Katharine Cornell - Early Career

Early Career

In 1915, her mother died, leaving her enough money to be independent, and she left for New York. There she joined the Washington Square Players and was hailed as one of the most promising actresses of the season. After just two seasons, she then joined the Jessie Bonstelle Company, a leading New York repertory ("stock") company that divided its summers between Detroit and Buffalo. (See Temple Beth-El (Bonstelle Theatre). Now aged 25, she was consistently receiving glowing reviews.

Cornell joined with various theater companies, including the Bonstelle, that toured around the East Coast. In 1919, she went with the Bonstelle company to London to play Jo in a stage adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women. Although the critics disparaged the play itself, they specifically mentioned Cornell as the one bright spot of the evening. The paper The Englishwomen wrote of Cornell: "London is unanimous in its praise, and London will flock to see her." Upon her return to New York, she met Guthrie McClintic, a young theater director. She finally made her Broadway debut in the play Nice People by Rachel Crothers. She had a small part along with Tallulah Bankhead.

Her first real Broadway role came by playing the female role of Sydney Fairfield in A Bill of Divorcement in 1921. The New York Times wrote of her performance, " has the central and significant role of the play and... gives therein a performance of memorable understanding and beauty." It played for 173 performances, well enough to be considered a hit. Afterwards, Cornell played a succession of forgotten plays.

She married Guthrie McClintic on September 8, 1921, in her aunt's summer home in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. Cornell's family often summered there among other wealthy Americans. Nonetheless, it is generally acknowledged that Cornell was a lesbian, and Guthrie was gay, and their union was a lavender marriage. She was a member of the sewing circles in New York, and had relationships with Nancy Hamilton, Tallulah Bankhead, and Mercedes de Acosta, among others. The couple eventually bought a townhouse at 23 Beekman Place in Manhattan.