Cordelia Howard (February 1, 1848 – August 8, 1941) was a child actress on the American stage. Her most famous role was as Little Eva in the stage adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin. One commentator wrote "The name of Little Cordelia has become synonymous with that of Little Eva."[1]
Cordelia Howard | |
|---|---|
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| Born | February 1, 1848  Providence |
| Died | August 8, 1941 (aged 93) Bourne |
| Occupation | Actor |
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Cordelia Howard was born on February 1, 1848, in Providence, Rhode Island, the daughter of actor and theatrical producer George C. Howard and actress Caroline Emily Fox Howard. Her first stage role was in 1850, as a fairy sprite in the opera The Mountain Sylph. She originated the role of Little Eva in George L. Aiken's 1852 stage adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin, with her mother as Topsy and her father as Augustine St. Clare. The play was immensely popular, and Howard starred in Little Eva for hundreds of performances, continuing in the role until she was a teenager. She also starred as Little Dick and Pearl in stage adaptations of Oliver Twist and The Scarlet Letter, as well as the title character in the temperance play Little Katy; or, The Hot Corn Girl.[2]
In 1871, she married Edmund Jesse Macdonald, a bookbinder, and retired from the stage. Cordelia Howard died on August 8, 1941, in Bourne, Massachusetts.[2]
References
edit- ^ The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Gerald Martin Bordman, Thomas S. Hischak, Oxford University Press (3rd ed.). [New York, N.Y.]: Oxford University Press. 2004. ISBN 978-0-19-991647-4. OCLC 56923022.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b Dictionary of women worldwide : 25,000 women through the ages. Anne Commire, Deborah Klezmer, Thomson Gale. Detroit, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7876-9394-7. OCLC 71817179.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
External links
edit- "Memoirs of the Original Little Eva" by Cordelia Howard MacDonald