| Doris Keane | |
|---|---|
Basil Sydney and Doris Keane as Romeo and Juliet. |
|
| Born | Doris Keane December 12, 1881 Michigan, USA |
| Died | November 25, 1945 (aged 63) New York, USA |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1903 -1925 |
| Spouse | Basil Sydney (1918–1925) (divorced) |
Doris Keane(1881–1945) was an American actress.
She was born in the USA but educated largely in Europe[1].
Her first professional role was in Whitewashing Julia in 1903. This was a small role but she went on to play leading roles in The Happy Marriage in 1909 and The Lights o' London in 1911[1].
In 1913, she played Margherita Cavallini in Edward Sheldon's Romance. Her leading man in this long running play was William Courtenay who played the part of a priest. Sheldon had originally offered the male lead to his friend John Barrymore. Barrymore turned it down preferring to still do comedies. Sheldon reportedly fell in love with her and yearned for her all his life. She played this part in America and Europe for the next five years and returned in revivals regularly during the 1920s. In 1920, she made a silent film of Romance distributed by the then newly formed United Artists. Her male lead in the film was Norman Trevor. She also played Catherine the Great in Czarina in 1922 after Sheldon had revised the play especially for her[1].
She married the much younger actor Basil Sydney in 1918; they divorced in 1925[2]. She had one child, a daughter Ronda, from a previous relationship before her marriage to Basil Sydney. Ronda married a man by the name of Munschenheim. Keane died in 1945 and was cremated.