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Catherine Proctor

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Catherine Proctor
A young white woman with dark hair in a bouffant updo
Catherine Proctor, from a 1908 publication
BornNovember 12, 1878
New Edinburgh, Ontario, Canada
DiedAugust 24, 1967 (aged 88)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationActress

Louisa Catherine Proctor (November 12, 1878[1] – August 24, 1967) was a Canadian actress[2] whose career included roles on Broadway,[3] in silent films, and on radio[4] and television. She was called "one of the authentic great ladies of the stage" in a Montreal newspaper in 1956.[5]

Early life and education

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Proctor was born in New Edinburgh, Ontario, one of the six children[6] of William Proctor and Catherine McDonald Proctor.[7] Her father worked in real estate and hotels, and died in 1892.[8] She began performing as a dramatic reader while still a girl.[9] She attended the Toronto College of Music, and appeared in college theatrical productions.[10]

Career

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Proctor had a busy stage career for over five decades. She toured with stock companies beginning in 1902.[11] Her stage credits included roles in The Pretty Sister of José,[7] The Other Girl, Peter Pan, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1906),[12] Paid in Full,[7] Society and the Bulldog (1908), The Concert (1910–1912),[13] The Easiest Way (1912),[7] The Governor's Lady (1913),[14] Now and To-morrow (1915), Depths of Purity (1915),[15][16] Out There (1917),[17] The Wooing of Eve (1917), Happiness (1917–1918),[18] The Matinee Hero (1918), The Mirage (1920–1921),[19] Ambush (1921), The Wife with the Smile (1921),[20] East of Suez (1922),[21] Bristol Glass (1923),[22] Macbeth (1924), The Steam Roller (1924), Ariadne (1925), The Importance of Being Earnest (1926), L'Aiglon (1927–1928),[23] Electra (1928),[24] Girl Trouble (1928),[24] Sakura (1928), The Royal Box (1928–1929), The Ghost Parade (1929), Greater Love (1931), If Booth Had Missed (1932),[25] Nine Pine Street (1933),[26] Ah, Wilderness! (1935),[8] The Puritan (1936), Howdy Stranger (1937), Reflected Glory (1937), Miss Quis (1937), Biography (1937),[21] The Late George Apley (1944–1945),[27] Arsenic and Old Lace (1943, 1950, 1956),[28][29][5] Mistress of Jalna (1953),[30] and Separate Tables (1958).[31]

On radio, Proctor was in a 1934 production of a comedy Thursday Night.[32] She appeared in several silent films, and had small roles in several more sound pictures. "Yes, I have seen myself in a film," she told a Toronto newspaper in 1915. "It feels most uncanny. Sometimes I thought, 'Surely I never looked as badly as that?'"[33]

Filmography

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Television credits

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References

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  1. ^ Louisa Catherine Proctor, birth record, in the Ontario, Canada Births, 1832-1917, via Ancestry.
  2. ^ Morgan, Cecilia (2022-08-18). Sweet Canadian Girls Abroad: A Transnational History of Stage and Screen Actresses. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-2280-1327-3.
  3. ^ "Distinguished Actress". The Sun Times. 1941-04-12. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Toronto Actress to Describe Talking to Unseen Audience". Star Weekly. 1922-05-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b O'Hearn, Walter (1956-06-11). "Arsenic, Old Lace, and Catherine Proctor". The Montreal Star. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Famous Actress, Catherine Proctor, Hopes More Canadians Turn to Stage". The Kingston Whig-Standard. 1950-01-18. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d Leonard, John W. (1914). Woman's Who's who of America. American Commonwealth Company. p. 663.
  8. ^ a b "Mrs. C. Proctor Dies in Toronto". The Sun Times. 1935-03-04. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "Catherine Proctor Holidays in Toronto". The Toronto Star. 1928-07-07. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Browne, Walter; Koch, E. De Roy (1908). Who's who on the stage 1908; the dramatic reference book and biographical dictionary of the theatre. University of California Libraries. Dodge.
  11. ^ "Who's Who in the Bonstelle Stock Company This Year". Star Weekly. 1914-05-09. p. 23. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "The Drama". Toronto Saturday Night. 19 (47): 14. September 29, 1906 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ "'The Concert' at the Hollis". The Boston Globe. 1912-11-05. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Toronto Actress Gets a Big Role". The Toronto Star. 1913-11-15. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "In the Spotlight". The Theatre: 21. January 1916.
  16. ^ "Bramhall Playhouse's New Season". The New York Times. November 6, 1915. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  17. ^ "New Plays in New York". The Dramatic Mirror. 77 (1998): 7. April 7, 1917.
  18. ^ "Mrs. Fiske to Go to Knickerbocker". The New York Times. December 21, 1917. p. 9. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  19. ^ "Notable Stage Feat by Toronto Actress". The Toronto Star. 1922-05-18. p. 18. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Kear, Lynn; Rossman, John (2016-03-30). The Complete Kay Francis Career Record: All Film, Stage, Radio and Television Appearances. McFarland. pp. 235–236. ISBN 978-1-4766-0287-5.
  21. ^ a b "Character Lead at Playhouse Explains Work". Burlington Daily News. 1937-07-17. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Gossip of the Rialto". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "L'Aiglon' in Preparation; Translation of Rostand Play to Be Produced Here Week of Dec. 26". The New York Times. November 12, 1927. p. 15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  24. ^ a b "Canadian Actress". The Calgary Albertan. 1928-07-16. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Civil War Veterans Attend Play 'If Book Had Missed'". The Boston Globe. 1932-03-31. p. 22. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ a b c d "Playhouse Presents 'Arsenic'". The Montreal Star. 1956-06-02. p. 22. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Actress Claims Baltimore Has Its George Apleys, Too". The Baltimore Sun. 1945-11-26. p. 22. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Cissie Loftus Magnificent in 'Arsenic and Old Lace'". The Morning Union. 1943-02-04. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Catherine Proctor to Head Cast of 'Arsenic and Old Lace' Here". The Kingston Whig-Standard. 1950-01-11. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ Karr, Jack (1953-09-22). "Showplace". The Toronto Star. p. 49. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ Durgin, Cyrus (1958-07-22). "Boston Summer Theater: 'Separate Tables' Well Done". The Boston Globe. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "Famous Canadian Actress on Broadcast". The Toronto Star. 1934-03-16. p. 26. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ a b "Toronto is Lionizing Talented Daughters; Miss Catherine Proctor and Mrs. Everard Cotes in Town". The Toronto Star. 1915-01-06. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ Slide, Anthony (2004-09-10). American Racist: The Life and Films of Thomas Dixon. University Press of Kentucky. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-8131-7191-3.
  35. ^ Roberts, Jerry (2003). The Great American Playwrights on the Screen: A Critical Guide to Film, Video, and DVD. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-55783-512-3.
  36. ^ "Show Went On". Daily Gleaner. 1960-02-20. p. 38. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "Learns His Fate". Daily Gleaner. 1961-01-07. p. 18. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ "Playdate: 'No Sand for the Ostrich' (advertisement)". The Toronto Star. 1964-02-17. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
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