Gail Kane
Gail Kane | |
---|---|
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Died | February 17, 1966 , U.S. | (aged 80)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1914–1927 |
Spouse |
Henry Iden Ottman
(m. 1920; died 1939) |
Children | 1 |
Gail Kane (born Abigail Kane;
Early years
Kane was born in
Theatrical actress
Kane performed at the
Kane acted in a presentation of The Hyphen Knickerbocker in April 1915. She returned to the stage at the
Lawful Larceny (1922) was a comedy adapted from the writing of Samuel Shipman. It was presented at the Republic Theater, built by Oscar Hammerstein in 1900, at 42nd Street. The players included Kane, Margaret Lawrence, Ida Waterman, and Lowell Sherman.
The Breaking Point by
She played Ellen Halpin in the 1925 comedy Loggerheads at the Cherry Lane Theatre. The Booth Theatre produced Paid, written by Sam Forrest, in November 1925. Kane portrayed Mrs John Ramsey in a play which endured for twenty-one performances.
Arrest
Kane was arrested following a performance of The Captive at the Empire Theater on Broadway in February 1927. The production was considered indecent and a violation of Section 1140A of the New York City Criminal Code for its depiction of homosexuality, although the play had been tried and acquitted of immorality a short time earlier by a citizen's play jury. It was in its fifth month of production. [3]
Forty-one arrests were made in total. Two other productions were raided on the same night. They were Sex, playing at Daly's 63rd St. Theater, and The Virgin Man, which was being performed before an audience at the Princess Theater. Among the actors taken to Night Court were Basil Rathbone, Helen Menken, Ann Trevor, Winifred Fraser, John Miltern, and Arthur Lewis. Menken was comforted by Kane as she made her exit after becoming agitated by the glares and explosions of cameras snapping as she stepped out on the sidewalk. "Please make them stop," Menken reportedly exclaimed. Also arrested was Mae West, the star of Sex, and twenty others among a cast of fifty. Authorities promised to repeat the arrests if the plays were not withdrawn or modified to comply with the criminal code.[4]
Movie career
Kane's movie career spanned much of the silent era, beginning with a role as Bonita Canby, in Arizona (1913). In the western she had the third lead, portraying the unfaithful wife of a
Kane was employed by the
In July 1917 Kane joined an effort organized by William A. Brady, President of the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry, and
The Scarlet Oath (1917) was a challenging movie for Kane who played the dual role of two women. A Game of Wits (1917) is a five-reel comedy with Kane portraying Jeannette Browning in a unique love story.
She continued to act in motion pictures for another decade. Among her later movies are Love's Law (1918), The Daredevil (1918), Someone Must Pay (1919), Romeo's Dad (1919), Empty Arms (1920), Idle Hands (1921), The White Sister (1923), and Convoy (1927).
Marriage
Kane's husband, Henry Iden Ottman, died in January 1939. Ottman was born in New York City in 1880, the son of William Ottman and Christine Iden. Ottman moved to Augusta, Maine in 1921. Kane and Ottman had a son, William Kane Ottman.
Private life
She owned a collection of
She collected bathing suits. Kane possessed one of the most attractive collections of one-piece, two-piece, and fluffy ruffles seashore outfits in
Death
Kane died in Augusta, Maine in 1966, aged 80.
Filmography
- Arizona (1913)
- The Great Diamond Robbery (1914)
- The Jungle (1914)
- Dan (1914)
- The Pit (1914)
- Her Great Match (1915)
- Via Wireless (1915)
- The Labyrinth (1915)
- Paying the Price (1916)
- The Velvet Paw (1916)
- The Scarlet Oath (1916)
- The Heart of a Hero (1916)
- The Men She Married (1916)
- On Dangerous Ground (1917)
- The Red Woman (1917)
- As Man Made Her (1917)
- Whose Wife? (1917)
- The Serpent's Tooth(1917)
- The False Friend (1917)
- The Upper Crust (1917)
- Souls in Pawn (1917)
- The Bride's Silence (1917)
- Southern Pride (1917)
- A Game of Wits (1917)
- When Men Betray (1918)
- Love's Law (1918)
- The Daredevil (1918)
- Someone Must Pay (1919)
- Romeo's Dad (1919) (*short)
- Empty Arms (1920)
- Idle Hands (1921)
- Wise Husbands (1921)
- The White Sister (1923)
- Convoy (1927)
References
- ISBN 978-0-7385-4501-1. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-5468-6. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
- ^ "The Lesbian Representation on Braodway: A History". Broadway Direct.com. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ "POLICE RAID THREE SHOWS, SEX, CAPTIVES AND VIRGIN MAN; HOLD ACTORS AND MANAGERS; ALL GO TO NIGHT COURT Police Politely Serve the Warrants After the Final Curtains. VICTIMS NOT UNWILLING Submit Cordially to Arrests, Which Will Be Repeated Till Plays Are Purged. 41 ARE RELEASED IN BAIL Two Shows Had Been Cleared by the Play Jury -- Drive May Be Extended to Others". The New York Times. The New York Times. February 10, 1927. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- "News Notes From Movieland". Janesville Daily Gazette. May 10, 1917. p. 6.
- "Gail Kane Sues". Mansfield News. January 31, 1918. p. 2.
- "Amusements". Newark Advocate. November 9, 1917. p. 9.
- "Character And Charm In Acting". New York Times. November 16, 1913. p. X6.
- "Reading Barrie Between The Lines". New York Times. January 25, 1914. p. 74.
- "The Drama Society's Year And The Plays It Chose". New York Times. May 3, 1914. p. X8.
- "Second Thoughts On First Nights". New York Times. September 20, 1914. p. X5.
- "Second Thoughts On First Nights". New York Times. April 18, 1915. p. X6.
- "Movies Mobilized To Aid In War Work". July 29, 1917. p. 8.
- "The Newplays". New York Times. July 18, 1920. p. 72.
- "The Week". New York Times. January 1, 1922. p. 68.
- "The Week's Plays". New York Times. August 12, 1923. p. X1.
- "Mr. Woods Turns Prophet". New York Times. November 29, 1925. p. X2.
- "Police Raid Three Shows, Sex, Captive; Hold Actors And Managers". New York Times. February 10, 1927. p. 1.
- "Deaths". New York Times. January 3, 1939. p. 17.
- "At The Majestic". Sheboygan Press. September 28, 1915. p. 2.
- "Theatres". Warren Evening Mirror. October 25, 1917. p. 8.
External links
- Gail Kane at IMDb
- Gail Kane at IBDb.com
- Gail Kane photo gallery NYP Library BillyRose collection
- Gail Kane on the front cover of The Theater magazine in 1913(Wayback Machine)
- Gail Kane 1911 portrait still Univ of Washington J. Willis Sayre collection
- Gail Kane in 1917 by the sea shore Univ. of Washington, Sayre collection
- Gail Kane with her Owen Magnetic 1917
- kinotv.com