Grace Filkins (June 3, 1865 – September 16, 1962) was an American stage actress.
Early life Grace Sweetman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.George Lesoir, "Grace Filkins" The Theatre (October 5, 1889): 493. Her father was a rabbi."The Heroine of 'Shore Acres'" Munsey's Magazine (May 1896): 232.
Career
Filkins started performing in variety shows, and in the companies of Augustin Daly and Helena Modjeska.
She had a long career on Broadway, appearing in shows from 1894 to 1931, including The Passing Show (1894), The Royal Box (1897-1898), The Brixton Burglary (1901), The Lady Across the Hall (1905), The School for Husbands (1905), The Daughters of Men (1906-1907), The Third Degree (1909), Drifting (1910), Rita Coventry (1923), Head or Tail (1926), and finally appearing in In the Best of Families (1931). "I would be glad to be called an intellectual actress," she told an interviewer in 1910. "I should like to deserve to be called that.""The Matinee Girl" New York Dramatic Mirror (March 4, 1910): 4. In 1900, a non-alcoholic cocktail was named for Grace Wilkins, consisting of lemon juice and sarsaparilla."Two New Summer Drinks" Evening Star (August 27, 1900): 3. via Newspapers.com
She left the Rosina Vokes Company in 1892, and sued them for lost salary, citing mistreatment by fellow actor Felix Morris."Miss Filkins's Wrongs" New York Times (May 22, 1892): 8. She later sued actress Marie Dressler and her husband,"Marie Dressler is Being Sued" The Times (May 31, 1917): 3. via Newspapers.com and playwright Preston Gibson."Actress Sues Preston Gibson" Washington Post (April 21, 1911): 5. via Newspapers.com
She was active and visible as a military wife, even as she continued her career on the stage. She spoke of becoming a Red Cross nurse in 1898."Actress Joins the Red Cross" Chicago Tribune (May 15, 1898): 35. In 1909 she was appointed to head a women's committee working to raise the Maine."Grace Filkins, Appointed to Take Charge of Raising Maine" Evening Statesman (March 25, 1909): 2. via Newspapers.com She took several years' leave from the stage and traveled to the Philippines while her husband was stationed there.Cleveland Jamison, "The Stage and the Service" The Green Book Album (February 1910): 410.
Personal life Grace Sweetman was married and widowed twice, and had one daughter. Her first husband was Robert J. Filkins, a theatrical manager; she was widowed when he died in 1886.E. LeRoy Rice, Monarchs of minstrelsy, from "Daddy" Rice to date (Kenny Publishing 1911): 182. Her second husband was Adolph Marix, a naval officer; they married in 1896."The Captain of the Scorpion" Munsey's Magazine (August 1898): 760. She was widowed again when Adolph died in 1919. Grace Filkins died in 1962, aged 97 years, in New York City."Grace Filkins, Actress, is Dead" New York Times (September 18, 1962): 39. Her gravesite is with her second husband's, in Arlington National Cemetery.Arlington National Cemetery, "Adolph Marix."
Grace Filkins' daughter, Lydia Filkins, married conductor Nikolai Sokoloff in 1911;"Sokoloff, Violinist, Weds" New York Times (January 7, 1911): 9. they divorced in 1936."Sokoloff is Divorced" New York Times (November 1, 1936): 2.
References
External links
Grace Filkins's listing at IBDB.