Rita Bell
Background information
Birth nameMarguerite Hughes Bell
BornDecember 16, 1893
Stratton, Nebraska
DiedJanuary 8, 1992(1992-01-08) (aged 98)
Genres
Occupations
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • entertainer
Instrumentspiano
Spouse(s)
  • Nathaniel Brittan Crittenden
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1923, divorced)​
  • Edwin Theodore Redlich
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1940; died 1962)​

Rita Bell (née, Bell; after first marriage, Crittenden; after second marriage, Redlich; December 16, 1893 – January 8, 1992) was an American lyric soprano[1] and entertainer in vaudeville, musical theatre, radio, and "talkies".[1] She was the principal actress of several Broadway musicals, such as "The Gingham Girl" and "Spice of Life". During her world tour, her singing voice and personality were broadcast from radio stations in Amsterdam, Berlin, Cape Town, and London.[2] A singer-songwriter, Bell wrote many of her songs.[3]

Early life and education

Marguerite (nickname, "Rita") Hughes Bell was born in Stratton, Nebraska, December 16, 1893.[4] Her parents were S. Warren Bell and Alice Hughes.[5]

Her early education was in the public schools of Nebraska and Iowa.[5] Bell sang her first part in an amateur performance in Iowa City, Iowa. From the time when she was a child in grade school, she liked to sing the popular songs which her uncle, Winfield Hughes, had in his music store in Iowa City.[6] Bell came to Saint Paul, Minnesota when 13 years of age. She attended Central High School and performed in the school's Glee Club. She then attended the University of Iowa.[5]

"If you want to be a successful actress go to college. If you can tell a theatrical manager you have a bachelor of arts degree from a college or university of high standards, you go up in his estimation... I know that academic training for the stage has long been neglected -at least it hasn't been recognized- but that doesn't make it one bit less important. The girl who has a firm foundation of liberal arts training has as great an advantage in musical comedy, vaudeville or serious drama... Foreign languages, music and dancing are subjects which should be studied and are particularly necessary for stage work."[6]

Bell won distinction in Iowa City singing the part of "Hebe" in Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore, a part which her mother, then Miss Alice Hughes, had sung 20 years before opposite the same basso, Frank Sueppel. From that time on, no production in the vicinity was considered complete without Bell. Though she was a pupil of Marie de Santo Riedel at the University of Iowa's School of Music[1] at the time, her practice did not take up all her energy. Bell organized a quartet including Grace Pfannebecker, Nita Stamp, Esther Thomann, and herself, touring Iowa on chautauquas and winter concerts.[6]

Career

She continued with amateur work while singing soprano at Peoples church. Bell also did one summer season in musical stock and light opera at Fairmont, Minnesota.[5]

Rita Bell as she appeared in a vaudeville sketch written for her by Jack Lait.

The following fall, she had her first professional vaudeville offer, the "West Coast on Pantages" which took her to the Pacific coast. After filling some picture engagements in the west, she returned to vaudeville in a sketch written for her by Jack Lait. This act was extremely popular in the east on the "Keith" circuit.[5] She left vaudeville in 1920 to concentrate on music comedy roles,[6] on the East coast. She scored an immediate success, appearing as the ingenue soprano in The Spice of Life. She was cast for a lead in the 1922 Ziegfeld Follies, also John Cort's "Go-Go" and Harry Delf's "Sun Showers", but opted instead for the 1922 New York City production of The Gingham Girl where Bell played the entire run of the production in the title role. After it closed for the summer, Bell toured the Canadian Rockies and returned to St. Paul where she appeared in a musical interlude, The Butterfly Girl.[7] She was booked for a leading role in Gus Edwards "Sunbonnet Sue" and "No, No, Nonette", but retired.[5]

Bell appeared in numerous benefit performances, in "Jappyland", at the St. Paul auditorium (now, Roy Wilkins Auditorium), 1911; benefits for House of Hope and First Baptist church; and in entertainments for the wounded at Fort Snelling during World War I.[5]

Rita Bell (1923)

She belonged to Central High School Glee Club, House of Hope Christian Endeavor Society, National Vaudeville Artists of New York City, Brahms Club of New York City and Women's National Democratic Club. Since her residence in New York, Bell worked on a committee for New York Music week, 1924. Bell directed a benefit for Judson Memorial Church and Health Center, and did social work at the center among young Italian girls.[5] Bell served on the board of director of Brandeis University, and was Vice-president of the New York Gourmet Society. She founded the Community Concert Association in Great Neck, New York.[8]

In France,[1] Bell became a protege of Anna Calve.[2] From France, she went to England and after singing there, received a contract to perform in South African radio. While traveling in South Africa, she wrote articles on diamond mines, as well as the people and customs of the country.[1] In 1929, she returned to vaudeville, with performances scheduled in the Netherlands, Berlin, and Vienna.[9] She also performed in Shanghai and Hong Kong.[8] in 1939, she was a pianist-singer at a restaurant in Brooklyn.[10]

Around 1940, Bell began appearing in USO shows. By 1972, she had made more than 2,000 benefit performances.[8]

Personal life

On September 15, 1923, she married Nathaniel Brittan Crittenden (1890-1958) of New York;[5][4] At some point they divorced. On April 5, 1940, in Warrenton, Virginia, she married Edwin Theodore Redlich (1895-1962). The couple made their home on Long Island, in Freeport, New York.[11]

In her later years, Rita Bell remained on Long Island and made her home in Great Neck, where she died January 8, 1992.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Rita Bell, Stage Star, Tells of Work in "Talkies"". Iowa City Press-Citizen. 12 December 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 Radio doings - the Red book of radio. Los Angeles: Doubleday, Page & Co. December 1930. p. 19. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ↑ "AT THE PRINCESS". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 21 March 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "Marguerite "Rita" Hughes Bell 16 December 1893 – January 1992 • G443-4H9". ident.familysearch.org. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Foster, Mary Dillon (1924). "Rita Bell Crittenden". Who's who Among Minnesota Women: A History of Woman's Work in Minnesota from Pioneer Days to Date, Told in Biographies, Memorials and Records of Organizations. Mary Dillon Foster. p. 70. Retrieved 20 June 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Dondore, C. F. (9 September 1923). "Rita Bell of Iowa City Says Latin, Greek and Midnight Oil Are Necessary for Broadway Success". The Des Moines Register. p. 57. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ↑ "St. Paul Prima Donna to Appear at State in 'The Butterfly Girl'. Rita Bell, Leading Lady in 'The Gingham Girl,' Interrupts Home Vacation". Star Tribune. 29 July 1923. p. 51. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. 1 2 3 Scarborough, Ellen (9 March 1972). "Rita's Always Willing To Sing An Old Song". The Charlotte Observer. p. 59. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Baxter, Betty (2 August 1929). "Purely Personal". Iowa City Press-Citizen. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "RITA BELL RE-SIGNED". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 15 September 1939. p. 10. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Former Iowa Citian Is Married in East". Iowa City Press-Citizen. 22 April 1940. p. 5. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "REDLICH". Newsday (Suffolk Edition). Melville, New York. 10 January 1992. p. 28. Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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