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May Robson
Mary Jeanette Robison (19 April 1858 – 20 October 1942), known professionally as May Robson, was an Australian-born America-based actress whose career spanned 58 years, starting in 1883 when she was 25. A major stage actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she is remembered for the dozens of films she appeared in during the 1930s, when she was in her 70s.
Robson was the earliest-born person, and the first Australian to be nominated for an Academy Award (for her leading role in Lady for a Day in 1933).
Mary Jeanette Robison was born 19 April 1858 in Moama, in the Colony of New South Wales, in what she described as "the Australian bush". She was the fourth child of Julia, née Schlesinger (or Schelesinger) and Henry Robison; her siblings were Williams, James, and Adelaide.
Henry Robison was born in Penrith, Cumberland, England and lived in Liverpool. He served 24 years in the foreign trade of the British Merchant Navy as a mate and a sea captain. He retired at half-pay due to his poor health and travelled with Julia Robison to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1853 on the SS Great Britain. By April 1855, he was a watchmaker, jeweller, silversmith and ornamental hairworker in Melbourne. According to Robson, her parents both suffered from phthisis pulmonalis, and moved to "the bush" for their health. Henry bought a large brick mansion in Moama, New South Wales, in August 1857 and opened the Prince of Wales Hotel. From there, he co-operated Robison and Stivens, coach proprietors for the Bendigo-Moama-Deniliquin service. The hotel was Robson's first home. Henry died in Moama Maiden's Punt on 27 January 1860.
On 19 November 1862, Julia married Walter Moore Miller, solicitor and mayor of Albury, New South Wales, at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. Julia, Walter and the four children moved to Melbourne in 1866. Miller was a partner with De Courcy Ireland in the firm of Miller & Ireland in Melbourne in November 1867, and until 20 January 1870, when it was mutually dissolved.
In 1870, the family moved to London. Robson attended Sacred Heart Convent School at Highgate in north London and studied languages in Brussels. She went to Paris for her examinations in French. According to her obituary, she was also educated in Australia.
Robson ran away from home to marry her first husband, 18 year-old Charles Leveson Gore, in London. They were married on 1 November 1875 at the parish church in Camden Town, London. They traveled on the steamer SS Vaderland and arrived in New York City on 17 May 1877. They purchased 380 acres of land in Fort Worth, Texas, where they built a house and established a cattle ranch. According to Jan Jones, "the Gores survived two years in their prairie manor house before homesickness, rural isolation, and repeated bouts of fever convinced them to sell and try their fortunes in the more settled East." They moved to New York City with little money, and Robson said that Gore died shortly thereafter.
Robson supported her children by crocheting hoods and embroidery, designing dinner cards, and teaching painting. By the time she began her acting career in 1883, two of her three children had died from illnesses, leaving only Edward Hyde Leveson Gore.
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May Robson
Mary Jeanette Robison (19 April 1858 – 20 October 1942), known professionally as May Robson, was an Australian-born America-based actress whose career spanned 58 years, starting in 1883 when she was 25. A major stage actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she is remembered for the dozens of films she appeared in during the 1930s, when she was in her 70s.
Robson was the earliest-born person, and the first Australian to be nominated for an Academy Award (for her leading role in Lady for a Day in 1933).
Mary Jeanette Robison was born 19 April 1858 in Moama, in the Colony of New South Wales, in what she described as "the Australian bush". She was the fourth child of Julia, née Schlesinger (or Schelesinger) and Henry Robison; her siblings were Williams, James, and Adelaide.
Henry Robison was born in Penrith, Cumberland, England and lived in Liverpool. He served 24 years in the foreign trade of the British Merchant Navy as a mate and a sea captain. He retired at half-pay due to his poor health and travelled with Julia Robison to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1853 on the SS Great Britain. By April 1855, he was a watchmaker, jeweller, silversmith and ornamental hairworker in Melbourne. According to Robson, her parents both suffered from phthisis pulmonalis, and moved to "the bush" for their health. Henry bought a large brick mansion in Moama, New South Wales, in August 1857 and opened the Prince of Wales Hotel. From there, he co-operated Robison and Stivens, coach proprietors for the Bendigo-Moama-Deniliquin service. The hotel was Robson's first home. Henry died in Moama Maiden's Punt on 27 January 1860.
On 19 November 1862, Julia married Walter Moore Miller, solicitor and mayor of Albury, New South Wales, at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. Julia, Walter and the four children moved to Melbourne in 1866. Miller was a partner with De Courcy Ireland in the firm of Miller & Ireland in Melbourne in November 1867, and until 20 January 1870, when it was mutually dissolved.
In 1870, the family moved to London. Robson attended Sacred Heart Convent School at Highgate in north London and studied languages in Brussels. She went to Paris for her examinations in French. According to her obituary, she was also educated in Australia.
Robson ran away from home to marry her first husband, 18 year-old Charles Leveson Gore, in London. They were married on 1 November 1875 at the parish church in Camden Town, London. They traveled on the steamer SS Vaderland and arrived in New York City on 17 May 1877. They purchased 380 acres of land in Fort Worth, Texas, where they built a house and established a cattle ranch. According to Jan Jones, "the Gores survived two years in their prairie manor house before homesickness, rural isolation, and repeated bouts of fever convinced them to sell and try their fortunes in the more settled East." They moved to New York City with little money, and Robson said that Gore died shortly thereafter.
Robson supported her children by crocheting hoods and embroidery, designing dinner cards, and teaching painting. By the time she began her acting career in 1883, two of her three children had died from illnesses, leaving only Edward Hyde Leveson Gore.