Charlotte Parry

After attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Charlotte Parry began her professional career as a mimic, imitating stage personalities of the 1890s. She left touring in 1896, settling in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she gave birth to two children. On the death of her first husband, Frank M. Smith, she resumed an active stage career, becoming a highly-regarded "protean artist", specializing in playlets in which she played all (or nearly all) of the characters, rapidly changing costumes, accents and mannerisms. In 1906, she became a critical and popular success in "The Comstock Mystery", a playlet authored by W. H. Clifford; Miss Parry portrayed seven of the eight roles.