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Miriam Battista[edit]

Miriam Caramella Josephine Battista (July 14, 1912 - December 22, 1980), known professionally as Miriam Battista, was an American actress and writer who gained fame as a child acting on the stage and in silent films. As an adult, she acted on Broadway and in summer stock, appeared with her husband Russell Maloney on their own television talk show, and co-wrote several shows with him.

Miriam Battista
Miriam Battista ___
Born
Miriam Caramella Josephine Battista

(1912-07-14)July 14, 1912
New York, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 22, 1980(1980-12-22) (aged 68)
New York, New York, U.S.
Cause of deathEmphysema
OccupationActress, writer
Years active1916 - 1948
Spouse(s)Paul Pierce
(m.1934 - 1935; divorce)
Russell Maloney
(m.1938 - 1948; his death)
Lloyd Rosamond
(m.1948 - 1964; his death)

[photo]

Miriam Battista #1

Early life and early career[edit]

Miriam Battista was born Miriam Caramella Josephine Battista[1] in 1912 in New York, New York to Raphael Battista and Clara Rufolo (born Cleonice Rufolo), both Italian immigrants. She began performing in 1916 at the age of four in A Kiss for Cinderella[2], a Broadway play starring Maude Adams, in which she had an uncredited role as the youngest of a group of war orphans. Other Broadway appearances followed, including small roles in Daddy Long Legs[3] with Henry Miller (actor) in 1917, A Doll’s House[4] with Alla Nazimova in 1918, and Daddies[5] with Jeanne Eagles in 1919.

Battista broke into silent films in 1918 with a credited role in Nazimova’s Eye for Eye[6], playing the little sister of Nazimova’s character. That led to her being cast by director Frank Borzage as the crippled girl Minnie Ginsberg in Humoresque[7], the role which made her a star.[8] The famous author Elinor Glyn was so impressed by her performance that she wrote a screenplay for Battista, whom she called “the greatest actress of the screen.”[9] (This screenplay was never filmed.) Battista subsequently appeared in many other silent films, especially in roles that called for her to cry on camera. In an unpublished memoir, she stated “I had no trouble crying. Tears came easily and if they didn't, my mother took me behind the scenes and spanked me until I cried.”[10] Battista also toured the vaudeville circuit, playing Juliet in the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet with child actor Charles Eaton.[11] After her mother’s death in 1924, her career stalled.

Career as a adult[edit]

In 1931, Battista took leading roles in several Italian-language films made in New York, including Santa Lucia Luntana and Così è la vita. She also returned to the Broadway stage, appearing in The Honor Code in 1931.[12] Among other Broadway appearances during the next decade, she had a singing role in the Ziegfeld musical Hot-Cha! with Bert Lahr, played opposite Humphrey Bogart in Our Wife, and enjoyed an unusually long run in the comedy No More Ladies. She was generally unlucky in the Broadway productions she chose, which usually ran for only a few performances.[13] However, she found frequent work in summer stock and in the road companies of successful Broadway productions like The Women.[14]

In 1934, Battista married dancer Paul Pierce. They divorced slightly over a year later in 1935.[15] In 1938, she eloped with New Yorker staff writer Russell Maloney.[16] Battista’s writing talent was recognized when the New Yorker published her short story No Sugar Please in the April 20, 1940 issue.[17] She and Maloney had a daughter, Amelia, in 1945.[18] They collaborated on several projects, including an English translation of Die Fledermaus for the Philadelphia Opera Company (1943)[19], a television talk show called The Maloneys on the Dumont Television Network (1947-1948)[20], and the book and lyrics for a musical, Sleepy Hollow, which cost $230,000 and ran for only 12 performances (June 3, 1948 - June 12, 1948).[21] Maloney died three months later on September 3, 1948.[22] On December 14, 1948, Battista married Lloyd Rosamond[23], a radio producer and long-time friend. She and her daughter moved with him to Los Angeles in 1960, where he died in 1964.[24] After her husband’s death, Battista moved back to New York City, where she died of complications from emphysema on December 22, 1980.[25]

  1. ^ Certificate of baptism, Church of the Holy Cross, 42nd St., New York, NY - copy from Baptismal Register dated June 3, 1970, in the possession of Amelia Rosamond Hard.
  2. ^ Internet Broadway Database: http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=7778
  3. ^ Internet Broadway Database: http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=6969
  4. ^ Internet Broadway Database: http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=8703
  5. ^ Internet Broadway Database: http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=8733
  6. ^ For a complete filmography, see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0061440/
  7. ^ Humoresque was the first film to win the Photoplay Medal of Honor: http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000537/1920
  8. ^ Mentioned in the book Famous Film Folk by Charles Donald Fox, 1925. http://silentladies.com/BBattista.html
  9. ^ Photoplay magazine, July 1922, p. 27 and p. 113: http://ia700700.us.archive.org/28/items/photoplayvolume222chic/photoplayvolume222chic.pdf
  10. ^ Unpublished memoir in the possession of Amelia Rosamond Hard.
  11. ^ http://www.varietyultimate.com/archive/issue/WV-04-16-1924-46
  12. ^ A complete listing of Battista’s adult stage work can be found at the Internet Broadway Database: http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=31280
  13. ^ Dr. David S. Shields, McClintock Professor at the University of South Carolina, on his website Broadway Photographs: http://broadway.cas.sc.edu/index.php?action=showPerformer&id=106
  14. ^ From Battista’s resume written in 1952, in the possession of Amelia Rosamond Hard.
  15. ^ http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/BE052404/miriam-battista-seated-on-couch-smoking
  16. ^ Notice in Variety, November 11, 1938: http://www.varietyultimate.com/archive/issue/DV-11-11-1938-6
  17. ^ http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1940/04/20/1940_04_20_040_TNY_CARDS_000180306
  18. ^ This birth record is sealed, in accordance with New York state law, because Amelia Maloney was legally adopted by Lloyd Rosamond.
  19. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19431025&id=F3ctAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lpgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3365,4192468
  20. ^ From Battista’s resume written in 1952, in the possession of Amelia Rosamond Hard.
  21. ^ http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2012
  22. ^ Certified photostatic copy of Certificate of Death from the Bureau of Records and Statistics of the Department of Health of the City of New York, dated September 9, 1948. In the possession of Amelia Rosamond Hard.
  23. ^ Marriage certificate dated December 14, 1948, New York, signed by Rabbi Joseph Wise, in the possession of Amelia Rosamond Hard.
  24. ^ Certified copy of Certificate of Death from the Registrar-Recorder, Los Angeles County, California, dated October 2, 1964. In the possession of Amelia Rosamond Hard.
  25. ^ Obituary in New York Times, December 27, 1980: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D1EF7385410728DDDAE0A94DA415B8084F1D3

http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/BE052404/miriam-battista-seated-on-couch-smoking�4 Notice in Variety, November 11, 1938: http://www.varietyultimate.com/archive/issue/DV-11-11-1938-6�5 Marriage certificate dated December 14, 1948, New York, signed by Rabbi Joseph Wise, in the possession of Amelia Rosamond Hard.�

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