Hilda Keenan

Hilda Keenan (November 1891 – August 20, 1940) was an American actress and vaudeville performer, part of a family of actors including her father Frank Keenan, her husband Ed Wynn, and her son Keenan Wynn.

Hilda Keenan
BornNovember 1891
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 20, 1940 (age 48)
New York City, U.S.
EducationWellesley College
Occupations
  • Actress
  • vaudeville performer
Years active1911–1940
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1914; div. 1937)​
ChildrenKeenan Wynn
Parent

Early life

Hilda Keenan was the daughter of actor Frank Keenan and New Brunswick-born Katherine Agnes Long Keenan.[1] Her older sister Frances was also an actress. Keenan attended Wellesley College.[2]

Career

Keenan was in vaudeville with a one-act sketch called Sarah in 1911.[3] She appeared in the plays The Heights (1911),[4] The Road to Arcady (1912),[5] Within the Law and The Salamander.[6] In Within the Law, she co-starred with Margaret Illington;[7] one critic commented that "Hilda Keenan's Agnes Lynch, a blackmailer, is noticeably excellent, and makes an engaging characterization of a rôle which ordinarily would scarcely win our friendly feelings."[8]

Personal life

Keenan was married to actor Ed Wynn from 1914[9] until their protracted, widely publicized[10] and rancorous[11][12] divorce in 1937.[13] They had a son, actor Keenan Wynn.[14] Hilda Keenan died in New York in 1940, aged 48 years,[2] after years of mental illness including alcoholism.[15][16]

Her grandson Tracy Keenan Wynn is a screenwriter[17] and her great-granddaughter Jessica Keenan Wynn is an actress.

References
  1. "Began Stage Career in Boston Museum" Daily Boston Globe (February 22, 1929): 4.
  2. "Hilda Keenan" New York Times (August 22, 1940): 19.
  3. "Hilda Keenan" Brooklyn Daily Eagle (March 26, 1911): 36. via Newspapers.comopen access
  4. American Play Company, The Catalogue of the American Play Company, with Original Casts, Volume 2 (American Play Company 1911): 109.
  5. Dixie Hines, Harry Prescott Hanaford, eds., Who's who in Music and Drama (Hanaford 1914): 458.
  6. Ada Patterson, "Grandparents of the Stage" Green Book Magazine (December 1914): 1007.
  7. Mae Tinee, "Miss Keenan Hit with her Dad and Others" Chicago Daily Tribune (August 24, 1913): B3.
  8. "The Northwestern Bellman" The Bellman (October 4, 1913): 439.
  9. "Dramatic Notes" The Independent (September 21-23, 1914): 11.
  10. "Ed Wynn's Wife Sues Comedian for Divorce" Atlanta Constitution (May 11, 1937): 23.
  11. "Suit Says Ed Wynn Had Guard to Control Wife" Los Angeles Times (October 24, 1934): 7.
  12. "Ed Wynn Is Cruel, His Wife Charges In Separation Suit" Washington Post (December 20, 1936): M17.
  13. "Reno Divorce Seekers, Class of '37" Life Magazine (June 21, 1937): 37.
  14. "Mrs. Ed Wynn Sues for Divorce in Reno" New York Times (May 11, 1937): 31.
  15. Jan Stuart, The Nashville Chronicles: The Making of Robert Altman's Masterpiece (Hal Leonard Corporation 2003): 186. ISBN 9780879109813
  16. Ted Thackrey Jr., "Character Actor Keenan Wynn, Once Tagged as 'Ed Wynn's Son,' Dies at 70" Los Angeles Times (October 15, 1986).
  17. Bob Thomas, "Acting Centenary for Wynn Clan" Los Angeles Times (May 28, 1976): F26.
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