Elizabeth "Kitty" Blanchard ( - December , ) was an American stage
actress from Pennsylvania. A popular actress in s and s, she married
actor McKee Rankin (â€"). Their children married into several other
famous stage families, such as the Barrymores, Drews, and Davenports.
In the s she costarred along with Kate Claxton in the popular hit play
The Two Orphans. In she was a member of the cast in the New York
production of Arms and the Man, one of the earliest American
appearances of a George Bernard Shaw play. Towards the end of her
life, she and McKee Rankin came out of retirement in October and
performed in a play called Peace on Earth.Kitty Rankin died December ,
in her bathtub in her hotel suite at the Belleclaire Hotel, New York
City. She was using the name Mrs. Oliver Rankin and newspapers had her
age as years old. First buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn,
she was moved on June , , to the Rankin-Davenport family plot (which
bears no individual markers) at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New
York.She and McKee had two daughters, Gladys Rankin and Phyllis
Rankin. A third child Doris appears to have been born from McKee's
extramarital affair with actress Mabel Bert . Gladys married Sidney
Drew in the early s (together they were known as Mr. and Mrs. Sidney
Drew). They were the parents of S. Rankin Drew. Phyllis became the
second wife of Harry Davenport, whose sister was Fanny Davenport, a
reigning actress of the late Victorian era. Harry had a daughter from
a previous marriage, Dorothy who later married matinee idol Wallace
Reid. Phyllis had a son out of wedlock, Arthur Rankin, who was adopted
by Harry when he married Phyllis. Arthur Rankin Jr. was Phyllis's
grandson. He is the Rankin in Rankin/Bass Productions.
actress from Pennsylvania. A popular actress in s and s, she married
actor McKee Rankin (â€"). Their children married into several other
famous stage families, such as the Barrymores, Drews, and Davenports.
In the s she costarred along with Kate Claxton in the popular hit play
The Two Orphans. In she was a member of the cast in the New York
production of Arms and the Man, one of the earliest American
appearances of a George Bernard Shaw play. Towards the end of her
life, she and McKee Rankin came out of retirement in October and
performed in a play called Peace on Earth.Kitty Rankin died December ,
in her bathtub in her hotel suite at the Belleclaire Hotel, New York
City. She was using the name Mrs. Oliver Rankin and newspapers had her
age as years old. First buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn,
she was moved on June , , to the Rankin-Davenport family plot (which
bears no individual markers) at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New
York.She and McKee had two daughters, Gladys Rankin and Phyllis
Rankin. A third child Doris appears to have been born from McKee's
extramarital affair with actress Mabel Bert . Gladys married Sidney
Drew in the early s (together they were known as Mr. and Mrs. Sidney
Drew). They were the parents of S. Rankin Drew. Phyllis became the
second wife of Harry Davenport, whose sister was Fanny Davenport, a
reigning actress of the late Victorian era. Harry had a daughter from
a previous marriage, Dorothy who later married matinee idol Wallace
Reid. Phyllis had a son out of wedlock, Arthur Rankin, who was adopted
by Harry when he married Phyllis. Arthur Rankin Jr. was Phyllis's
grandson. He is the Rankin in Rankin/Bass Productions.
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