Antoinette Perry (1888-1946) was born in Denver, Colorado, and died in New York, New York. She was the daughter of William R. Perry and Minnie B. Hall De Soto, a student of Mary Baker Eddy, who was instrumental in the early growth of Christian Science in Denver. The couple named Antoinette (whose given name was Mary) after Mary Baker Eddy, and she was raised in Christian Science. As a young girl Perry was involved with the Busy Bees, a group of children who helped raise funds to build the Original edifice of The Mother Church in Boston, Massachusetts. Perry took Primary class instruction from her mother and joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 10, 1902, at the age of 13.
In the summer of 1903, Perry first became involved with the theater, by joining her aunt, Mildred Nettie Hall McQuaid, and future uncle, George Wessells, who were performing in Pueblo, Colorado, with Wessells' touring theater company. In 1905 she made her theatrical debut in Mrs.Temple's Telegram at the Power's Theater in Chicago, Illinois. Later that year she left the Wessells' touring company for New York, New York, where she was eventually cast in the lead female role of The Music Master from 1906-1907. In October 1907 Perry was cast as leading lady in famed producer David Belasco's A Grand Army Man.
She married Frank W. Frueauff, vice president of the Denver Gas and Electric Company, in Denver in 1909, and they resided in New York. She took a hiatus from acting during her marriage; however, in 1920 she invested in producer Brock Pemberton's production of Miss Lulu Bett, which was wildly successful and won a Pulitzer Prize. She returned to acting after Frueauff's death in 1922, and soon decided to become a director. Among her successes were the plays Strictly Dishonorable (1929) and Harvey (1944). She served as chairman of the American Theatre Council's Committee of the Apprentice Theatre from 1937 to 1939.
Perry's most enduring legacy in theater comes from her philanthropic work, particularly during World War II, when she was the secretary and chairman of the Board of the American Theatre Wing. Perry was also president of the National Experimental Theatre and financed, with Actors' Equity Association and the Dramatists Guild, the work of new playwrights. In 1946 she founded the American Theater Wing Professional School. Not long after Perry passed away, Pemberton worked with the American Theater Wing to establish an award in her honor that would recognize excellence on Broadway, which he dubbed the "Tony." Perry was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2004. She remained a Christian Scientist throughout her entire life.
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Antoinette Perry (1888-1946) was born in Denver, Colorado, and died in New York, New York. She was the daughter of William R. Perry and Minnie B. Hall De Soto, a student of Mary Baker Eddy, who was instrumental in the early growth of Christian Science in Denver. The couple named Antoinette (whose given name was Mary) after Mary Baker Eddy, and she was raised in Christian Science. As a young girl Perry was involved with the Busy Bees, a group of children who helped raise funds to build the Original edifice of The Mother Church in Boston, Massachusetts. Perry took Primary class instruction from her mother and joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 10, 1902, at the age of 13.
In the summer of 1903, Perry first became involved with the theater, by joining her aunt, Mildred Nettie Hall McQuaid, and future uncle, George Wessells, who were performing in Pueblo, Colorado, with Wessells' touring theater company. In 1905 she made her theatrical debut in Mrs.Temple's Telegram at the Power's Theater in Chicago, Illinois. Later that year she left the Wessells' touring company for New York, New York, where she was eventually cast in the lead female role of The Music Master from 1906-1907. In October 1907 Perry was cast as leading lady in famed producer David Belasco's A Grand Army Man.
She married Frank W. Frueauff, vice president of the Denver Gas and Electric Company, in Denver in 1909, and they resided in New York. She took a hiatus from acting during her marriage; however, in 1920 she invested in producer Brock Pemberton's production of Miss Lulu Bett, which was wildly successful and won a Pulitzer Prize. She returned to acting after Frueauff's death in 1922, and soon decided to become a director. Among her successes were the plays Strictly Dishonorable (1929) and Harvey (1944). She served as chairman of the American Theatre Council's Committee of the Apprentice Theatre from 1937 to 1939.
Perry's most enduring legacy in theater comes from her philanthropic work, particularly during World War II, when she was the secretary and chairman of the Board of the American Theatre Wing. Perry was also president of the National Experimental Theatre and financed, with Actors' Equity Association and the Dramatists Guild, the work of new playwrights. In 1946 she founded the American Theater Wing Professional School. Not long after Perry passed away, Pemberton worked with the American Theater Wing to establish an award in her honor that would recognize excellence on Broadway, which he dubbed the "Tony." Perry was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2004. She remained a Christian Scientist throughout her entire life.
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