French
DeutschJoan Clarkson
Joan Clarkson | |
|---|---|
 Joan Clarkson, from a 1919 publication | |
| Born | 14 March 1904 London, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 19 June 1982 (aged 78) London, England, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Notable work | The Mystery of Fu Manchu (1923) |
Joan Rosaline Clarkson (14 March 1904 – 19 June 1982) was an English actress who was most active in the 1920s and 1930s.
Early life[edit]
Clarkson was born in Tottenham, London, the daughter of Frederick William Clarkson and Ellen Theresa Clarkson.
Career[edit]
Clarkson was an actress associated with English theatre producer Charles B. Cochran, who called her his "English rose".[1] She was known for her long blonde hair, and her contract with Cochran required her to surrender half her salary if she cut her hair in a bob.[2][3] Her stage credits included roles in Cyrano de Bergerac (1919), The Little Whopper (1920),[4][5] An Old-Fashioned Girl (1922)[6] Fun of the Fayre (1922),[7] The Happy Ending (1922),[4][8] John Galsworthy's Havoc (1924),[9] Cochran's 1930 Revue (1930),[10] Noel Coward's revue sketches A Tube Station, Ignorance is Bliss,The English Lido, and Rules of Three (all 1928),[11] and Sunshine Sisters (1933).[12]
On film, Clarkson was best known for her appearances as Karamaneh in The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu, a 1923 series of more than a dozen short silent films, based on the 1913 novel and starring Harry Agar Lyons.[13] Dorinea Shirley also played the Karamaneh in some later installments.[14] Philip de László painted a portrait of her in a white dress in 1935.[15]
Personal life[edit]
Clarkson married producer William Mollison in 1928;[16][17] she left him in 1935,[18] and they divorced in 1939.[19] She died in 1982, aged 78 years, in London.
References[edit]
- ^ "Loaned to America". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. 1928-08-13. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "No-Bobbing Contract". Liverpool Echo. 1927-09-01. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "British Actress Paid to Keep Tresses Long". The Pasadena Post. 1927-09-21. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Wearing, J. P. (2014-03-27). The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 22, 197. ISBN 978-0-8108-9302-3.
- ^ "In One of her 'Janet Gregor' Dresses". The Sketch. 110: 118. May 26, 1920.
- ^ "An Old-Fashioned Girl". The Play Pictorial. 40: 8. 1922.
- ^ Cochran, Charles Blake (1926). The Secrets of a Showman. H. Holt. pp. 375–376.
- ^ "'The Happy Ending' at the St. James's Theatre". The Sphere. 91: 289. December 16, 1922.
- ^ "Joan Clarkson". Mid-Week Pictorial. 19 (20): 11. 1924-07-10 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Breese, Charlotte (2012-01-16). Hutch: The true story of our biggest cabaret star, and the inspiration for Downton Abbey's Jack Ross. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4088-3113-7.
- ^ Coward, Noël (2014-06-13). Coward Revue Sketches. A&C Black. pp. 58, 68, 83, 102. ISBN 978-1-4725-0336-7.
- ^ Wearing, J. P. (2014-05-15). The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-8108-9304-7.
- ^ Gifford, Denis (2018-10-24). The British Film Catalogue: The Fiction Film. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-83701-5.
- ^ Soister, John T. (2010-06-28). Up from the Vault: Rare Thrillers of the 1920s and 1930s. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8185-9.
- ^ "The White Dress - a Portrait of Joan Clarkson, 1935 (oil on canvas)". Bridgeman Images. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
- ^ "Stage Romance; Actress Asks for Part and Gets a Husband". Sunday Mercury and News. 1928-07-29. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Theatrical Romance; Producer Marries Actress in London". Citizen. 1928-08-02. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Decree Against Actress". Evening Standard. 1939-06-26. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Decree for State Producer; Wife's Desertion". The Daily Telegraph. 1939-06-27. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-17 – via Newspapers.com.