Johnstone Bennett
American actress and vaudeville performer (1870–1906)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johnstone Bennett (1870 – April 14, 1906) was an American actress and vaudeville performer.
Johnstone Bennett | |
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| Born | Walenton Cronise 1870 |
| Died | April 14, 1906 (aged 36) Bloomfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Other names | Valentine Cronise |
| Occupations | Actress, vaudeville performer |
Early life
Walenton (or Valentine) Cronise[1] was possibly born in France, or Spain,[2] or at sea (sources tell various stories), and was adopted as an infant by Mrs. Mary Bennett in the United States.[3] When Bennett died, she was adopted again, by actress Sibyl Johnstone. She called herself "Johnstone Bennett" after the two women who raised her.[4]
Career
Johnstone Bennett was with a small touring company when she was discovered by Richard Mansfield and cast in Monsieur (1887) in Madison Square Theatre.[5] Still with Mansfield's company, she appeared in Prince Karl (1887), Lesbia (1888), A Parisian Romance (1888), and Beau Brummell (1890). She also appeared in Honor Bright (1888), All the Comforts of a Home, A Noble Son (1889), The Story of Rodion (1895), and in starring roles of Jane (1891),[6] The Amazon, Fanny,[7] and A Female Drummer (1898). In vaudeville she performed in sketched titled A Quiet Evening at Home and American Types.[8][9][10][11]
Bennett wore masculine clothing and short hair, both on and off the stage. She collected cuff buttons and shirt studs,[12] and had her skirts made with trouser-style pockets.[13] She hired a male valet instead of a maid or press agent,[14] and she lent her name to a haberdashery company in New York.[15] In 1899 she caught a mouse in her dressing room, and planned to keep it for a pet.[16]
Novelist Willa Cather described her as "jovial, natty Johnnie Bennett, a hail-fellow-well-met, and the trimmest tailor-made New Woman of them all. She is another one who has learned how to cheat time: her cheeks are just as ruddy and her big gray eyes as frank and frolicsome and boyish as they were in the days of Jane, eight or nine years ago."[17] Theatrical manager Robert Grau remembered Bennett as "distinctly without an equal in her time."[18]
Personal life
Johnstone Bennett was destitute in her last years and survived with assistance from the Actors' Fund. She tried moving to California for her health,[19] but it did not improve and she returned to New Jersey. She died from tuberculosis in 1906, aged 36 years, in Bloomfield, New Jersey.[20][21][22]
