Rosabel Morrison

Rosabel Morrison (1869 – December 19, 1911) was an American stage actor born in New Orleans to a theatrical family. Her parents, Rose Wood and Lewis Morrison, were both stage actors, and Morrison followed them into the profession, making her debut as a teenager in 1885. Her earliest roles were performed alongside her father and included Adrienne in A Celebrated Case and Marguerite in Faust.

Among her notable early credits was the railroad drama The Danger Signal (1891), written by Henry C. de Mille. A cast member on that production, musician Paul Dresser, became infatuated with Morrison and dedicated two songs to her: "Rosie, Sweet Rosabel" and "I Told Her the Same Old Story."

Morrison's Broadway career included a significant appearance in 1899, when she originated the role of Leah in Children of the Ghetto, a play by Israel Zangwill, at the Herald Square Theatre. The production marked one of her most prominent stage achievements.

In her personal life, Morrison was married twice. Her first marriage, to Edward Abrams, ended in divorce in 1907. The two children from that union, Lewis and Harry, took her last name. She married her second husband, actor Mitchell Lewis, in 1910.

Morrison died on December 19, 1911, the day after collapsing in her dressing room at Hammerstein's Theatre, where she had been performing as Dago Annie in A Romance of the Underworld.