Beth Franklyn

Beth Franklyn (1873 or 1875 – March 5, 1956) was an American actress born in San Francisco, the daughter of William Payne Barnes and Margaret Barnes. She performed on Broadway across a span of more than two decades, from 1914 to 1935, and built a career in regional theater before establishing herself on the New York stage. She died in Baltimore in 1956, in her eighties.

Franklyn began her professional stage career in the late nineteenth century, appearing in Chimmie Fadden in 1896. By 1901 she had joined the Albaugh Palace Theatre Company in Baltimore, where she served as John Albaugh's leading lady for several years, and that same year appeared in Sowing the Wind. In 1907 she took a role in Her Trial Marriage, and in 1908 became a member of Amelia Bingham's company. She was known for playing Irish characters throughout her career.

Her Broadway debut came in 1914 with Shameen Dhu, followed by appearances in The Revolt and Some Baby! in 1915 and The Blue Envelope in 1916. She continued on Broadway with The Love Drive in 1917, Pot Luck in 1921, The New Poor in 1924, and A Slight Case of Murder in 1935. Beyond Broadway, her stage work included Alias Jimmy Valentine and The Blue Mouse, both in 1912, as well as Nobody's Widow and The Girl of the Golden West in 1915. In 1919 she appeared in Oh Look! alongside the Dolly Sisters and Harry Fox, and in 1921 she performed in Clarence. The following year she appeared in The Cat and the Canary with Florence Eldridge and Henry Hull, and in 1927 she took a role in Butter and Egg Man.

In addition to her stage work, Franklyn appeared in the silent film Nothing but the Truth in 1920. She also directed school theatrical productions in Baltimore. In 1914 she publicly expressed support for women's suffrage while opposing militant tactics, and she was an advocate for the tango as a social dance. Franklyn was reported to have secretly married Richard Wallach in 1897, and she lived for many years with Jane T. Pillsbury, described as her companion and friend of fifty years.