DUSE, ELEANORA

(1859), Italian actre ; b. Vigevano, Italy. She belonged to a theatrical family and first appeared on the stage as a child acting with wandering troupes and suffering the privations incidental to the precarious existence of itinerant companies. Her genius began to be recognized when she appeared at Naples in 1879 and in Milan a little later. Thenceforth she was acknowledged as Italy’s greatest actre and one who also ranked with the best of her time. The roles in which she became distinguished embraced an extensive repertory and included plays man, Gold on i, D’Annunzio, Pinero and Shakespeare. She was closely a ociated with the Italian poet, Gabrielle d’Annunzio, and a number of his most notable plays were written for her. She made an early marriage to an Italian actor and writer named Checchi, but the union did not last. In 1893 she played in New York City as Camille in Dumas’ play of that name, and visited the United States again in 1902. Ill-health curtailed her _work, causing her to live in retirement, and in her later years she seldom appeared on the stage.