181:, Mersereau's father, an amusement park constructor, created the Oakland amusement park during her childhood. Mersereau was known to roam around the construction area, which resulted in her being given the nickname the "Idora Park baby". As a teenager and young adult, she studied dance and made trips to Europe and the Orient to train in different styles. She also spent time training her dances with her aunt Theodora Warmolts Van Ness in the
213:, she performed as the female lead, with Mersereau using her well known history as a classical dancer to perform the "Dance of the Pyramids" and the "Dance of the Rameses" in the film. After appearing in several early films where she presented her dancing capabilities, she returned to theatre and signed an exclusive contract with the Pantages theatre despite multiple film studios trying to hire her.
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where she became known as the "Idora Park baby" because of her father's amusement park construction. She was highly interested in dance and theater from a young age, being trained by her aunt and taking trips to Europe and Asian countries in order to learn various dance styles.
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also said that she was "one of the most successful of the classic dancers now before the public" and that her original plays featuring her dancing pantomime was "one of the finest expositions of the art on the vaudeville stage today."
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Capra was married to George F. McCormick in 1924, but they later divorced. She remarried in early 1934 to Joseph Capra. She died of a long term illness over several years on
September 26, 1935 at her home in
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Going on to be featured in numerous plays even in her teenage years, Mersereau was considered one of the best classic dancers of the time and her use of pantomime was among the greatest in
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In 1909 during her early teens, Mersereau joined the Kolb & Dill Farce Comedy company to begin appearing in plays in
Oakland. The following year, she appeared in the play
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Completing a number of theatre performances in the following years, she later joined the
Richard Wilbur company in 1928 and their tour of the countries in the
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to Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Mersereau, she went to local schools throughout her childhood. Once she turned nine, her family moved to the
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theater. Her successes would see her dancing performed in multiple films and, later in life, before the royals of
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as the company's leading woman. They toured across multiple countries in Asia, arriving in
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In 1917, she performed a solo act, with a single assistant, of her dancing play
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254:. Her final performance was in 1933 after joining the Sacramento Players for
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133:, was an American actress who performed on stage and screen. A dancer and
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as "representing her unusual expressive arm flexibility". The
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in April 1927. The tour resulted in her performing in the
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theater after reaching adulthood and performed at the
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141:by birth, she ended up spending her childhood in
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510:"Famous Danseuse Appears In New Movie Feature"
443:"Personal Notes Of Interest - Verna Mersereau"
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827:Actresses from Oakland, California
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545:"One Of Foremost Classic Dancers"
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867:Musical theatre female dancers
842:American vaudeville performers
832:American silent film actresses
769:"Feature Film At Star Theatre"
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209:. For the 1914 production of
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284:The Vengeance of the Goddess
201:dance. She later went into
129:(1896–1935), also known as
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483:The San Francisco Examiner
817:Actresses from New Jersey
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550:The Victoria Daily Times
333:(1925) as Josie Jennings
250:for the royal family of
223:The Victoria Daily Times
173:where she finished with
862:American female dancers
857:Dancers from California
852:Dancers from New Jersey
710:San Francisco Chronicle
161:Childhood and education
646:San Francisco Bulletin
345:Sacramento, California
290:A Romance of Old Egypt
218:A Romance of Old Egypt
70:Sacramento, California
325:(1918) as Peggy Blair
317:as Evelyn Wade (1914)
183:eastern United States
171:Western United States
131:Verna Mersereau Capra
81:Verna Mersereau Capra
617:. September 27, 1935
614:The Sacramento Union
518:. September 27, 1914
414:. September 14, 1916
167:Paterson, New Jersey
51:Paterson, New Jersey
777:. December 17, 1914
774:Franklin Repository
713:. December 28, 1919
681:. February 27, 1917
220:, described by the
179:Oakland, California
143:Oakland, California
582:The Sacramento Bee
553:. January 25, 1917
309:The Dance of Death
272:Playing The Ponies
115:The Dance of Death
62:September 26, 1935
737:"A Famous Dancer"
673:"Pantages Scores"
515:The Buffalo Times
382:. October 7, 1935
296:Making The Movies
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103:Years active
66:(aged 38–39)
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585:. May 18, 1927
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64:(1935-09-26)
812:1935 deaths
807:1896 births
330:Chalk Marks
303:Filmography
135:pantomimist
86:Occupations
37: 1912
801:Categories
705:"Pantages"
641:"Pantages"
478:"Princess"
406:"Pantages"
351:References
315:The Dancer
260:sanatorium
211:The Dancer
203:vaudeville
151:vaudeville
119:The Dancer
32:Mersereau
244:lead role
106:1909–1933
240:Shanghai
199:Assyrian
155:Calcutta
266:Theater
92:Actress
311:(1914)
298:(1919)
292:(1917)
286:(1912)
280:(1910)
278:Mizpah
274:(1909)
236:Orient
195:Mizpah
189:Career
95:dancer
72:, U.S.
53:, U.S.
228:Times
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248:Rain
59:Died
47:1896
44:Born
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