Frederick Hallen

Frederick Hallen (January 1, 1859 – February 28, 1920) was a Canadian-born vaudeville entertainer who found popularity on the North American stage.

Biography

Frederick "Fred" Hallen was born in Montreal, Canada around 1859,^[1] Hallen began touring the vaudeville circuit as early as 1880 with his American wife Enid Hart, as Hallen and Hart. A year or so before she died in 1890 at the young age of 32,^[2] he teamed up with Joseph Hart, as again Hallen and Hart and found success touring for a number of seasons with Hart's musical comedies, Later On and The Idea.^[3] After the two went their separate ways, Hallen and his second wife, Mollie (also spelled Molly) Fuller, the sister of dancer Loie Fuller, became a headlining vaudeville act .^[4][5] Hallen and Fuller would go on to be known for their short comedic plays and skits performed in vaudeville houses across North America for nearly a quarter century.^[6]

Mollie Fuller
NYPL Digital Gallery (ca. 1890s)

Fredeick Hallen died of stomach cancer on the 28th of February, 1920 at his residence in The New York Palace Hotel. Two months earlier he had fallen ill during an engagement in Toronto, Canada and was later told his condition was terminal. Hallen was survived by his wife, Mollie.^[1]

Mollie Fuller

After producer Edward Franklin Albee learned Mollie Fuller was near blind and living in impoverished conditions in Chicago, he had her brought back to New York where he asked writer Blanche Merrill (1895–1966) to write a piece for her to perform in.^[7] With the help of friends Fuller returned to the stage in December 1922 to appear in the playlet Twilight staged in Brooklyn and later at the Strand Theatre in Hoboken.^[8]

Before her vaudeville days Fuller was on the legitimate stage in productions like the libretto Adonis, by Edward E. Rice and William F. Gill and Edward E. Rice’s Evangeline, in which she stepped in to replace Fay Templeton when the actress was unable to go on stage.^[9] The highlight of her career came in 1895 when Hallen bought the rights to the play "The Twentieth Century Girl" and cast her in the title role.^[3][10]

Mollie Fuller died at around the age of 68 in Hollywood, California, on the January 5, 1933. At the time of her death she was receiving assistance from The Troupers, a national vaudeville players association. Her funeral expenses were handled by the National Vaudeville Artist organization.^[11]

References