Georgie Drew Mendum

Georgiana "Georgie" Drew Mendum (December 6, 1876 - July 30, 1957) was an American stage actress. She was a member of the prominent Drew acting family.^[1]

Mendum was born on December 6, 1876 in Philadelphia, Pennslyvannia^[2] to Louisa Eliza Drew (1852-1889) and Charles Albert Mendum (1849-1945). She was born to a very successful stage family. Her maternal grandparents were successful stage actors John Drew Sr. and Louisa Lane, while her aunts and uncles were actors John Jr, Sidney, and Georgie Drew - whom she was named after.^[3] Her cousins Lionel, Ethel, and John were all members of the prominent Barrymore acting family and her cousins Louise Drew and Sidney Rankin Drew were also actors.^[4][5] Mendum had one brother, Edmund, who was an author in the newspaper and published a book, The Barbarian and Other Stories Bedlum Mendum, in 1899.^[6]

Her father managed the Arch Street Theatre while his mother-in-law Louisa Lane ran it for a time,^[7] before he was fired.^[8][9] He also served as manager to actress and socalite Lillie Langtry.^[10] The family then moved to Boston where Charles worked as a banker.^[11] Mendum was raised separately from her acting family and did not meet Ethel until the mid 1890s. The two would become very close and would often star in the same productions.^[6]

Mendum's mother died in Boston in early 1889 when she was 12 years old.^[12]

Mendum made her stage debut in Catherine alongside Annie Russell,^[13] and by 1900, she had begun regularly appearing in her Uncle John's work.^[14][15] In 1906, she appeared in a production of The Time, the Place and the Girl as Nurse Mollie Kelly at the Alhambra Theatre in Milwaukee. The Milwaukeee Daily News described her performance as "a refreshingly sweet and demure Mollie, and her ready wit and quick apperciation make her a most pleasing comedienne."^[16] She would appear in the debut of The Girl Question the following year where she once again received positive reviews.^[17]

Mendum moved to New York City to pursue a stage career. She lived in a boarding house alongside fellow actors, such as her cousin Ethel Barrymore, Maude Adams, and Ida Conquest. Barrymore described Mendum as "awfully good" in theatre.^[18]

In 1908, Mendum starred in the original cast of Via Wireless as Mazie O'Brien. The show opened in a try-out at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C on October 19. In attendance were President Roosevelt, his wife, and their daughter were in attendance, as was his secretary William Loeb Jr., and John E. Wilkie, head of the Secret Service.^[19] The show moved to Broadway on November 2, playing in the Liberty Theatre, and closed out on January 16, 1909.^[20] Due to it is success, the production went on tour to Newark, Philadelphia, and an unlimited engagement in Chicago.^[21] Mendum's work as Mazie was described as "splendid".^[22]

In 1910, she appeared in the original Broadway production of The Echo^[23] as Laura Short in New York's Globe Theatre. The musical opened August 17 and closed two month later on October 1.^[24][25][26] The show opened to positive reviews.^[27]

While her cousins became film stars, Mendum only appeared very briefly in one film, 1920's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, that starred her cousin John Barrymore in the titular role.^[28]

In 1930, she appeared in the original Broadway production of Scarlet Sister Mary as Doll at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The production ran just one week, opening November 25 and closing December 1.^[29]

She married actor George Webster Parsons in 1903. Mendum filed for divorce in June 1911 on the grounds of infidelity.^[30] She was granted the divorce in October by Judge Charles McDonald, after presenting evidence she had gathered from following him to Chicago after hearing rumors of his infidelity. There she learned that he had a second apartment with another woman claiming to be his wife.^[31][32]

The 1902 biography of Maude Adams By the Stage Door by Ada Patterson and Victory Bateman was dedicated to Mendum.^[33][34] Her portrait serves as the cover.^[35]

• Barrymore, Ethel (1955). Memories: An Autobiography. Harper. ISBN 978-1299688919. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)