Lizzie Evans - Biography

Biography

Lizzie Evans was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio in 1864 or 1865, and was the wife of Harry Mills, who was also a well known comedian. At the time of their marriage in Atlanta, Georgia in 1891, he was playing in her company. Miss Evans first appearance on the stage was at seventeen on August 25, 1882, with Barney McAuley as Clip in "A Messenger from Jarvis Section". She was next seen with Milton and Dolly Nobles in their well known play, "The Phoenix." After leaving Mr Nobles' company, she joined C.E. Callahan, who starred her for nine years in such roles as Chip in "Fogg's Ferry" and Jane in "The Buckeye". Miss Evans also took the leading part in "Our Angel" and a number of other plays (see the list below). A reviewer for the New York Times observed about her acting:

Miss Lizzie Evans, who fills the part around which "Fogg's Ferry" is built, is a bright little person of the Lotta physique and school, but with less naturalness and more nasal twang. Her performance, however, is earnest and vivacious; she emphasizes her comic lines with her nether limbs and feet, more or less in accordance with Shakespeare's advice as to suiting the action to the word and the word to the action, but always with a marked effect upon the spectator, and her pathos, although scarcely profound, is a good deal more genuine and touching than that of her prototype. Miss Evans has no voice for song, and her cleverness as an actress is sufficiently appreciable to warrant her avoidance of vocal efforts.

After severing her connection with Mr Callahan, Miss Evans retired from the stage for two years. Afterwards she returned to play the part of Madge in "Old Kentucky", meeting with great success. She was next seen in vaudeville until the 1900-01 season, when she was featured in "A Romance of Coon Hollow." By this time she had formed her own troupe. She also returned to her favorite role of Chip, the character in which she had made her debut when she was only seventeen years old.