Leader Board Ad

Sunday, January 3, 2016

She Died on Stage...Margaret Mather 1898

I wouldn't have had any idea who Margaret Mather was if I hadn't found a lithograph of her.  From one brief Wikipedia entry it doesn't seem as though she led a happy life.
Margaret Mather, actress; b. 21 Oct. 1859 in Tilbury East Township, Upper Canada, daughter of John Finlayson, farmer and mechanic, and Ann Mather; m. first 15 Feb. 1887 Emil Haberkorn in Buffalo, N.Y.; m. secondly 26 July 1892 Gustav Pabst; she had no children; d. 7 April 1898
 She made her NY debut in 1886 at the Union Theater as Juliet. The play ran for quite some time and while it was popular the critics weren't so nice. This is something that seemed to plague Margaret throughout her career. It was thought that her reputation was more manufactured then earned. Having grown up in poverty she would never escape her upbringing and this likely caused her to exert herself beyond her abilities. In the end her exhaustive schedule and a a battle with Bright's disease (a form of Kidney disease) caused her to collapse on stage in West Virginia never to regain consciousness.   She died and was brought back to Detroit where she was buried.

 for more on Margaret Mather - go here.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Found something unique? See something here you want to know more about? Start the discussion - I'll respond. Really!