Mary McVicker Booth

Mary Frances McVicker (born Mary Frances Runnion, also known as Mary McVicker Booth; September 17, 1848 – November 13, 1881) was an American stage actress and singer perhaps best known for her partnership with actor Edwin Booth, to whom she was married.^[1]

Mary Frances Runnion was born on September 17, 1848. Her mother was Harriet G. Myers Weaver Runnion.^[1] Her stepfather, J.H. McVicker, was a prominent theatre owner in the Midwest.^[2] McVicker made her stage debut in one of her stepfather's theatres in 1858. She later received positive critical attention for her performance as Eva in Uncle Tom's Cabin . She performed in other productions, some of which were written for her.^[3] She performed material from Hamlet .^[1] She was known for her singing; she performed with Signor Brignoli.^[4] She also did imitations of Italian opera singers and the popular French actress Rachel.^[1] McVicker left the stage to attend school when she was thirteen years old.^[1]

Author Arthur W. Bloom describes McVicker as "witty, sharp-tongued, domineering, physically strong, an astute businesswoman and eventually, perhaps always, mentally ill".^[1]

McVicker first met Edwin Booth, an established stage actor from the Booth family, when she was nine years old; she danced for him at dinner. Booth was fourteen years her senior. McVicker encountered Booth again in 1867 when she was an adult; this was only a few years after his brother, John Wilkes Booth, had assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. McVicker and Booth worked together in a number of productions over the next few years.^[1] They played the title characters in Romeo and Juliet in 1869 in the inaugural performance at Booth's Theatre in New York City;^{[5] [6]} one reviewer wrote, "the Juliet of Miss McVicker was a very creditable performance".^[1] McVicker played Desdemona opposite Booth in the title role of Othello in April 1869; this production was poorly received, with one reviewer writing that McVicker "dresses nicely, looks nicely, sings quite nicely, and doesn't act at all".^[1]

They lived together for over a year before their marriage and they moved to New York together.^[1] McVicker and Booth were married by her grandfather in June 1869 at her parents' summer home in Long Branch, New Jersey.^{[7] [1]}

Her career as an actress ended with the 1869 season; she worked managing Edwin and his daughter from his previous marriage, Edwina.^{[3] [1]} They lived in Cos Cob, Connecticut, at a home called Cedar Cliff.^[8] Their son, Edgar, died shortly after birth in 1870; a subsequent pregnancy ended in miscarriage.^{[2] [5]} Following the loss of Edgar, McVicker suffered from mental and physical illness for the rest of her life.^{[2] [7]} She contracted tuberculosis.^{[9] [7]}

McVicker died in New York following her return from a trip to Europe on November 13, 1881; on her husband's birthday. A memorial service held at St. Paul's Universalist Church in Chicago was led by Dr. W.H. Ryder and Professor David Swing. She was buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.^{[3] [4] [10] [1]}

A portrait of McVicker is held at the National Portrait Gallery.^[11]

McVicker appears as a character in Angela Iannone's play This Prison Where I Live.^{[12] [13] [14]}

• Photo of Mary McVicker
• Family photo including Mary McVicker

• 1848 births
• 1881 deaths
• 19th-century American actresses
• American stage actresses
• People from Cos Cob, Connecticut
• Burials at Rosehill Cemetery
• Booth family

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