Saharet

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Saharet
Born
Paulina Clarissa Molony

23 March 1878
Richmond, Victoria, Australia
Died24 July 1964 (aged 86)
Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S.[1]
Years active1891–1919
Spouses
Ike Rose
​
​
(m. 1896; div. 1913)​
​
​
(m. 1913; div. 1913)​
Max Lowe
​
​
(m. 1917; div. 1930)​
Children1
1898 ad, from the Police Gazette Sporting Annual published in the United States.

Paulina Clarissa Molony (23 March 1878[1] – 24 July 1964), known professionally as Saharet, was an Australian dancer who performed in vaudeville music houses as well as in Broadway productions in the United States as well as in Europe, earning considerable fame and notoriety.[2]

Early life[edit]

Saharet was born Paulina Clarissa Molony on 23 March 1878 in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia to Irish-born tailor Benjamin Robert Molony and Elizabeth Foon (born 1858), a woman of part Chinese ancestry from Ballarat. Paulina had a half sister, Amelia Caroline Fook, from her mother's first marriage to James Ah Moy Fook, and two biological sisters, Martha Lily (born 1879) and Julia Millicent (born 1881).[1] By her own account she was born in Melbourne on 24 March 1879.[3] During her career her birth name was given as Clarice Campbell. It was also claimed she had been born in Ballarat, the birthplace of her mother, and had appeared on stage in Australia as a juvenile.[4] It is unknown where she learned to dance, or how she found her way to the United States, but in May 1891, at the age of 13, she had joined the "Liliputians", a company performing at San Francisco's Baldwin Theater as "Clarice Campbell".[1]

Entertainer[edit]

Saharet

In 1894 she had taken the stage name Saharet and toured the United States with Michael B. Leavitt's "Spider and Fly" vaudeville company, while in 1895 she was associated with the "Night Owls" vaudeville company.[1] At the age of 18, in May 1896, she married Isaac Rosenstamm, a German-born entrepreneur from New York, later known as Ike Rose. Their daughter Caroline Madelon (Carrie) was born in November 1896 in New York. Rose managed her career, even for five years after the couple had drifted apart around 1906. Following the birth of her daughter, she appeared at Koster & Bial's Music Hall, 34th Street (Manhattan), Herald Square, New York City, along with a troupe of whirlwind dancers, and Adele Purvis-Onri. According to Leann Richards, the highlight of her short turn was doing the splits.[5][6][7] Her onstage audacity combined with a risqué element, charmed audiences and earned her considerable fame.[2][6] In a show billed Gayest Manhattan, Saharet admirably danced a French quadrille.[8]

In 1897, she appeared at the Palace Theatre, London, when her Australian roots were reported in Australian newspapers for the first time.[2][9] Returning to New York, theatrical producer, E.E. Rice, obtained her services for The French Maid with one reviewer describing Saharet as an "India rubber lady" in her rendition of a "dislocation dance".[10][11] In September 1897 she danced at the Olympia Roof Garden.[12] The French Maid was presented in October by the Herald Square Theatre, a Theatre which also hosted a thirtieth annual benefit to aid the charity fund of New York Lodge #1 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in November. Saharet volunteered her time, as did Anna Held and Ross and Fenton, among others.[13] She helped raise money for the mother and widow of William Hoey at the Herald Square in December.[14]

Saharet's 1898 tour of Europe established her as a star, for while Rose demanded a high salary or arranged a percentage deal, a string of publicity stunts also attracted crowds to see her. "A competent dancer...by the time Ike Rose was finished marketing her charms, she was one of Europe's classical beauties."[15]

Saharet toured with Held as a special feature during the 1902 season.[16] In April 1903 she danced at the Circle Theatre, Broadway,[17][18] before departing on another tour of Europe.[17]

She was the star of a show at the American Music Hall, West, Manhattan,[19][20] in March 1909, and was summoned to return by several curtain calls.[19]

At the height of her fame, between 1905 and 1914, she appeared in several German films.

Artists' model[edit]

Artist Franz von Stuck (1863–1928) painted Saharet in a painting which hangs in the Landesmuseum in Oldenburg, Germany.[21] In the portrait she has light blue eyes and brown hair. She is wearing a crimson jacket, white skirt, and red slippers. There is a red rose in her hair and her dress is abundant in lace and embroidery. Saharet has on a series of long necklaces with pendants.[22] Another painting was done by Franz von Lenbach[23]

Marriages[edit]

Following her divorce from Ike Rose, Saharet married Fritz von Frantzius, banker, broker, and art critic in 1913. After only a few days, she left her new husband for her dancing partner Jose Florido, and they were divorced six months later.[24] In June 1917, she married another theatrical agent, German-born Maxim Phidias Lowe.[2] In January 1919 and October 1920, she applied as a resident of Brooklyn and wife of a naturalized citizen for a U.S. passport in order to accompany her husband on trips to Europe. In 1919 she still listed her occupation as "variety performer", but in 1920 she listed "housewife".[3] The couple divorced in 1930,[25] but she retained the name Clarice Saharet Lowe until her death in 1964 in Battle Creek, Michigan. By that time she was without family, but for a half brother in New York, as her daughter Carrie had committed suicide after a disastrous car accident in 1950.[1]

Filmography[edit]

  • 1897: Saharet
  • 1905: Saharet, Boléro
  • 1912: Des Lebens Würfelspiel
  • 1912: In a Golden Cage
  • 1912: Hexenfeuer
  • 1913: Mimosa-san
  • 1914: On the Altar of Patriotism

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Nick Murphy, Saharet: The Dancer From Richmond, at the Forgotten Australian Actors website, 7 April 2018
  2. ^ a b c d Saharet at the History of Australian Theatre Archive, compiled by Leann Richards. Accessed 19 July 2017
  3. ^ a b Clarice Saharet Lowe's January 1919 and October 1920 United States Passport Applications.
  4. ^ Daily Herald, Mon 3 Feb 1913, Page 2, "Two Strange Visitors; Saharet's identity explained" Accessed 19 July 2017
  5. ^ "Notes of the Week", New York Times, 14 February 1897, pg. 11.
  6. ^ a b "New Variety Attractions", The New York Times, 16 March 1897, pg. 9.
  7. ^ Koster & Bial (Reason): American Treasures of the Library of Congress
  8. ^ "Notes of the Week", The New York Times, 4 April 1897, pg. 16.
  9. ^ Sunday Times, Sun 7 Nov 1897, Page 2 "Who Saharet Is" Accessed 20 July 2017
  10. ^ "The Drama", The New York Times, 17 October 1897, pg. SM12.
  11. ^ "Theatrical Gossip", The New York Times, 10 July 1897, pg. 7.
  12. ^ "Theatrical Gossip", The New York Times, 5 September 1897, pg. 18.
  13. ^ "Theatres", The New York Times, 7 November 1897, pg. 11.
  14. ^ "The Hoey Benefit Popular", The New York Times, 3 December 1897, pg. 7.
  15. ^ Jim Steinmeyer (2005) The Glorious Deception; The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the Marvelous Chinese Counjurer page 202, Carroll and Graf Publishers, New York. ISBN 978-0-78671-770-5
  16. ^ "Gossip of the Theatres", The New York Times, 11 August 1902, pg. 7.
  17. ^ a b "In Vaudeville", The New York Times, 19 April 1903, pg. 26.
  18. ^ Cinema Treasures | Circle Theatre
  19. ^ a b "The Vaudeville Theatres", The New York Times, 16 March 1909, pg. 9.
  20. ^ "Display Ad 26—No Title", The New York Times, 17 March 1909, pg. 18.
  21. ^ The dancer Saharet. – Franz von Stuck
  22. ^ "In The World of Art And Artists", The New York Times, 9 June 1907, pg. SMA6.
  23. ^ "The Regnant Wave of the Sensational Dance", The New York Times, 23 August 1908, pg. SM7.
  24. ^ Von Frantzius died of heart disease at the age of 54. He was born in Sawdin, West Prussia, and left an estate worth $11,250,000 when he died in January 1917. See "F. von Frantzius Dies; Left $11,250,000", The New York Times, 9 January 1917, pg. 3.
  25. ^ Divorce of Maxim P. and Clarice S. Lowe in the Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918–1988

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saharet.
  • Saharet photographic image from the New York Public Library Digital Gallery
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