Laurette Taylor (born Loretta Helen Cooney; April , â€" December , )
was an American stage and silent film star who is particularly
well-known for originating the role of Amanda Wingfield in the first
production of Tennessee Williams's play The Glass Menagerie.Taylor was
born as Loretta Helen Cooney in New York City on April , , of Irish
heritage, to James and Elizabeth (née Dorsey) Cooney. She had a
younger sister, Elizabeth. She married her first husband, Charles
Alonzo Taylor (born January , , South Hadley, Massachusetts â€" died
March , , Glendale, California), on May , , aged . He was almost two
decades her senior. They had two children, Dwight Oliver Taylor
(January , â€" December , ) and Marguerite Courtney (August , â€"
February , ), but divorced circa .On December , , she married
British-born playwright J. Hartley Manners, who wrote the play Peg o'
My Heart, a successful play and an enduring personal triumph for
Taylor, who toured in it extensively throughout the country. The
play's success inspired a film version starring Taylor and directed
by King Vidor. A six-reel print of the film survives in the Motion
Picture Division of the Library of Congress. The marriage was
successful and Taylor remained married to Manners until his death in .
By law, Taylor lost her U.S. citizenship by marrying a foreign
national. A widow, Taylor reclaimed by naturalization, on September ,
, her United States citizenship (cert #). Her petition notes her "not
having acquired any other nationality by affirmative act".Taylor made
her Broadway debut in The Great John Ganton in and appeared in other
stage productions such as The Ringmaster, Alias Jimmy Valentine, Seven
Sisters, Lola Lola, and The Bird of Paradise. Taylor also appeared in
other productions, including One Night in Rome, The Wooing of Eve and
the special production, Laurette Taylor in Scenes From Shakespeare. In
the last production, she performed scenes from Romeo and Juliet, The
Merchant of Venice, and The Taming of the Shrew.
was an American stage and silent film star who is particularly
well-known for originating the role of Amanda Wingfield in the first
production of Tennessee Williams's play The Glass Menagerie.Taylor was
born as Loretta Helen Cooney in New York City on April , , of Irish
heritage, to James and Elizabeth (née Dorsey) Cooney. She had a
younger sister, Elizabeth. She married her first husband, Charles
Alonzo Taylor (born January , , South Hadley, Massachusetts â€" died
March , , Glendale, California), on May , , aged . He was almost two
decades her senior. They had two children, Dwight Oliver Taylor
(January , â€" December , ) and Marguerite Courtney (August , â€"
February , ), but divorced circa .On December , , she married
British-born playwright J. Hartley Manners, who wrote the play Peg o'
My Heart, a successful play and an enduring personal triumph for
Taylor, who toured in it extensively throughout the country. The
play's success inspired a film version starring Taylor and directed
by King Vidor. A six-reel print of the film survives in the Motion
Picture Division of the Library of Congress. The marriage was
successful and Taylor remained married to Manners until his death in .
By law, Taylor lost her U.S. citizenship by marrying a foreign
national. A widow, Taylor reclaimed by naturalization, on September ,
, her United States citizenship (cert #). Her petition notes her "not
having acquired any other nationality by affirmative act".Taylor made
her Broadway debut in The Great John Ganton in and appeared in other
stage productions such as The Ringmaster, Alias Jimmy Valentine, Seven
Sisters, Lola Lola, and The Bird of Paradise. Taylor also appeared in
other productions, including One Night in Rome, The Wooing of Eve and
the special production, Laurette Taylor in Scenes From Shakespeare. In
the last production, she performed scenes from Romeo and Juliet, The
Merchant of Venice, and The Taming of the Shrew.
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