Verna Mersereau | |
|---|---|
 Mersereau c. 1912 | |
| Born | 1896 Paterson, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | September 26, 1935 (aged 38–39) Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Verna Mersereau Capra |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1909–1933 |
| Known for | The Dance of Death The Dancer |
Verna Mersereau (1896–1935), also known as Verna Mersereau Capra, was an American actress who performed on stage and screen. A dancer and pantomimist, she appeared in several films with multiple forms of ancient dance. A New Jerseyan by birth, she ended up spending her childhood in Oakland, California, where she became known as the "Idora Park baby" because of her father's amusement park construction. She was highly interested in dance and theater from a young age, being trained by her aunt and taking trips to Europe and Asian countries in order to learn various dance styles.
Going on to be featured in numerous plays even in her teenage years, Mersereau was considered one of the best classic dancers of the time and her use of pantomime was among the greatest in vaudeville theater. Her successes would see her dancing performed in multiple films and, later in life, before royalty in Calcutta. She left the stage in 1933 after contracting an illness that would ultimately lead to her death in 1935.