Muriel Starr

Muriel Starr (20 February 1888 – 19 April 1950) was a Canadian stage actress born near Montreal in a lumber camp. Her professional career began in childhood; a 1894 appearance in Shore Acres prompted The Washington Post to describe her as one of the sweetest stage children seen in Washington. By 1902 she had expanded her performance skills to include a singing and dancing specialty alongside her acting work. Her Broadway career spanned four decades, from 1909 to 1949, and encompassed productions including The Little Stranger, Outward Bound, The Velvet Glove, Case History, and On the Rocks.

Starr's earliest Broadway appearances included Going Some in 1909, in which she played Jeane Chapin, and A Man of Honor and The Stranger in 1911, the latter casting her as Mary Washington. She appeared in three productions in 1912: The Right to Happiness, The Truth Wagon, in which she played Heen Dean, and The Indiscretion of Truth. Gamblers All followed in 1917, and John Hawthorne in 1921, where she portrayed Laura Smart. After a lengthy absence from Broadway, she returned in 1937 for The Star-Wagon, playing both Angela and an herb woman. In 1938 she appeared in three productions: On the Rocks as Lady Chavender, Case History as Ann, and as a replacement in Outward Bound in the role of Mrs. Clivedon-Banks. Her final Broadway credit was The Velvet Glove in 1949, in which she played Sister Athanasius.

Beyond Broadway, Starr built a substantial following in Australia across three extended touring seasons. Between 1913 and 1915 she toured Within the Law for producer J. C. Williamson, followed by a string of productions including Mid-Channel, Madame X, The Yellow Ticket, Bought and Paid For, Under Cover, and The Law of the Land. Australian critics noted her strength in emotionally demanding roles, while finding her less suited to comedies such as The Chorus Lady. She returned to Australia in December 1917 under producer Hugh J. Ward, bringing Richard Walton Tully's The Bird of Paradise, followed by The Easiest Way, The Man Who Came Back, Nobody's Widow, The Great Divide, Common Clay, Silent Witness, and further performances of Within the Law and Bought and Paid For. Her cousin Norma Mitchell accompanied her as a supporting player, and her male lead Louis Kimball received favorable notices. During this visit she married W. Hartwell Johnston, managing director of the Wrigley Company in Australia, at the Registry Office in Sydney, with her cousin and her mother present at the ceremony.

Her third Australian season began in April 1924 and introduced new productions including Robert Hichens' The Garden of Allah, East of Suez, The Pelican, The Skin Game, and Secrets, alongside revivals of Silent Witness, Bought and Paid For, and Madame X, which was considered by many to be her greatest role. During this period in Melbourne she was charged with dangerous driving after her car mounted a footpath and injured a pedestrian, though she was found not guilty. In 1927 she appeared at the Palace Theatre in Sydney, where her season of starring roles temporarily prevented the venue's conversion to a cinema. Harvey Adams, who had served as her leading man in many productions from 1925, also acted as producer. New productions during this engagement included The House of Glass, Cornered, The Eternal Magdalene, The Goldfish, The Donovan Affair, Whispering Wires, The Last Warning, Nice People, Sweeney Todd, The Hole in the Wall, and Shooting Shadows. In May 1930 Starr declared bankruptcy in Australia, owing £3,427 primarily to J. C. Williamson. The court granted her an unconditional discharge, allowing her to return to the United States.

Starr also worked extensively in American radio, portraying Mrs. Garvin on the NBC serial Young Widder Brown and appearing on Amanda of Honeymoon Hill, Kitty Foyle, and Just Plain Bill. She appeared in one film, Within the Law in 1916, an adaptation of the stage production that had been among her most prominent successes. Starr died on 19 April 1950 in her dressing room at the St. Johns Theatre in New York while performing in The Velvet Glove.