# Catherine Chisholm Cushing

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**Catherine Chisholm Cushing** (April 15, 1874 — October 19, 1952) was an American writer of songs, librettos, and plays, best known for her 1916 stage adaptation of [Eleanor H. Porter](/source/Eleanor_H._Porter)'s *[Pollyanna](/source/Pollyanna)*.

## Early life

Catherine Chisholm was born in [Mount Perry, Ohio](/source/Mount_Perry,_Ohio).[1] She attended the [Pennsylvania College for Women](/source/Chatham_University) in Pittsburgh.[2]

## Career

Cushing started her literary career as an editor at *[Harper's Bazaar](/source/Harper's_Bazaar)*,[2] before finding success as a writer on Broadway. Her first show, *The Real Thing* (1911),[3] was a comedy that ran for sixty performances and starred [Henrietta Crosman](/source/Henrietta_Crosman) and [Minnie Dupree](/source/Minnie_Dupree).[4] This was followed by her *Widow by Proxy* (1913) with [May Irwin](/source/May_Irwin),[5] *Kitty MacKay* (1914),[6][7] *Sari* (1914, book by Cushing and Eugene Percy Heath),[8] *[Jerry](/source/Jerry_(play))* (1914) starring [Billie Burke](/source/Billie_Burke),[9][10] *[Pollyanna](/source/Pollyanna_(play))* (1915, based on the book by Eleanor H. Porter),[11][12] *Glorianna* (1918-1919, a musical based on Cushing's own *Widow by Proxy*), *Lassie* (1920, a musical version of *Kitty MacKay*), *Marjolaine* (1922), *Topsy and Eva* (1924-1925, a burlesque based loosely on *[Uncle Tom's Cabin](/source/Uncle_Tom's_Cabin)*),[13] *Edgar Allan Poe* (1925),[14] and *The Master of the Inn* (1925-1926, based on a book by [Robert Herrick](/source/Robert_Herrick_(novelist))).[15]

Film adaptations of plays or stories by Cushing include *Kitty MacKay* (1917), *[Widow by Proxy](/source/Widow_by_Proxy)* (1919) starring [Marguerite Clark](/source/Marguerite_Clark),[16] *Pollyanna* (1920) starring [Mary Pickford](/source/Mary_Pickford), *[Don't Call Me Little Girl](/source/Don't_Call_Me_Little_Girl)* (1921) starring [Mary Miles Minter](/source/Mary_Miles_Minter), *[Topsy and Eva](/source/Topsy_and_Eva)* (1927) starring [Rosetta Duncan](/source/Rosetta_Duncan) and [Vivian Duncan](/source/Vivian_Duncan), and *[The Prince and the Pauper](/source/The_Prince_and_the_Pauper_(1937_film))* (1937, based on the book by [Mark Twain](/source/Mark_Twain)). Songs by Cushing included "L'amour, toujours, l'amour" (1922, music by [Rudolf Friml](/source/Rudolf_Friml)),[17] which was on several film soundtracks, and ""Love's Own Sweet Song (Sari Waltz)" (1947).

Her *Topsy and Eva* was among the first American musicals adapted for early television; a one-hour version aired in July 1939. "Possibly because the program was so racist, history has chosen to forget this broadcast," commented one historian of television.[18]

## Personal life

Catherine Chisholm married Henry Howard Cushing in 1904. She was widowed in 1937 and died in New York in 1952, aged 78 years.[19]

## References

1. James Fisher, Felicia Hardison Londré, eds., [*Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Pro7DwAAQBAJ&dq=Catherine+Chisholm+Cushing&pg=PA169) (Rowman & Littlefield 2017): 169. ISBN 9781538107867

1. "Mrs. C. C. Cushing, Author of Plays" *New York Times* (October 21, 1952): 29. via [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest)[full citation needed]

1. "Miss Crosman in Amateurish Play" *New York Times* (August 11, 1911): 9. via [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest)[full citation needed]

1. Dixie Hines, Harry Prescott Hanaford, [*Who's who in Music and Drama*](https://books.google.com/books?id=qts9AQAAMAAJ&dq=Catherine+Chisholm+Cushing&pg=PA408) (H. P. Hanaford 1914): 408.

1. "May Irwin Shines in 'Widow by Proxy'" *New York Times* (February 25, 1913): 11. via [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest)[full citation needed]

1. Catherine Chisholm Cushing, [*Kitty MacKay: A Scotch Comedy in Three Acts*](https://books.google.com/books?id=fqqHuAAACAAJ&q=Catherine+Chisholm+Cushing) (S. French 1914).

1. "Laughter and Tears for 'Kitty MacKay'" *New York Times* (January 8, 1914): 11. via [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest)

1. ["Sari"](https://books.google.com/books?id=LHMhAQAAMAAJ&dq=Catherine+Chisholm+Cushing&pg=PA606) *Green Book Magazine* (April 1914): 606.

1. Catherine Chisholm Cushing, [*Jerry: A Comedy in Three Acts*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ii9wuAEACAAJ&q=Catherine+Chisholm+Cushing) (S. French 1930).

1. ["Jerry"](https://books.google.com/books?id=LHMhAQAAMAAJ&dq=Catherine+Chisholm+Cushing&pg=PA1017) *Green Book Magazine* (June 1914): 1017.

1. Catherine Chisholm Cushing, [*Pollyanna, the Glad Girl*](https://archive.org/details/pollyannagladgir00cush) (Klaw and Erlanger 1915).

1. ["The Glad Play Still"](https://books.google.com/books?id=4j08AQAAMAAJ&dq=Catherine+Chisholm+Cushing&pg=PA327) *Book News Monthly* (March 1916): 327.

1. ["The Duncan Sisters in 'Topsy and Eva'"](http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/onstage/duncanhp.html) at "Uncle Tom's Cabin & American Culture", an online exhibit by Stephen Railton at University of Virginia.

1. "The Play: Poe on Stage" *New York Times* (October 6, 1925): 31. via [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest)[full citation needed]

1. "'Master of the Inn' Laden with Romance" *New York Times* (December 23, 1925): 22. via [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest)[full citation needed]

1. T. A. Phelps, ["How it Feels to be a Widow"](https://books.google.com/books?id=5MEOAQAAIAAJ&dq=Catherine+Chisholm+Cushing&pg=PA112) *Theatre Magazine* (August 1919): 112.

1. Catherine Chisholm Cushing and Rudolf Friml, ["L'amour, toujours, l'amour"](https://digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/collections/item/32701) (Harms 1922), Sheet Music Collection, Music Library and Bill Schurk Sound Archives, University Libraries, Bowling Green State University.

1. Sandy Thornburn, ["Unifying the Audience: An Overview of Television Musicals"](https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzpeBAAAQBAJ&dq=Catherine+Chisholm+Cushing+Harpers&pg=PT273) in Graeme Harper, Ruth Doughty, Jochen Eisentraut, eds., *Sound and Music in Film and Visual Media: A Critical Overview* (Bloomsbury 2014). ISBN 9781501305443

1. ["Mrs. Catherine Cushing, Playwright, Lyricist Dies"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22682626/catherine_chisholm_cushing_1952/) *Los Angeles Times* (October 21, 1952): 18. via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

## External links

- [Catherine Chisholm Cushing](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0193693/) at IMDb
- [Sheet music for "Love, Love, Love!"](https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3990&context=mmb-vp) from *Glorianna* (1918), lyrics by Catherine Chisholm Cushing and music by Rudolf Friml; in the Digital Commons collection, University of Maine

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Catherine Chisholm Cushing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Chisholm_Cushing) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Chisholm_Cushing?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.