Lisa Weber
Lisa Weber (photo by Jeremiah Gurney)
Born1844?
England
Died24 October 1887
Buffalo, New York
Occupation(s)Actress, dancer, singer

Lisa Weber (1844? - d. 24 October 1887) was a 19th-century English actress who performed in America with Lydia Thompson's burlesque troupe, and was one of Thompson's "British Blondes".

Thompson recruited Weber from Covent Garden. She first appeared in America in the role of Mercury in Ixion when Thompson came to America in September 1868, followed by Ernani and Forty Thieves. Weber's performance of Walking Down Broadway by Charles E. Pratt and William Lingard in Ixion was a hit.[1]

Said to be the best vocalist of the troupe, Weber was also the first to "spin-off", returning to England in June 1869 to recruit her own troupe, which debuted at Wood's Museum in New York in January 1870 and travelled as well.[2] She married W.S. Mullaly in 1871, a musical and minstrel director.[3][4] She divorced him in 1875 and later married Robert Britton.[5] In 1878 she returned for a time to England and appeared as Mazeppa at Astley's.[4]

Weber's fortunes declined over time. The general reports were that had gained weight over time and faded from the limelight. See performed in and managed lesser touring burlesque companies, also at times doing some minstrel and vaudeville work. From October 1885 until her death in 1887, she would travel by herself and join with local talent to organise shows.[6]

Weber died in Buffalo, New York on 24 October 1887, where she had been performing. She was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in that city.[5][7][8][9]

References

  1. ↑ Ewen, David. American popular songs : from the Revolutionary War to the present, p. 422 (1966) ("The song was introduced and popularized in 1869 by Lisa Weber in the burlesque Ixion, Ex-King of Thessaly)
  2. ↑ (8 April 1871). The British Blondes, Evening Argus (Rock Island, Illinois)
  3. ↑ Patterson, Norman B. The Birth of Burlesque in America, Stereo World, Vol. 12, No. 6 (Jan/Feb 1986)
  4. 1 2 Ganzl, Kurt. Lydia Thompson: Queen of Burlesque, p. 152 (2014)
  5. 1 2 The New York mirror annual and directory of the theatrical profession for 1888, pp. 131-32 (1888)
  6. ↑ (15 February 1887). Paine and Miss Webber, The New York Times, p. 8, col. 1 (story of Weber testifying on behalf of John H. Wardwell in a will dispute; she was questioned about her career on cross-examination; she also had a poodle with her in the courtroom)
  7. ↑ (25 October 1887). Lisa Weber's Death: The Last of One of the Original Lydia Thompson Troupe, The New York Times
  8. ↑ (3 March 2015). Lisa Weber's death and burial, Buffalo, New York, October 1887, Footlight Notes, Retrieved 13 February 2019
  9. ↑ (31 October 1887). Both Sides of the Curtain, The Theatre, Vol. 3, No. 15, p. 305
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