Mellon, Sarah Jane (1824–1909)
Mellon, Sarah Jane (1824–1909)
English actress. Born Sarah Jane Woolgar in 1824; died in 1909; married Alfred Mellon (leading violinist with the Royal Italian Opera in London and musical director at the Adelphi and Haymarket theaters), in 1858.
A versatile actress who could play comedy and tragedy, Sarah Jane Mellon first appeared on stage at Plymouth in 1836. In 1843, she began performing at the Adelphi and remained there for several years, most notably originating the part of Lemuel in Buckstone's Flowers of the Forest in 1847. She played Florizel in Perdita (1856), Ophelia in Hamlet (1857), Catherine Duval in The Dead Heart (1850), Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (1860), Anne Chute in The Colleen Brown (1860), and Mrs. O'Kelly in The Shaughraun; she also created the part of Miss Sniffe in A Bridal Tour (1880). Mellon retired in 1883.