Maude Granger

Maude Granger (born Anna Brainard, 1849; died August 17, 1928) was an American stage actress whose Broadway career spanned from 1878 to 1924, a period of roughly 55 years. Born in Middletown, Connecticut, she built her reputation as one of the foremost dramatic performers of the American stage during the latter half of the nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth.

Granger made her Broadway debut in A Woman's Heart at the Union Square Theatre, and her early career brought her into association with prominent theatrical figures including Augustin Daly, Lester Wallack, and the Union Square company. When Rose Eytinge fell ill, Granger stepped into the lead role of Led Astray, demonstrating the versatility and readiness that would characterize her career. Her early credits also included The Two Orphans, Two Nights in Rome, The Planter's Wife, Broken Hearts, and My Partner. She later took on Shakespearean roles in addition to contemporary dramatic work, and appeared in Broadway productions including Diplomacy, Green Stockings, and The Girl from Maxim's.

Historian David S. Shields has written that Granger competed with Clara Morris for the distinction of being the most gripping actress on the American stage during the third quarter of the nineteenth century. Her drawing power was such that New York theatre managers actively sought her out, and Shields noted that she had a particular interest in elevating the anguish of contemporary women to the status of classical tragedy. A 1885 publication, New National Theater, Washington DC: A Record of Fifty Years by Alexander Hunter, offered a mixed assessment of her performance as Mlle. Gautier, describing her physical presence as striking while questioning the depth of her dramatic interpretation in the role of Camille.

In the final years of her stage career, Granger appeared in The First Year in 1920 and Pigs in 1924. While performing in Pigs in Chicago, she became ill and was unable to fully recover from subsequent surgery, which forced her retirement from the stage. Beyond her theatrical work, Granger also appeared in several films, including The Runaway Wife (1915), The White Pearl (1915), Zaza (1915), and The Slave Auction (1918).

In her personal life, Granger married Alfred Calmer of Chicago in 1888. He died shortly after their marriage, and she did not remarry. She died on August 17, 1928.