Winifred Lenihan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Winifred Lenihan
Winifred Lenihan, from a 1920 publication.
Born	Winifred Lenihan (1898-12-06)December 6, 1898 Brooklyn, New York USA
Died	July 27, 1964(1964-07-27) (aged 65) Sea Cliff, New York USA
Occupation	Actress Playwright Director
Nationality	American
Spouse	Frank Walker Wheeler (1934–1941) his death

Winifred Lenihan (born December 6, 1898 – died July 27, 1964) was an American actress, writer, and director. She became famous for playing Joan of Arc in the first American show of the play Saint Joan in 1923.

Who Was Winifred Lenihan?

Winifred Lenihan was a talented woman who loved the theater. She started as an actress and later became a director and writer.

Her Early Life and Dream of Acting

Winifred Lenihan was born in Brooklyn, New York. She always lived close to the famous 42nd Street in Manhattan, which is known for its theaters.

From a young age, Winifred was very interested in acting. At Bryant High School in Queens, she even started her own drama group. She played the main roles in their school plays.

Even though she loved the theater, she wasn't sure how to become an actress. She thought it might be just a fun dream, not a real job. In 1920, she said she was planning to go to Smith College to become a teacher. But then she saw an advertisement for a drama school. She decided to try out, passed the tests, and became a student there instead.

Starting Her Acting Career

Winifred went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. After finishing school, she made her first appearance on stage in 1918. Her first role was as Belline in a play called The Betrothal.

After that, she acted in many different plays. She played all kinds of characters, from young, innocent girls to older women. She appeared in several plays during the 1920s and early 1930s.

Becoming a Director and Teacher

Over time, Winifred became more interested in directing plays and teaching acting. In 1925, she became the first director of the Theater Guild's School of Acting in New York.

She wasn't sure about taking the job at first. But she found the idea of guiding young actors very exciting. She also wanted to avoid periods when she wasn't working. She had a lot of energy and didn't like to be idle.

Winifred believed that acting talent was something people were born with. She thought you could make it better, but you couldn't create it from nothing. When she looked for students, she looked for "warmth of emotion, imagination and intelligence."

Working in Radio and Writing

In 1932, Winifred also started directing radio shows. She directed a series of sketches by a writer named Booth Tarkington. These shows were sponsored by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company.

Winifred was new to radio, so she often tried new things. For example, when an actor was supposed to run in a play, she made them actually run before saying their lines. She didn't just want them to make a panting sound while sitting down.

In 1928, Winifred Lenihan was featured on the cover of McCall's magazine. The magazine even called her one of the "10 most beautiful women in the world."

Besides acting and directing, she also co-wrote a play called Blind Mice in 1930 with Vera Caspary. This play was later made into a movie called Working Girls in 1931. Her only movie role was in the 1949 film Jigsaw.

Winifred also served on the council of the Actors' Equity Association. This is a union for actors. In 1940, she helped create a rule that said people who supported certain harmful political groups could not work for the union.

Her Famous Role as Saint Joan

Winifred Lenihan became very famous for playing Joan of Orleans in the play Saint Joan. The play first opened in New York in 1923 at the Garrick Theatre.

Winifred was a slim, blue-eyed actress with not much experience at the time. But she played Joan so well that she became famous very quickly. She had only been on Broadway for a short time before this big role. She told an interviewer that it felt like a "fairy tale."

Critics and audiences loved her performance as Joan. John Corbin, a reviewer for The New York Times, said that she showed Joan's moods perfectly. He wrote that her performance was "a really great performance." Many years later, theater writers still praised her acting in Saint Joan.

Personal Life

Winifred Lenihan married Frank Walker Wheeler in 1934. He was a vice president at the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. Sadly, he passed away seven years later, in 1941.

Winifred Lenihan died from a heart attack on July 27, 1964. She was 65 years old and passed away at her home in Sea Cliff, New York.

Filmography