Chrystal Herne

Chrystal Herne (June 16, 1883 - September 19, 1950) was an American stage actress active over the early decades of twentieth century. She was the daughter of actor/playwright, James A. Herne, and the younger sister of actress and Hollywood talent scout, Julie Herne.

Biography

Katherine Chrystal Herne, the middle daughter of James A. Herne and Katherine Corcoran, was born in Dorchester, (now a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts) on June 16, 1883.^[1] She made her stage debut in Washington D.C. at the age of sixteen as Sue Hardy in her father's play, "Rev. Griffith Davenport." Over the following two season she played Jane Cauldwell in "Sag Harbor," James A. Herne’s last play. "Sag Harbor," was a family affair with Herne and his daughters Julie and Chrystal playing principle roles. James Herne died a short while later in early June 1901.

After her father’s death Chrystal played a third season in "Sag Harbor," though this time assuming her sister’s role as the heroine Martha Reese. Later that same season she played Helen Berry in one of her father’s best known plays, "Shore Acres." She joined E. H. Sothern in 1903 playing Huguette in "If I Were King" and as the Queen in "Hamlet." She scored a major success in early 1905 in special matinees performances of "Richter's Wife." in which she played the jealous wife of a famous conductor upset over his interest in a young protégé played by Julie Herne, who also wrote the piece.^[2]

Chrystal Herne was remembered for playing the title role in Arnold Daly’s production of Shaw’s “Candida” during the 1905/06 season.^[3] and as Vera Revendal opposite Walker Whiteside in Israel Zangwill's “The Melting Pot” that debuted in 1908 at the Columbia Theatrein in Washington D.C.^[4] She was well received playing Diana opposite Dustin Farnum in a 1911 revival of “The Squaw Man” at the Broadway Theatre^[5][6] and later in her career playing the title role in "Craig's Wife" opposite Charles Trowbridge produced at the Morosco Theatre in 1925 ^[7] Chrystal Herne appeared in some thirty-seven Broadway productions over her career. Her last performance was as Beatrice Crandall in “A Room in Red and White” staged at the 46th Street Theatre in January and February 1936. ^[8]

Death

Chrystal Herne died fourteen years later, on September 19, 1950, after a month’s illness at the Phillips House, a private care facility at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She was cremated.^[9] She was survived by her husband, Harold S. Pollard, a former chief editorial writer for the New York World.^[10] Besides by her husband, she left behind her sister Julie and a younger brother, John Temple Herne (1894-1966). John Herne appeared on stage in his youth, served as an Ensign with the U.S. Navy during World War I and later worked for Charles Scribner's Sons. He is interred at the Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, N.Y.^[11][12] Her younger sister, Dorothy Lucille Herne preceded her in death in 1921 at around the age of thirty-five. Dorothy, who also appeared on stage for a time, married Montrose Jonas Moses, a dramatic critic, playwright and children’s book author.^[13] Chrystal Herne also had and older sister, Alma, who died young.^[14] Her mother, Katherine Corcoran Herne, was originally an actress whom her father first met while performing in San Francisco. Chrystal's name came from her mother's role in "Hearts of Oak", a play written in 1879 by James Herne and David Belasco.^[15] Katherine Herne died at the age eighty-six in 1943.^[16]

External links

• Chrystal Herne - New York Public Library Digital Gallery
• Chrystal Herne - Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
• Chrystal Herne: Broadway Photographs(Univ. of South Carolina)

Sources