Trixie Friganza

Trixie Friganza
Friganza in a photo from The Green Book Album (January, 1910)
Born	Delia O'Callaghan (1870-11-29)November 29, 1870 Grenola, Kansas, U.S.
Died	February 27, 1955(1955-02-27) (aged 84) Flintridge, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1923-1940
Spouse(s)	“John Doe” (1899-1900) Dr. William J.M. Barry (1901-1911) Charles A. Goettler (1912-1914)

Trixie Friganza (born Delia O’Callaghan; November 29, 1870 – February 27, 1955) began her career as an operetta soubrette, working her way from the chorus to starring in musical comedies to having her own feature act on the vaudeville circuit.

She transitioned to film in the early 1920s mostly playing small characters that were quirky and comedic and retired from the stage in 1940 due to health concerns. She spent her last years teaching drama to young women in a convent school and when she died she left everything to the convent. She became a highly sought after comic actress after the success of The Chaperons (played "Aramanthe Dedincourt") and is best known for her stage roles of Caroline Vokes (or Vokins?) in The Orchid, Mrs. Radcliffe in The Sweetest Girl in Paris, for multiple roles in The Passing Show of 1912, and her run as a vaudeville headliner. During the height of her career, she used her fame to promote social, civic, and political issues of importance, such as self-love and the Suffragist movement.

Friganza was born in Grenola, Kansas to a mother of Spanish descent and an Irish father, and was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She had two younger sisters, and along with their mother, these four women were a tightly knit unit growing up. She was educated at St. Patrick's School in Cincinnati, beginning what would become a lifelong allegiance to the Catholic Church. When asked by a reporter why she took the name Friganza she replied, “I didn't marry it”; Friganza, in fact, is her mother’s maiden name (Margaret Jane Friganza), which she both liked and found to be suitable for the stage. A friend and colleague of hers by the name of Digby Bell (of the Digby Bell Opera Co.), christened her “Trixie” early on and the name stuck, for she had never been fond of the name Delia.

She began working at a young age (12 or 13 years old) in order to help support her family, securing a cash girl position at Pogue’s store, and earning $3.00 a week. When she was sixteen she was promoted to the handkerchief counter at Pogue’s store and her salary went up to around $4.50–$5.00 a week, which was a substantial increase in income for her. It was her boyfriend at the time who encouraged her not to waste her talents as a singer and actress and to venture onto the stage where she could double or triple her current salary.