Virginia Earle

Virginia Earle (born Virginia Earl; August 6, 1873 – September 21, 1937) was an American stage actress remembered for her work in light operas, Edwardian musical comedies and vaudeville over the decades surrounding the turn of the 20th century. Early life and career Born Virginia Earl on August 6, 1873, in Cincinnati, Ohio, she was the daughter of Irish immigrants Sara and Nathan Wheeler Earl. Earle's family later moved to Chicago where her father found employment as a machinist. Her mother and father were both said to have done some theater work, as did her younger brother, Wheeler Earl, who performed for a number of years on stage before becoming a salesman for the Hupp Motor Company. Earle made her stage debut in 1887 playing Nanki-Poo in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado with the Home Juvenile Opera Company. During her time with the Home Juvenile Opera she also played principal roles in The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore and Patience. Vaudeville and musical comedy Earle next joined the Pike Opera Company on a tour of the American West that eventually brought her to San Francisco, where she was engaged by Frederick Hallen and Joseph Hart's vaudeville company. After completing two seasons with Hallen and Hart she became associated with producer Edward E. Rice and in 1891 traveled to Australia with a troupe of actors that included George Fortescue, his wife and daughter (both named Viola) and actresses Lillian Karl, and Agnes Pearl.