Marie Burroughs

Marie Burroughs, born Lillie Arrington on September 26, 1866, in San Jose, California, was an American stage actress whose career spanned the late nineteenth century. She was raised in San Francisco, and by the age of seventeen her talent had caught the attention of actor Lawrence Barrett, who arranged for her to appear in The Rajah at the Madison Square Theatre in New York. That production marked her Broadway debut in 1884, at which point she also adopted her stage name. Her early success was accompanied by the observation that her physical appearance initially outpaced her technical abilities, and she subsequently studied under actor Louis Massen, who later became her first husband.

Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, Burroughs accumulated a substantial list of stage credits. Her early appearances included Alpine Roses, in which she played Irma, as well as Hazel Kirke, Esmeralda, After the Ball, and Elaine, where she portrayed Queen Guinevere in 1887. She also appeared in Saints and Sinners, The Middleman as Mary Blenkarn, and Judah as Vashti Dethic, the latter among several productions in which she supported English actor Edward Smith Willard. Additional credits included Wealth as Edith Ruddock, John Needham's Double as Kate Norbury in 1891, The Professor's Love Story as Lucy, The Profligate, and the Broadway productions Partners and The Gadfly, with her Broadway appearances running from 1888 to 1899. Her final listed stage appearance was The Battle of the Strong in 1900, in which she played Guida Landresse, and she retired from the stage in 1901.

Her prominence in the 1890s extended beyond performance. In 1894, she served as the subject of The Marie Burroughs Art Portfolio of Stage Celebrities, a volume of actor photographs published by A.N. Marquis and Company. Writer Willa Cather commented on Burroughs in 1895, describing her as "not a very great actress, but she is great enough to be allowed to do her best unhindered." The Illustrated American similarly noted her consistent improvement with each successive season, crediting her dedication to her profession.

Burroughs' personal life received considerable public attention during her years of celebrity. Her first husband, Louis F. Massen, had been her acting coach when they met during The Rajah; the marriage ended in divorce in 1895. An engagement to Dr. Albert E. Sterne was announced in 1899, with a December wedding planned, but illness on her part caused a postponement and the engagement was eventually dissolved. In 1901 she married Robert Barclay Macpherson, who died in 1907, and in 1908 she married Francis M. Livingston. Burroughs died in Santa Barbara, California, on March 4, 1926.