Hilda Keenan (November 1891 – August 20, 1940) was an American actress and vaudeville performer, part of a family of actors including her father Frank Keenan, her husband Ed Wynn, and her son Keenan Wynn.
Early life Hilda Keenan was the daughter of actor Frank Keenan and New Brunswick-born Katherine Agnes Long Keenan."Began Stage Career in Boston Museum" Daily Boston Globe (February 22, 1929): 4. Her older sister Frances was also an actress. Keenan attended Wellesley College."Hilda Keenan" New York Times (August 22, 1940): 19.
Career Keenan was in vaudeville with a one-act sketch called Sarah in 1911."Hilda Keenan" Brooklyn Daily Eagle (March 26, 1911): 36. via Newspapers.com She appeared in the plays The Heights (1911),American Play Company, The Catalogue of the American Play Company, with Original Casts, Volume 2 (American Play Company 1911): 109. The Road to Arcady (1912),Dixie Hines, Harry Prescott Hanaford, eds., Who's who in Music and Drama (Hanaford 1914): 458. Within the Law and The Salamander.Ada Patterson, "Grandparents of the Stage" Green Book Magazine (December 1914): 1007. In Within the Law, she co-starred with Margaret Illington;Mae Tinee, "Miss Keenan Hit with her Dad and Others" Chicago Daily Tribune (August 24, 1913): B3. one critic commented that "Hilda Keenan's Agnes Lynch, a blackmailer, is noticeably excellent, and makes an engaging characterization of a rôle which ordinarily would scarcely win our friendly feelings.""The Northwestern Bellman" The Bellman (October 4, 1913): 439.
Personal life Keenan was married to actor Ed Wynn from 1914"Dramatic Notes" The Independent (September 21-23, 1914): 11. until their protracted, widely publicized"Ed Wynn's Wife Sues Comedian for Divorce" Atlanta Constitution (May 11, 1937): 23. and rancorous"Suit Says Ed Wynn Had Guard to Control Wife" Los Angeles Times (October 24, 1934): 7."Ed Wynn Is Cruel, His Wife Charges In Separation Suit" Washington Post (December 20, 1936): M17. divorce in 1937."Reno Divorce Seekers, Class of '37" Life Magazine (June 21, 1937): 37. They had a son, actor Keenan Wynn."Mrs. Ed Wynn Sues for Divorce in Reno" New York Times (May 11, 1937): 31. Hilda Keenan died in New York in 1940, aged 48 years, after years of mental illness including alcoholism.Jan Stuart, The Nashville Chronicles: The Making of Robert Altman's Masterpiece (Hal Leonard Corporation 2003): 186. Ted Thackrey Jr., "Character Actor Keenan Wynn, Once Tagged as 'Ed Wynn's Son,' Dies at 70" Los Angeles Times (October 15, 1986).
Her grandson Tracy Keenan Wynn is a screenwriterBob Thomas, "Acting Centenary for Wynn Clan" Los Angeles Times (May 28, 1976): F26. and her great-granddaughter Jessica Keenan Wynn is an actress.
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