Florence Bindley, from a 1904 publication.

Florence Bindley (July 24, 1868 – May 14, 1951) was an American musical theatre, vaudeville, and music hall performer.

Early life

Florence J. Elmer was from Newark, New Jersey, but was raised partly in England. She started on stage at age 3, as "Baby Bindley",[1] dancing and playing novelty instruments made by her father. At age 6, she performed for Queen Victoria.[2]

Career

Poster for Florence Bindley in the Broadway production of The Street Singer by Hal Reid (1904)

Bindley appeared on Broadway and in variety shows, including Heroine in Rags (1887),[3] The Pay Train (1892),[4][5] Captain's Mate (1894),[6] A Midnight Marriage (1904),[7] The Street Singer (1904),[8] The Belle of the West (1905),[9] The Girl and the Gambler (1906),[10] In the Nick of Time (1908), and Major Meg (1916),[11] which included a display of "her famous zylophone specialty."[12] "She is at all times charming, magnetic, and possesses a beautiful singing voice," commented the Pittsburgh Press in 1904, "together with marked emotional and comedy ability."[13] She was billed as "The Girl with the Diamond Dress,"[2] for an unusual costume she wore, first on the vaudeville stage and later in The Street Singer.[14] A later vaudeville act of Bindley's, "An Afternoon at Home" (1909), featured musical monologues, singing and dancing.[15]

Personal life

Florence Elmer married twice. Her first marriage, to her cousin Edward Everett Bindley, ended in divorce in 1890.[16] She remarried to silent film actor Darwin Karr by 1910.[2] She was widowed when he died in 1945. Florence Bindley died in 1951, aged 82 years, in Los Angeles, California.

References

  1. ^ "Baby Bindley" Chicago Tribune (December 5, 1875): 10.
  2. ^ a b c "Began Stage Career at Three" Salt Lake Tribune (January 30, 1910): 10. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  3. ^ "Heroine in Rags" Emporia Daily News (January 17, 1887): 1. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  4. ^ "The Chicago Playhouses" New York Times (April 24, 1892): 13.
  5. ^ Stewart H. Holbrook, The Story of American Railroads: From the Iron Horse to the Diesel Locomotive (Dover 2016): 424. ISBN 9780486799223
  6. ^ "Florence Bindley in The Captain's Mate — Avenue Theatre" Courier Journal (January 5, 1896): 15. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  7. ^ "Music and Drama" Tammany Times (January 23, 1904): 3.
  8. ^ Gerald Martin Bordman, Richard Norton, American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle (Oxford University Press 2010): 237. ISBN 9780199729708
  9. ^ John Franceschina, Harry B. Smith: Dean of American Librettists (Routledge 2004): 167. ISBN 9781135949082
  10. ^ Donald J. Stubblebine, Early Broadway Sheet Music (McFarland 2010): 81. ISBN 9781476605609
  11. ^ "Florence Bindley in Major Meg at Lyric" Morning Call (October 5, 1916): 10. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  12. ^ "Florence Bindley Coming to Lyric Thursday" Morning Call (October 3, 1916): 10. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  13. ^ "Theatrical" Pittsburgh Press (November 10, 1904): 9.
  14. ^ Edward Epstein, "Louisville, Ky." Theatre Magazine (April 1905): xii.
  15. ^ "Dainty Florence Bindley Amuses Orpheum Patrons" Oakland Tribune (December 22, 1909): 7. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  16. ^ "'Baby' Seeks Divorce" The Times (October 30, 1890): 2. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon

External links

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