Gilda Varesi (September 28, 1887 – May 27, 1965), also known as Gilda Varesi Archibald, was an Italian-born actress and playwright.
Early life Gilda Varesi was born in Milan, and adopted as the daughter of opera singer Elena Boccabadati Varesi."Elena Varesi" Musical Courier (June 24, 1920): 34. Her maternal grandparents Felice Varesi and Cecilia Boccabadati Gazzudo were also opera singers. Luigia Boccabadati was Gilda's great-grandmother. Gilda Varesi, who was named for a character in Verdi's Rigoletto,"Who's Who on Stage" New York Times (April 27, 1919): 50. moved to Chicago as a child, with her family."Minute Visits in the Wings" New York Times (January 24, 1915): X7.
Career Varesi started on stage in Chicago, with the Ben Greet Players, before joining Helena Modjeska's troupe,"Modjeska Bequeathed Role" New York Times (June 10, 1909): 7. then working with Minnie Maddern Fiske in Salvation Nell (1908) and Little Italy."Gilda Varesi in Playlet" New York Times (May 22, 1912): 13. She toured as the lead in War Brides in 1915. She covered John Barrymore's role for ten performances of The Jest when he was ill in 1920."John Barrymore Ill" New York Times (January 24, 1920): 14."Gilda Varesi in New Play" New York Times (July 8, 1920): 16. She recalled her days as an understudy in her later work, saying, "No one ever lost a position by giving a lift to someone else. Remembering how helpful understudying was to me, I always try to give my own understudy at least one chance to appear publicly."Bernard Sobel, "Actors Who Are Hidden" Theatre Magazine (September 1921): 170.
Varesi co-wrote (with Dolly Byrne) and starred in Enter Madame,"Enter Gilda Varesi: A New Star Twinkles in 'Enter Madame'" Current Opinion (February 1921): 199. a comedy about an opera singer based on her mother,Myles E. Connolly, "Prima Donna's Daughter Writes Own Play and Is Its Leading Lady" Boston Post (August 21, 1921): 41. via Newspapers.com who died months before the show opened on Broadway in 1920.Alexander Woollcott, "The Shadow on a Great Success" Everybody's Magazine (January 1921): 39. Based on this performance, critic Maude Sperry Turner called Varesi, "the most gifted actress on Broadway,"Maude Sperry Turner, "The City of Escape" The Delineator (March 1921): 14. and Alexander Woollcott declared her "a first-rate actress, with a distinct tragic power and an inborn capacity to send chills up and down your spine."Alexander Woollcott, "Second Thoughts on First Nights" New York Times (August 22, 1920): X1.
Enter Madame was adapted for the screen twice, as a silent film in 1922, starring Clara Kimball Young and Elliott Dexter, and as a sound picture in 1935, with Cary Grant and Elissa Landi. It was also included in The Best Plays of 1920-1921 (1921).Gilda Varesi Archibald, The Online Books Page.
She appeared in two silent films, The Man of Mystery (1917) and Romance (1920, now lost).
Personal life Gilda Varesi was introduced to English lawyer John Gordon Archibald by actress Doris Keane and playwright Alfred Sutro in London."The Romantic Courtship of Gilda Varesi" Detroit Free Press (June 25, 1922): 96. via Newspapers.com They married in 1922."Gilda Varesi to Marry" New York Times (March 11, 1922): 18. She died in 1965, aged 77 years, in London.
References
External links
Gilda Varesi on IBDB.