Archive. Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press. pp. 281, 323, 335, 488. ISBN 978-0-8108-1403-5.
  3. ^ "The Opera House: 'When Knights Were Bold'". The Cheltenham Looker-on. 1907-09-14. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c Wearing, J. P. (2013-12-19). The London Stage 1910-1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-9300-9.
  5. ^ "Attractions at the Theatres". The Boston Globe. 1913-11-09. p. 60. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Miss Ernita Lascelles". Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News. 79: 104. March 15, 1913.
  7. ^ "Arliss Returns After 7 Years in East". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1914-11-10. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Academy: 'Disraeli'". The Baltimore Sun. 1915-04-13. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ West, Stanley (January 24, 1914). "An Antiquity of the Nineties". The Bellman. 16: 116–117.
  10. ^ Zangwill, Israel (1914). Plaster Saints: A High Comedy in Three Movements. W. Heinemann.
  11. ^ "Gamblers of London and Troubadours of France". Life. Vol. 69. 1917. p. 62.
  12. ^ "Mid-Winter Stage". Star Tribune. 1919-12-21. p. 56. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Ernita Lascelles is New Princess Leading Woman". The Des Moines Register. 1919-08-12. p. 46. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Mantle, Burns; Sherwood, Garrison P. (1923). The Best Plays and the Year Book of the Drama in America. Dodd, Mead. pp. 450, 517–518, 548–549.
  15. ^ "Ernita Lascelles". Midweek Pictorial. 18 (26): 12. February 21, 1924 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ Mantle, Burns; Chapman, John Arthur; Sherwood, Garrison P. (1925). The Best Plays. Dodd, Mead. pp. 505–506.
  17. ^ a b "Theatre Notes". Daily News. 1932-07-04. p. 147. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Theatre Notes". Daily News. 1933-02-02. p. 119. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "The Silver Box". The Portsmouth Herald. 1935-07-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Theatre Notes". Daily News. 1935-07-26. p. 89. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "About Town a la Brander Matthews". Barnard Bulletin. 1944-02-21. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Lascelles, Ernita (1923). The Sacrificial Goat. Boni and Liveright.
  23. ^ "Ernita Lascelles, The Sacrificial Goat". Book Review Digest. 19: 293–294. February 1924.
  24. ^ Coleman, Dave (1923-11-11). "Bernard Shaw Portrayed in Recent Novel". Salt Lake Telegram. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Catalogue of Copyright Entries: Pamphlets, leaflets, contributions to newspapers or periodicals, etc.; lectures, sermons, addresses for oral delivery; dramatic compositions; maps; motion pictures. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1926. p. 520.
  26. ^ "Laurette Taylor to Try Out New Play, 'Finale'". Daily News. 1932-06-20. p. 241. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Summer Theatres Lean Heavily on Established Plays as Well as Stars". Daily News. 1934-06-16. p. 202. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Lawrence, Marcia (1942-11-05). "About Town". Barnard Bulletin. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  29. ^ "Chevalier May Arrive for Broadway Revue". Daily News. 1927-03-22. p. 37. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "First Concert at Norfleet Trio Camp for Girls to be Given Tuesday, July 7". The Burlington Free Press. 1953-07-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ Kovalenko, Ann (1960-01-17). "Bucks County Woman Authors Novel Work". The Morning Call. p. 50. Retrieved 2022-09-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "Herbert Walter Ranson, 87, Actor in Character Roles". The New York Times. 1970-11-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-10.

External links edit