Gertrude Elliott (December 14, 1874 â€" December 24, 1950), later Lady
Forbes-Robertson, was an American stage actress, part of an extended
family of theatre professionals including her husband, Sir Johnston
Forbes-Robertson, and her elder sister, Maxine Elliott.May Gertrude
Dermot was born in Rockland, Maine, a daughter of Thomas and Adelaide
Hall Dermott. Her father was a sea captain born in Ireland, and her
mother had been a schoolteacher. Her older sister Maxine left the
household for New York City by age 16, and Gertrude soon followed.
Both of them began using the surname "Elliott" as young
women.[why?][citation needed]Elliott's career on stage began in 1894,
with a role in Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance, in a company
that was touring New York state. Both Elliotts joined a company in San
Francisco that toured Australia in 1896. The company was run by Nat C.
Goodwin, an actor who soon married Maxine Elliott. Their company went
to London in 1899, and the next year Gertrude was hired into the
company of Johnston Forbes-Robertson; Gertrude Elliott and
Forbes-Robertson married at the end of 1900, and continued to work
together for much of their careers. She was, literally, Ophelia to his
Hamlet, Desdemona to his Othello, and Cleopatra to his Caesar.Away
from the stage, Gertrude Elliott starred with her husband in a silent
film version of Hamlet in 1913, directed by their friend J. H. Ryley.
She also appeared in a 1917 silent film, Masks and Faces. Gertrude
Elliott was a co-founder and president of the Actresses' Franchise
League. During World War I she managed the "Shakespeare Hut" in
Bloomsbury, a project of the YMCA for entertaining and raising morale
among war workers. In 1923, New Zealand gave Gertrude Elliott an award
for her work for ANZAC troops during the war.
Forbes-Robertson, was an American stage actress, part of an extended
family of theatre professionals including her husband, Sir Johnston
Forbes-Robertson, and her elder sister, Maxine Elliott.May Gertrude
Dermot was born in Rockland, Maine, a daughter of Thomas and Adelaide
Hall Dermott. Her father was a sea captain born in Ireland, and her
mother had been a schoolteacher. Her older sister Maxine left the
household for New York City by age 16, and Gertrude soon followed.
Both of them began using the surname "Elliott" as young
women.[why?][citation needed]Elliott's career on stage began in 1894,
with a role in Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance, in a company
that was touring New York state. Both Elliotts joined a company in San
Francisco that toured Australia in 1896. The company was run by Nat C.
Goodwin, an actor who soon married Maxine Elliott. Their company went
to London in 1899, and the next year Gertrude was hired into the
company of Johnston Forbes-Robertson; Gertrude Elliott and
Forbes-Robertson married at the end of 1900, and continued to work
together for much of their careers. She was, literally, Ophelia to his
Hamlet, Desdemona to his Othello, and Cleopatra to his Caesar.Away
from the stage, Gertrude Elliott starred with her husband in a silent
film version of Hamlet in 1913, directed by their friend J. H. Ryley.
She also appeared in a 1917 silent film, Masks and Faces. Gertrude
Elliott was a co-founder and president of the Actresses' Franchise
League. During World War I she managed the "Shakespeare Hut" in
Bloomsbury, a project of the YMCA for entertaining and raising morale
among war workers. In 1923, New Zealand gave Gertrude Elliott an award
for her work for ANZAC troops during the war.
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