Kitty Blanchard

Kitty Blanchard
Born
Elizabeth Blanchard

c. 1847
DiedDecember 14, 1911 (aged 63–64)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeKensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York
Other namesKatherine Blanchard True[1]
Kitty Blanchard Rankin
Kitty Rankin
Mrs. McKee Rankin
Mrs. Oliver Rankin
OccupationActress
Spouse
(m. 1869)
Children3, including Phyllis Rankin
RelativesDoris Rankin (stepdaughter)

Elizabeth "Kitty" Blanchard (c. 1847 – December 14, 1911)[2] was an American stage actress from Pennsylvania. A popular actress in 1870s and 1880s, she married actor McKee Rankin (1841–1914). Their children married into several other famous stage families, such as the Barrymores, Drews, and Davenports. In the 1870s she costarred along with Kate Claxton in the popular hit play The Two Orphans. In 1894 she was a member of the cast in the New York production of Arms and the Man, one of the earliest American appearances of a George Bernard Shaw play. Towards the end of her life, she and McKee Rankin came out of retirement in October 1911 and performed in a play called Peace on Earth.[3]

  1. ^ Evening Star [Washington D.C.] December 15, 1911, "Coroner's Statement"
  2. ^ American and British Theatrical Biography, p.112 c.1979 by J. P. Wearing ISBN 0-8108-1201-0
  3. ^ New York Tribune October 8, 1911; [STAGE NOTES]