Minnie Tittell Brune

Minnie Tittell Brune
Minnie Tittell Brune, early 20th century photograph from The Theatre Magazine.
Born	Minnie Tittle 1875 San Francisco, California, USA
Died	Sept 1974 (1974-10) (aged 99) Los Angeles, California, USA
Nationality	American
Other names	Fanny Tittell-Brune
Occupation	Actress
Spouse(s)	Clarence Marion Brune (nee Browne)

Minnie Tittell Brune (1875–1974) was an American actress. Although little known in her own country, she became a major figure in the history of the Australian stage, achieving the peak of her career during an Antipodean tour from 1904 to 1909. She is also notable for being the only known link between two notable acting families of different centuries, having worked in 19th-century America with Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. of the Booth family, and in 20th century Australia with Roy Redgrave, founder of the Redgrave family. Although having no previous family acting background, Minnie's own two sisters Esther and Charlotte also pursued careers on the stage.

Married by 1899 to Clarence Marion Brune (née Browne) (1867–1935), an adventurous attorney from whom she took her stage name, the couple were immediately sued repeatedly in the state of Washington for land speculation fraud and legal scandals continued to dog her husband in Australia. Despite this they remained together until his death. With a strong religious upbringing, Minnie took her Catholic faith seriously and was often conflicted about her roles as a Catholic and an actress, describing herself in one Australian interview as "half a nun". Upon retirement or widowhood the "nun" half came to the fore, and she was living in relative obscurity as a member of the Order of St Francis in Los Angeles, California when she died in September 1974 at the age of 99.

Minnie Tittell Brune was born Minnie Tittle in 1875 in San Francisco, where her mother Minna Esther St Marie kept a lodging house. She had two elder sisters: Esther, also an actress who became a "crack shot and expert stage swordswoman" and performed in at least one silent film before her death in 1934; and Charlotte, who married a theatrical manager. She also had family who were nuns.

Minnie made her first stage appearance as a child of four and a half when she played Little Jim in Lights of London at the California Theatre of her home town. After her childhood appearances on stage, she was placed in a convent for about a year, perhaps in a parental attempt to discourage her from a career in theatre. Working as a child actor, she went on tour for producer Charles Frohman, appearing in New York in The Girl I left Behind and touring the United States with actors such as Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. and Frederick Warde.