Virginia Earle

Virginia Earle
Famous Prima Donnas, 1900
Born	Virginia Earl (1873-08-06)6 August 1873 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Died	21 September 1937(1937-09-21) (aged 64) Englewood, New Jersey, United States
Occupation	Stage Actress
Spouse(s)	Frank Lawton

Virginia (née Earl) Earle (August 6, 1873 – September 21, 1937) was an American stage actress remembered for her work in light operas, Edwardian musical comedies and vaudeville over the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century.

Born Virginia Earl on August 6, 1873, in Cincinnati, Ohio, she was the daughter of Irish immigrants Sara and Nathan Wheeler Earl. Earle's family later moved to Chicago where her father found employment as a machinist. Her mother and father were both said to have done some theater work, as did her younger brother, Wheeler Earl, who performed for a number of years on stage before becoming a salesman for the Hupp Motor Company.

Earle made her stage debut in 1887 playing Nanki-Poo in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado with the Home Juvenile Opera Company. During her time with the Home Juvenile Opera she also played principal roles in The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore and Patience.

Earle next joined the Pike Opera Company on a tour of the American West that eventually brought her to San Francisco, where she was engaged by Frederick Hallen and Joseph Hart's vaudeville company. After completing two seasons with Hallen and Hart she became associated with producer Edward E. Rice and in 1891 traveled to Australia with a troupe of actors that included George Fortescue, his wife and daughter (both named Viola) and actresses Lillian Karl, and Agnes Pearl.

Earle appeared in the comic opera portion of The Merry World, a revue written by Edgar Smith and Nicholas Biddle. It was staged at the Casino Theatre in New York City in June 1895. She was joined in the musical burlesque section by Willard Simms, Wallace Black, and Lee Harrison. As the character, Vaseline, Earle sang along with Marie Laurens.Leonardo by Gilbert Burgess is a book about a Florentine sculptor who designs a statue of the Duke of Milan. During his work he falls in love with the Duke's daughter. The operetta of the same name was produced at the Garrick Theatre in October 1895 with Earle in the role of Cecilia. A critic commented that the production's costumes were tasteful and the operetta was well rehearsed, but the performance itself was merely tolerable.