Emma Dunn

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

96

Gender

Female

Birthday

1874-02-24

Day of death

1966-12-14 (92 years old)

Place of Birth

Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK

Emma Dunn

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English character actress on the stage and in motion pictures. Emma Dunn appeared onstage in her early teens, graduating to the London stage for several years and later became a noted Broadway actress. She appeared in the first American production of Ibsen's Peer Gynt (1906) with Richard Mansfield as Peer. She played Peer's mother, Ase, even though she was, in real life, 20 years younger than Mansfield. She appeared in three productions for theatre impresario David Belasco: The Warrens of Virginia (1907), The Easiest Way (1909) and The Governor's Lady (1912). In The Easiest Way, Dunn portrayed Annie, who was black, in blackface. In 1913 Dunn appeared in vaudeville. Dunn made her first film in 1914, a silent film of her 1910 stage success, Mother, directed by Maurice Tourneur. This was Tourneur's first American film. Dunn's second film was 1920's Old Lady 31, reprising the role she played in the 1916 Broadway play of the same name. One more silent film followed in 1924, Pied Piper Malone, before she made her talkie debut in Side Street, co-starring the Moore brothers, Matt, Owen and Tom as her sons. Dunn wrote two books on elocution and speech: Thought Quality in the Voice (1933) and You Can Do It (1947). Emma Dunn was born 26 February 1875, in Birkenhead, England, although she sometimes gave her year of birth as 1883. Dunn married Harry Beresford, an actor who was then known professionally as Harry J. Morgan, in Chicago on 4 October 1897. They divorced on 10 February 1909, in New York City. She was awarded sole custody of their young daughter, Dorothy. On 19 May 1909, Dunn married John W. Stokes (John W. S. Sullivan), an actor, playwright and theatrical manager. They subsequently adopted a second daughter, Helen. The couple divorced sometime between 1923 and Stokes' death in 1931. After suffering a heart attack some months before, Dunn died 14 December 1966, in Los Angeles, California, aged 91.

Known For

  • George White's 1935 Scandals

    George White's 1935 Scandals

  • Scattergood Meets Broadway

    Scattergood Meets Broadway

  • Hideaway

    Hideaway

  • Dr. Kildare Goes Home

    Dr. Kildare Goes Home

  • Thanks for the Memory

    Thanks for the Memory

  • Broken Lullaby

    Broken Lullaby

  • The Hoodlum Saint

    The Hoodlum Saint

  • Young Dr. Kildare

    Young Dr. Kildare

  • The Secret of Dr. Kildare

    The Secret of Dr. Kildare

  • The Mad Martindales

    The Mad Martindales

  • Each Dawn I Die

    Each Dawn I Die

  • The Great Dictator

    The Great Dictator

  • Pied Piper Malone

    Pied Piper Malone

  • Little Big Shot

    Little Big Shot

  • Calling Dr. Kildare

    Calling Dr. Kildare

  • Cowboy from Brooklyn

    Cowboy from Brooklyn

  • Madame X

    Madame X

  • Letty Lynton

    Letty Lynton

  • The Cowboy and the Lady

    The Cowboy and the Lady

  • Rise and Shine

    Rise and Shine

  • Hard to Handle

    Hard to Handle

  • Elmer, the Great

    Elmer, the Great

  • Side Street

    Side Street

  • Manslaughter

    Manslaughter

  • The Keeper of the Bees

    The Keeper of the Bees

  • Lord Jeff

    Lord Jeff

  • The Talk of the Town

    The Talk of the Town

  • It's Tough to Be Famous

    It's Tough to Be Famous

  • Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

    Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

  • Morals for Women

    Morals for Women

  • I Married a Witch

    I Married a Witch

  • The Woman in White

    The Woman in White

  • Dark Hazard

    Dark Hazard

  • The Llano Kid

    The Llano Kid

  • Compromised

    Compromised

  • Life with Father

    Life with Father

  • The Texan

    The Texan

  • Scattergood Pulls the Strings

    Scattergood Pulls the Strings

  • It Happened Tomorrow

    It Happened Tomorrow

  • Are These Our Parents?

    Are These Our Parents?

  • A Man of Sentiment

    A Man of Sentiment

  • Second Wife

    Second Wife

  • High School

    High School

  • The Duke of West Point

    The Duke of West Point

  • Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day

    Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day

  • Varsity Show

    Varsity Show

  • Mourning Becomes Electra

    Mourning Becomes Electra

  • The Penalty

    The Penalty

  • It's Great to Be Alive

    It's Great to Be Alive

  • The Bad Sister

    The Bad Sister

  • Mr. & Mrs. Smith

    Mr. & Mrs. Smith

  • Bad Company

    Bad Company

  • Another Face

    Another Face

  • Dr. Monica

    Dr. Monica

  • The Glass Key

    The Glass Key

  • Little Orvie

    Little Orvie

  • Half a Sinner

    Half a Sinner

  • Son of Frankenstein

    Son of Frankenstein

  • Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

    Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

  • Blessed Event

    Blessed Event

  • The Guilty Generation

    The Guilty Generation

  • Private Jones

    Private Jones

  • Old Lady 31

    Old Lady 31

  • Scattergood Baines

    Scattergood Baines

  • The Harvester

    The Harvester

  • The Postman Didn't Ring

    The Postman Didn't Ring

  • Hell's House

    Hell's House

  • Seven Keys to Baldpate

    Seven Keys to Baldpate

  • The Monster and the Girl

    The Monster and the Girl

  • Ladies in Retirement

    Ladies in Retirement

  • Minesweeper

    Minesweeper

  • Hero for a Day

    Hero for a Day

  • Three Loves Has Nancy

    Three Loves Has Nancy

  • Ladies Crave Excitement

    Ladies Crave Excitement

  • One Crowded Night

    One Crowded Night

  • The Wet Parade

    The Wet Parade

  • Under Eighteen

    Under Eighteen

  • When You're in Love

    When You're in Love

  • Dance, Girl, Dance

    Dance, Girl, Dance

  • The Prodigal

    The Prodigal

  • The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood

    The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood

  • The Emperor's Candlesticks

    The Emperor's Candlesticks

  • Babes on Broadway

    Babes on Broadway

  • Circus Girl

    Circus Girl

  • Waikiki Wedding

    Waikiki Wedding

  • This Modern Age

    This Modern Age

  • The Bridge of San Luis Rey

    The Bridge of San Luis Rey

  • Grand Slam

    Grand Slam

  • This Is the Life

    This Is the Life

  • You Can't Fool Your Wife

    You Can't Fool Your Wife

  • Mother

    Mother

  • My Buddy

    My Buddy

  • Too Young to Marry

    Too Young to Marry

  • Hoosier Holiday

    Hoosier Holiday

  • The Quitter

    The Quitter

  • Flirtation

    Flirtation