Ada Lee Bascom
Ada Lee Bascom | |
---|---|
Born | 1862 or 1863 |
Died | (aged 65) |
Spouse | George Hamilton Marsden |
Ada Lee Bascom Marsden was an American novelist, playwright and actress. She wrote under her mother's maiden name,[1] using the pen names Lee Bascom and Ada Lee Bascom, and sometimes performed under the name Henrie Bascom.[2]
During her life, she wrote short stories, plays, musicals and novels.[3] She and Jack London co-wrote the play The Great Interrogation.[3]
Biography
Early life and acting
Ada Lee Bascom Swasey
As an actor, Bascom was known as a
In New York, Bascom became close friends with actress
In 1893, Bascom acted in the play, "A Lady in Venice", which starred Katherine Clemmons as the main actor.[8] For a period of time, she was a supporting actor for Grace Hawthorne in the productions of Camille and East Lynne.[6]
Writing career
Bascom wrote novels alongside her acting.
When her health started to decline, Bascom switched from acting to writing plays.[16] Her first play was A Daughter of Uncle Sam, and in 1894, the play was brought to theatre manager and producer Charles Frohman for consideration,[17] but she was unable to get a manager to accept the work and produce it.[5]
Her first produced play was A Bowery Girl,
By 1899, Bascom had moved to England.[5] While living there, she wrote the three-act farce Three Men In A Flat,[22] and her play The Habits of Hamilton was produced in London.[23] Three Men In A Flat was scheduled to be produced in London at the Opera Comique in 1899.[24] In 1900, she filed a copyright for the drama play, Vengeance Is Mine.[25]
Bascom returned from Europe to San Francisco in 1902.[26] In 1904, Bascom's fantasy one-act Bacchante was produced in San Francisco.[27] The year after, Bascom's play Three Men In A Flat ran at the Burbank Theatre.[28] In 1905, Bascom collaborated with Jack London on his first attempt at play-writing.[29] They wrote the play The Great Interrogation based on his story of the same name. The work premiered in San Francisco at the Alcazar Theatre.[30]
Personal life and death
Bascom married George Hamilton Marsden around 1898 in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon.[31] He was president of the Marsden Publishing Company.[4]
Bascom was a member of the Professional Women's League,[6] the Society of American Dramatists and Composers of New York City,[32] the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Dramatists Club of New York, and the Pioneers of California.[4]
After becoming ill with
Works
- A God of Gotham (1891)[13][14]
- The Little Jade (c. 1892)[15]
- A Daughter of Uncle Sam (c. 1894)[17]
- A Bowery Girl (1894)[18][19]
- The Queen of Spades[5]
- Three Men In A Flat (c. 1899)[24]
- Vengeance Is Mine (1900)[25]
- The Habits of Hamilton (c. 1904)[16]
- A Japanese Bride (c. 1904)[16]
- Bacchante[27]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "A California Dramatist, New York Applauds Miss Ada Lee Bascom's Melodrama, "A Bowery Girl"". San Francisco Call. December 29, 1895. p. 8. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Chips from the Boards". The San Francisco Examiner. 4 January 1891. p. 9. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ ProQuest 104524729. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Ada Lee Bascom Dies; Was Noted Novelist". Times Union. 21 July 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-252-02625-6. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "Daughter of a Pioneer". Town Talk. Town Talk Publishing Co.: 7 October 4, 1902. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ a b "The San Francisco Girl Who Wrote "The Bowery Girl"". San Francisco Chronicle. 31 May 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "Star Theater". The Buffalo Enquirer. 30 September 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "For Theatre Goers". The Brooklyn Citizen. 17 May 1891. p. 6. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Henri Bascom Enters The Literary Field". San Francisco Chronicle. 28 December 1890. p. 18. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "A God of Gotham". The Times-Picayune. 1 March 1891. p. 10. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "New Novels". San Francisco Chronicle. 1 March 1891. p. 7. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "A Slight Mistake". San Francisco Chronicle. 1 February 1891. p. 18. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "On The Book Table". The San Francisco Examiner. 2 March 1891. p. 6. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "The Stage: Lee Bascom Has Written The Best Curtain-Raiser Farce of the Age". Detroit Free Press. 10 July 1892. p. 7. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Plays and the Players". Sunset Magazine. Vol. 7. Passenger Department, Southern Pacific Company. 1904. p. 367. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ a b "The Stage". Detroit Free Press. 29 July 1894. p. 15. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Heard in the Lobby". The Pittsburgh Press. 28 October 1894. p. 13. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Dramatic Notes". The Inter Ocean. 18 November 1894. p. 87. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ Fanton, Mary Annable (5 January 1896). "Women as Playwrights". Pine Bluff Daily Graphic. p. 3. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "This is the Latest Successful Woman Playwright". The Journal. New York, NY. 8 May 1896. p. 12. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "On The Stage For First Time". San Francisco Chronicle. 21 August 1905. p. 1. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "The Habits of Hamilton by Ada Lee Bascom". Grand Junction News. 23 May 1903. p. 5. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Dramatic & Musical Notes". The Leeds Mercury. 2 June 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ ProQuest 144128877. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "Day's Happenings in Local Society". San Francisco Chronicle. 26 September 1902. p. 5. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Amateurs Get Plaudits From Admiring Friends". The San Francisco Call. 13 February 1904. p. 9. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "Morosco's Burbank Theatre". Long Beach Tribune. 7 October 1905. p. 8. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ Chapman, R. H. Hay (4 March 1905). "Stars, et al". Los Angeles Graphic. p. 23. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ Zamen, Mark E. (April 1985). "London". Jack London Newsletter. 18 (1): 41.
- ^ "Ada Lee Bascom Dies; Was Noted Novelist". Times Union. 21 July 1928. p. 14. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "Mrs. Heller Elected to Membership". The Wichita Eagle. 25 April 1915. p. 14. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "Deaths in the Profession". The Billboard. 40 (30). July 28, 1928. Retrieved 3 September 2021.