Celie Ellis Turner

Celie Ellis Turner
Ellis c. 1880s
Born	Celie G. Turner
Other names	Celie Ellis
Occupation	Actress Playwright
Years active	1886-1917

Celie Ellis Turner was an actress and playwright in the United States. Born Celie G. Turner, she used the stage name Celie Ellis. Her early upbringing in a wealthy family included extensive musical education before she chose to join operatic and comic theatre. She transferred to multiple different stock companies during her career in the late 1800's, performing a number of major roles and having singing performances that exercised her talent as a soubrette.

Childhood and education

Born Celie G. Turner to a New York Congressman father, Richard R. Flannagan, and a wealthy mother related to Governor Horatio Seymour, Ellis attended the Villa Maria school in her childhood and also learned music under Madame Kartel. She then went on to complete a post graduate musical course at the Metropolitan College of Music. Because of her classical musical training, she had conflicts with her family over her becoming a stage actress. Her success in the industry, however, was able to convince them to support her. She became known as "the little mother" to those close to her because she helped raise her multiple siblings after the loss of their mother.

Career

Choosing the stage name Celie Ellis, she was a part of comic opera and farce theatre performances from the 1880s through the 1890s, frequently seen in performances at the New York Casino. She also performed as a member of the McCaull opera company in the 1880s before then acting as the soubrette for the Blue Jeans company. Ellis was noted by the Chicago Inter Ocean for her performance in the Black Hussar, especially her "piquant, saucy air" in her acting and her "pleasant singing voice" for the song Ohe Mamma that received several requests for encores.

Ellis temporarily retired from theatre in late 1887 after getting married, but returned in the middle of 1888 as a part of Heinrich Conried's English Opera Company and its performances at Uhrig's Cave. Joining the Duff Opera Company in 1889, she began taking roles playing as the ingénue character. She later joined as the leading lady of a stock company and was noted for being the long-term star of the 1892 play Dr. Bill in the United States. In 1894, Ellis moved stock companies again to join the Wicklow Postman Company run by Eugene O'Rourke.

Works

As performer

Duke Cigarettes photo card

• The Mikado (1886) as Pitti-Sing
• Black Hussar (1886) as Rosetta
• The Arabian Nights (1887) as the Princess
• Jacquette (1888)
• Paola (1889) as Chilina
• The Gondoliers (1890) as Tessa
• The Brigands (1890)
• The Man About Town (1891)
• Dr. Bill (1892) as Mrs. Horton
• May Blossom (1893) as May Blossom
• Pinafore (1893) as Buttercup
• Yetiva (1895) as Yetiva
• A Night's Frolic (1896)

As playwright

• What the Ship Brought (1904)
• Society Island (1906)
• A Flower (1908)
• Who's Safe (1911)
• La Vespa (The Wasp) (1912)
• Equality of Men (1917)

Personal life

Ellis was married to Henry S. Blake on November 15, 1887.