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Nena Blake

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Nena Blake
A smiling young woman with light skin and dark hair, long, curly, and parted on the side
Nena Blake, from a 1907 publication
Born
Nena Naomi Fry

1887
Ontario, Canada
DiedOctober 12, 1924
New York, New York, U.S.
OccupationActress
MotherLena Jane Fry

Nena Blake (1887 – October 12, 1924), born as Nena Naomi Fry, was a Canadian-born American actress and chorus girl on Broadway and in vaudeville.

Early life and education

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Blake was born in Ontario, the daughter of Stephen Fry and Lena Jane Fry. Her mother was a writer, who dedicated her 1905 utopian novel to Nena and her sisters Bertha and Kathleen, calling them "three of America's best daughters".[1] Her parents divorced in 1894.[2]

Career

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Blake appeared on Broadway in the shows The Royal Chef (1904),[3][4] Coming Thro' the Rye (1906),[3][5] The Girl from Rector's (1909),[6] The Girl with the Whooping Cough (1910), A Certain Party (1911),[7] and Bachelors and Benedicts (1912).[8][9] In Boston in 1905, she appeared in a musical revue, Kafoozelem, singing "Baby Lonely" with a chorus of eight dancers called "the Incubator Babies", referencing a common sideshow attraction of the day.[10][11]

In 1906 Blake appeared in a revue with dancers called the Bronco Beauties; she shared the bill with Ruth St. Denis performing Radha.[12] In 1913 and 1914, she starred in a comedy by James Montgomery, Ready Money, in a touring company that played across the United States,[13] including runs in San Francisco and New York.[14][15] In 1916 she starred in Spring Cleaning in Atlantic City.[16] In 1921 Blake directed the costumes for Irene, a Broadway musical.[17] She personally brought the fabric and designs for 42 gowns from Paris for the show.[18]

Beyond the stage, Blake was active in politics,[19] and associated with the Theatrical Women's Parker Association, in support of Alton B. Parker's 1904 presidential campaign.[20][21] Also in 1904, she was reported abducted by a fan at the stage door,[22] though this was later described as a publicity stunt.[20] In 1905 a wealthy banker and mine owner from Montana, Michael Sellers Largey,[23] took a personal interest in Blake, and spent extravagantly to help her career, but she refused his repeated proposals of marriage.[24][25] In 1909, she organized the Dowry Fund Protection Association for actresses, to remove the temptation to marry wealthy men entirely for financial reasons.[26]

Personal life

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Blake inherited money from an admirer in 1907.[27] She died in New York City in 1924, at the age of 37.[28][29] She left her house on Long Island and her jewels to her mother and other family members.[30]

References

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  1. ^ Fry, Lena Jane (1905). "Other Worlds". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  2. ^ "Two Absolute Divorces". The Buffalo Enquirer. 1894-02-24. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Dietz, Dan (2022-07-15). The Complete Book of 1900s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 231, 338–339. ISBN 978-1-5381-6894-3.
  4. ^ "Nena Blake of 'Royal Chef' Company Candidate for World's Fair Beauty Honors". The Inter Ocean. 1904-08-01. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Bordman, Gerald (2001). American Musical Theater: A Chronicle. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-19-513074-4.
  6. ^ "Actresses Envy Shop Girl's Simple Life". The Cincinnati Post. 1909-12-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Wallach's: A Certain Party". The Theatre Magazine. 13 (124): 183. June 1911.
  8. ^ Hines, Dixie; Hanaford, Harry Prescott (1914). Who's who in Music and Drama. H.P. Hanaford. p. 452.
  9. ^ Fisher, James; Londré, Felicia Hardison (2017-11-22). Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-5381-0786-7.
  10. ^ "Boston Theatres: Tremont" Journal of Education 62(2)(June 29, 1905): 67.
  11. ^ Shulman, Max; Westgate, J. Chris (2019-05-15). Performing the Progressive Era: Immigration, Urban Life, and Nationalism on Stage. University of Iowa Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-60938-647-4.
  12. ^ Brannigan, Erin (2011-02-09). Dancefilm: Choreography and the Moving Image. Oxford University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-19-988788-0.
  13. ^ "Nena Blake, New Representative of the Ingenue Type". The Kansas City Post. 1914-01-10. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Becomes Favorite Broadway Ingenue; Out of Music Comedy Into the Drama". The San Francisco Examiner. 1913-08-29. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Clever Actress Hits Beauty Culture Fad; Eternal Thinking of Looks Makes Women Artificial". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1913-09-26. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Nena Blake is Leading Lady; Actress Last Seen Here in 'Stop Thief' Heads Brillian Cast at Apollo". Atlantic City Gazette-Review. 1916-04-04. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "'Irene' Achieves a New Star and a Smart New Paris Frocking". American Cloak and Suit Review. 21: 151. February 1921.
  18. ^ "'Irene' in its Second Year Offers New Fashion Program". American Cloak and Suit Review. 21: 150. February 1921.
  19. ^ "Nena Blake". Broadway Weekly. 4 (85): 19. September 28, 1904.
  20. ^ a b Pollock, Channing. "Confessions of a Press Agent" Munsey's Weekly 38(October 1907): 92-93.
  21. ^ "Beauty in Politics". Broadway Weekly. 4 (83): 16. September 15, 1905.
  22. ^ "Chorus Girl is Abducted by Stranger with a Cab". Chicago Tribune. 1904-08-25. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Chicago Actress May Wed Millions; Nena Blake Reported Engaged to Mine Owner of Butte". Evansville Courier and Press. 1905-12-24. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Page, William Adino (1926). Behind the Curtains of the Broadway Beauty Trust. Edward A. Miller publishing Company. pp. 155–159.
  25. ^ "Proposed 7500 Times". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1907-05-19. p. 59. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "No Old Maids If This Chorus Lady's Dowry Scheme Wins". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. 1909-11-06. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Nena Blake Heir to Large Fortune". The Topeka Daily Capital. 1907-01-27. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Deaths" Equity 9(12)(November 1924): 3.
  29. ^ New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948, via Ancestry.
  30. ^ "Nena N. Fry Will Leaves $24,000". Times Union. 1924-10-21. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
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