She Was The Belle Of Broadway
With soaring vocals and natural comedic chops, Lillian Russell was Broadway’s favorite boisterous beauty. But her scandalously extravagant personal life made more ears pique up than her arias.
1. She Had Showbiz In Her Blood
Before she ever stepped foot on a stage, Lillian Russell—born Helen Louise Leonard in December of either 1860 or 1861—had a flair for the dramatic. Her mother was the author and feminist firebrand Cynthia Leonard, and her father was a newspaper publisher. Her rise in show business was practically inked in the headlines.
2. She Made the Convent Curtains Tremble
Shortly after her birth, Lillian Russell and her family relocated to Chicago. There, little “Nellie”, as her family liked to call her, attended Convent of the Sacred Heart. Even before her 10th birthday, she was turning humble school recitals into standing-room-only events. Clearly, she needed a bigger stage. And she would get one.
3. She Got Her First Taste Of Applause Early
At just 17, Russell was already yearning for the spotlight. She spent her free time studying music and singing in choirs. She first set foot on a truly big stage when she starred in an amateur production at Chicago’s Chickering Hall. But even that wasn’t enough.
4. She Followed The Spotlight East
When her parents separated in the late 1870s, Russell’s reaction was surprising. Most children would be devastated, but instead, she saw it as an opportunity. Her mother dealt with the divorce by packing up her bags and heading off for New York City. Attracted by the bright lights of Broadway, Russell followed—as did her fate.
5. She Learned From Leonard
While other girls her age tried to find husbands, Lillian Russell was searching for a maestro—and she found one. After arriving in New York, she got to work studying music and opera under the legendary Leopold Damrosch. Pretty soon, her head was full of operatic dreams. Then she crossed paths with her first diva.
6. She Ignored Her Mother’s Wishes
While Russell’s mother publicly advocated for women’s rights, inside their New York home it was a different story. Russell’s mother was a deeply pious woman who viewed the theater and its thespians as “disreputable”. However, Russell proved to be the bigger diva and defied her mother.
Though it seems that Mama Russell might have had a point.
7. She Dated For Love—Of Opera
There’s no doubt that Russell had talent. But she also had a knack for knowing the right people. And sleeping with them. After finding little success, Russell began dating Walter Sinn—whose father just so happened to be a theater owner. When Sinn’s mother helped her land a touring chorus job with theater producer Edward E Rice, she never looked back.
Least of all, at Sinn…or Rice.
8. She Found Love In The Orchestra Pit
While touring with Rice, Lillian Russell did more than impress audiences. She impressed someone in the orchestra pit: the orchestra leader, Harry Braham. The two quickly struck up a whirlwind romance worthy of its own opera. But they were both in for a shocking surprise.
9. She Turned A Scandal Into A Spectacle
On tour, Russell got pregnant. When their tour finally brought them back to New York City, Russell and Braham knew they had to do the right thing. So, a visibly pregnant Russell marched down the aisle with Braham in a wedding that was more about containing the damage than cementing the love.
The critics were silent—but the whispers were deafening.
10. She Became A Broadway Baby Mama
Fortunately for Lillian Russell, her pregnancy did little to derail her burgeoning Broadway career. In fact, it might have aided it. After giving birth in 1880, her husband landed a gig that would change their lives forever when he accepted a conducting position at Tony Pastor's Theatre on Broadway.
She was so close to her dream, she could hear the applause already.
11. She Met A Star-Maker
On Broadway, aspiring opera singers and actors had come to know Tony Pastor as something of a star-maker. He had introduced audiences to many famous performers—and Russell was determined to be one of them. So, when he hired Russell in November of 1880, she knew it was only a matter of time before the spotlight found her.
Or, some version of her.
12. She Changed Her Identity
Up until that point, Russell had been performing under the name “Nellie Leonard”. However, at Pastor’s insistence, Russell switched her name to something a little more marquee-friendly; and thus, Lillian Russell was born. Billed as an “English ballad singer”, she was ready to make her grand Broadway debut.
13. She Was An Instant Hit
Thanks to Pastor’s tutelage and platform, Lillian Russell had her first chance to truly dazzle audiences with her talents. And she didn’t miss the opportunity. From her first note, she became an audience-favorite, performing short skits and bits, and entrancing listeners with her melodious voice.
Sadly, a dark twist of fate was lurking in the shadows.
14. She Was All Alone
In 1881, a tragic turn of events (more on that later) created a rift in Russell’s marriage. Most people, in that situation, rely on those closest to them—but due to Russell’s earlier rift with her mother over her scandalous choices, she had no one to turn to. The pregnancy and marriage had only worsened their already strained relationship. Ultimately, Russell and Braham separated, and went on to finalize their divorce later that year, leaving the burgeoning Broadway star all alone.
But not for long.
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15. She Fell For The Composer—And His Tricks
In 1882, Pastor hired a new musical director for the theatrical season. And that’s when Lillian Russell met Edward Solomon, a prolific English composer whose talent for creating music was only matched by Russell’s talent for performing it. But they might have been rushing into things…
16. She Didn’t Know She Was His Mistress
Lillian Russell immediately fell for the “whimsical” and “flamboyant” Edward Solomon and the two became an item. His contemporaries had noted that he was “hardly to be trusted with money or women”. Unfortunately, Russell didn’t know that. But he had an even darker secret.
Solomon was married to another actress, Kate Everleigh, in his home country of England.
17. Her Lover Composed Just For Her
Still besotted with Solomon and unaware of his marriage status, Russell traveled with Solomon to London. There, Solomon expressed his devotion to Russell by writing “several works” designed just for her. The roles included starring turns in Paul and Virginia, and Billee Taylor. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
18. She Couldn’t Contain Her Diva
During her stay in London, Lillian Russell didn’t confine herself to roles written by Solomon. She branched out, taking the title role in Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida. However, by that time, her inner diva had come out—in grand fashion. When Russell butted heads with the producers over the creation direction of her character, they “dismissed” her in the middle of rehearsals.
Things weren’t looking so good for Solomon either.
19. She Returned Home—To Scandal
Despite their talents, something was off-key for Russell and Solomon in London. Not only had Russell been given the boot from Princess Ida, but the comic operas that Solomon had written for Russell were barely breaking even at the ticket office. Discouraged, the pair returned to New York.
And then things really became scandalous.
20. She Had A Second Child And Marriage
Shortly after returning to New York, Russell and Solomon welcomed a daughter, Dorothy, to the world. Then, in 1884, Russell and Solomon made their love official and got married, allegedly on their daughter’s first birthday. Of course, there was just one problem.
Solomon was still married to someone else.
21. She Made A Big American Comeback
Unlike in London, the operas that Solomon had written for Russell were a resounding success in the US. The newlyweds took their shows on the road, touring with fan favorites such as Pepita; or, the Girl with the Glass Eyes. However, the real dramatic operettas were taking place in Russell’s personal life.
22. Her Marriage Was Going Off Script
Despite their wild success, Russell and Solomon could barely find two pennies to rub together. It wasn’t that they weren’t making money, it was that Solomon couldn’t manage their finances. So, when their production of The Maid and the Moonshiner flopped, their marriage went off script. It was about to become a drama unlike any other.
23. Her Husband Fled
Turns out, Solomon hadn’t just mismanaged his and Russell’s finances. He had mismanaged other people’s money as well. When Solomon’s creditors came knocking, he skipped town—leaving Russell to face the music he had composed. And no, not the operatic kind.
But the big, crashing crescendo was yet to come.
24. She Married A Bigamist
After skipping town, the hunt was on for Solomon—and it churned up all of his secrets. When the authorities located Solomon in 1886, they clapped him in handcuffs, but not for his debts. Russell, along with her adoring public, learned for the first time that Solomon hadn’t ended his first marriage before marrying Russell, making him a bigamist!
When she learned the truth, Russell filed for divorce, but only received the final paperwork in 1893.
25. She Dived Headlong Into The Spotlight
Heartbreak only seemed to fuel Russell’s high notes. Instead of wallowing in her bad luck in love, Russell threw herself into her work with a vengeance, dazzling audiences in Gasparone, Dorothy, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, The Mountebanks, and more. Lovers had let her down, but her fans never would.
26. She Was America’s Operatic Obsession
With her shimmering soprano, radiant looks, and cheeky stage presence, Lillian Russell became America’s reigning operetta queen. Newspapers gushed. Audiences swooned. Critics couldn’t get enough. Even other stars fawned over Russell’s talents and presence.
27. She Brought The Thunder
Actress Marie Dressler once likened Russell’s stage entrances to a “rush of pure awe”. Despite being a megastar herself, she marveled at “the thunderous applause that swept from orchestra to gallery, to the very roof” every time Russell delivered a performance. You might say that she changed the airwaves.
28. She Made History—By Phone
On May 8, 1890, Lillian Russell was part of a remarkable first. Her fame at the time was such that inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, couldn’t think of any better voice to debut his new machine than Russell’s. Performing live from New York, she sang to stunned audiences in Boston and DC, becoming the first voice to ever travel long-distance over telephone.
When it came to milestones, she didn’t stop there.
29. She Put Her Name In Lights
Never one to settle for a supporting role, Lillian Russell launched the Lillian Russell Opera Company in 1891. She played dual leads in Giroflé-Girofla in theaters across Chicago, New York, and beyond—proving that she was a true headliner, not just a headline.
Of course, she wasn’t shy about grabbing headlines anyway.
30. She Rode In Gilded Glory
Russell always took the drama from the stage to the streets—and never more so than with her custom-crafted Tiffany & Co. bicycle. With mother-of-pearl handlebars and diamond-encrusted spokes bearing her initials, the “gold-plated machine” was enough to rival any Bentley or Rolls Royce. Even more shocking, however, was her riding outfit.
31. She Made Fashionable Waves
As if someone could miss Lillian Russell on her flashy bicycle, she made sure they’d at least notice her outfit. The Broadway belle was just as famous for her sonorous voice as she was for her cream serge cycling suit with a shockingly shortened skirt. Before long, however, everyone was copying her outfit.
32. She Was Just Exercising
Clearly, Russell didn’t believe in blending in. She proudly (and loudly) rode her Tiffany & Co. bicycle around Central Park. But to her, the baroque set of wheels were equally about function as they were about fashion. She flippantly referred to the bicycle as her “exercise mobile”. With a ride like that, she was bound to attract a suitor.
33. She Took Another Swing At Marriage
With her marriage to Edward Solomon finally dissolved, Lillian Russell was free to marry again. In 1894, she tied the knot with tenor John Haley Augustin Chatterton—better known by his stage name, Signor Giovanni Perugini. Somehow, this was even more disastrous than her marriage to a bigamist.
The curtain dropped on that union not long after, and they finalized their divorce in 1898. But she was never truly alone.
34. She Loved “Diamonds”
Russell would have four marriages in her life, but her most enduring romance was one that she never made official. For four decades, she was the not-so-secret, secret lover of “Diamond Jim” Brady, the business magnate. He lavished Russell in luxuries and gemstones, but there was one gift that she valued above all others.
35. She Matched Him Fork For Fork
Russell and Diamond Jim bonded over more than their love for luxury. Diamond Jim was notorious for his insatiable appetite and, in Russell, he had met his match. Legend has it that she could match Diamond Jim, fork for fork at any buffet. But it came at a cost.
36. She Tipped The Scales
Russell wasn’t shy about her rapaciousness and often dined on dinosaur-sized meals with Diamond Jim in public. However, no amount of pearl-studded Tiffany & Co. bicycles could keep her from packing on the pounds. Throughout her career, Russell struggled with her weight.
A life of excess was catching up with her.
37. She Waited For Her Solo
In 1899, after joining Weber and Fields Music Hall, Russell prepared for what was supposed to be a groundbreaking production of Twirly-Whirly. However, the composer and her long-time collaborator, John Stromberg, kept delaying handing over Russell’s highly-anticipated solo. Then tragedy struck.
38. She Lost Her Composer—But Found Her Song
Tragically, Stromberg took his own life before he could hand over the much-awaited solo to Russell. But he had finished it. Just a few days before rehearsals were set to begin, the sheet music for Russell’s solo, “Come Down Ma Evenin’ Star”, was found in Stromberg’s coat pocket.
The rest became history.
39. Her Only Recording Lives On
Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding “Come Down Ma Evenin’ Star”, the song became Russell’s signature number. In fact, it’s the only confirmed song that she ever recorded, though, by the time of the recording, her voice had gone past its prime. Sadly, that wasn’t the only thing aging out of show biz.
40. She Wouldn’t Bow Out
When vocal strain threatened to end her stage career in 1904, Lillian Russell’s reaction was surprising. She refused to retire. She just reinvented herself. Trading arias for one-liners, she shifted to non-musical comedies and continued touring the country. She also hadn’t given up on love. Real love.
41. She Took One Last Husband
In 1912, Russell married her fourth husband, Alexander Pollock Moore, a wealthy newspaper publisher, just like her father had been. That same year, she accepted the inevitable and gave her final Broadway performance in Hokey Pokey, bowing out of the spotlight. Or, stepping into a different spotlight.
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42. She Tried Her Hand At Hollywood
Film was still a new medium when Russell was preparing to end her career. Nevertheless, she stepped out of retirement to lend her star power to the 1915 screen adaptation of Wildfire. She starred alongside future Hollywood heavyweight and patriarch Lionel Barrymore, but she couldn’t deny that the stage, not the screen, was her home.
43. She Took Her Final Bow Onstage
Despite losing her voice, Lillian Russell kept performing in vaudeville until 1919. In fact, she would have kept performing had it not been for her deteriorating health. Alas, even a diva must take a bow. After more than 40 years in the spotlight, Russell finally retired from the stage. That’s not to say, however, that she stopped using her voice.
44. She Took After Her Mother
Beginning in 1912, Russell picked up where her mother had left off: fighting for women’s rights. She penned newspaper columns, gave packed lectures on beauty and self-reliance, and became a champion for women’s causes. Though, her methods seemed a little self-serving.
45. She Skipped Her Taxes
In 1913, Russell put her money where her mouth was for women’s rights. In protest, the uber-wealthy retired diva refused to pay any taxes until women had the right to vote. However, she never lost her patriotic spirit, rallying the troops and raising funds during WWI.
46. She Worked For The President
By 1922, Lillian Russell had reinvented herself as an activist. She was so effective, in fact, that President Harding sent her on a fact-finding mission to Europe. Her objective? Analyze the immigration situation. When the former operetta queen returned, she had a thunderous recommendation: a five-year pause on immigration.
It caused a political crescendo in Washington.
47. She Shaped A Nation
Russell’s report to President Harding was more dramatic than any opera. Her comments read, in part, “[…]only the useless in the reconstruction of their countries are seeking to come to the United States[…]the immigration of recent years has been from that class of people which arrests rather than aids the development of any nation”.
Her findings helped shape the Immigration Act of 1924, but it cost her her life.
48. She Sang Her Final Note
On her way home from Europe, Lillian Russell suffered an undisclosed injury. At least, it seemed minor. Back at her home in Pittsburgh, her condition mysteriously worsened over ten days. Then, she drew her final breath—and exhaled her final note.
49. She Went Out With A Standing Ovation
When Russell’s funeral procession wound through Pittsburgh, thousands lined the streets to catch a glimpse at the former belle of Broadway. Even President Harding attended the funeral, respectfully placing a wreath atop her casket…just as her fans had once placed roses at her feet.
She went out a true star—but it had come at an absolutely heartbreaking cost.
50. Her Nanny Made A Fatal Mistake
In 1881, Lillian Russell’s career had first started taking off. With her name in high demand, she had little time to spend at home taking care of the baby she’d had with second husband Harry Braham. So, they hired a nanny. That turned out to be a fatal mistake. One day, in early 1881 before the child’s first birthday, the nanny accidentally pierced the baby’s stomach with a diaper pin. The infant didn’t make it.
Braham was the one who came home to the horrifying scene—but Russell would be the one to live with the fallout. She was heartbroken by the loss.
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