Kitty Blanchard
Born
Elizabeth Blanchard

c. 1847
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 1911 (aged 63–64)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeKensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York
Other namesKatherine Blanchard True[1]
Kitty Blanchard Rankin
Kitty Rankin
Mrs. McKee Rankin
Mrs. Oliver Rankin
OccupationActress
SpouseMcKee Rankin
Children3, including Phyllis Rankin and Doris Rankin (stepdaughter)

Elizabeth "Kitty" Blanchard (c. 1847 – December 14, 1911)[2] was an American stage actress from Pennsylvania. A popular actress in 1870s and 1880s, she married actor McKee Rankin (1841–1914). Their children married into several other famous stage families, such as the Barrymores, Drews, and Davenports. In the 1870s she costarred along with Kate Claxton in the popular hit play The Two Orphans. In 1894 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 1911 and performed in a play called Peace on Earth.[3]

Death

Rankin died December 14, 1911, in her bathtub in her hotel suite at the Belleclaire Hotel in New York City. She was using the name Mrs. Oliver Rankin and was listed in newspapers as being 70 years old.[4][5] First buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, she was moved on June 20, 1913, to the Rankin-Davenport family plot (which bears no individual markers) at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.[6]

Family

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 1890s (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.

References

  1. ↑ Evening Star [Washington D.C.] December 15, 1911, "Coroner's Statement"
  2. ↑ American and British Theatrical Biography, p.112 c.1979 by J. P. Wearing ISBN 0-8108-1201-0
  3. ↑ New York Tribune October 8, 1911; [STAGE NOTES]
  4. ↑ The Washington Herald December 15, 1911 [MCKEE RANKIN'S WIFE DEAD]
  5. ↑ The Barre Daily Times December 15, 1911 "KITTY BLANCHARD DEAD, Was Mrs. McKee Rankin, an Old Time Actress
  6. ↑ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3 ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 68. ISBN 9780786479924.
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