  Emma Dee
Randle One
of Grayson College’s most gifted alumnae, Emma Dee Randle, moved to Whitewright
at the age of fourteen so that she could attend Grayson College. There, with
her mother’s keen encouragement, she studied “expression” with George Landrum,
who was impressed with her talent. This portrait is believed to have been
painted by Tom Everheart Randle in 1900, when Emma was attending Grayson
College. Against
her father’s strict orders to stop “this nonsense,” Emma secretly continued
studying expression for four years. Then, at the age of eighteen, she was
selected to head the department of expression at Trinity University,
Waxahachie, Texas. Subsequently, she studied for a year at Emerson College of
Oratory in Boston, honing her skills at “reading.” Beginning
in 1905, Emma was engaged by the Dixie Lyceum Bureau of Dallas and Columbus,
Mississippi, for performances in which she declaimed great works of literature
(especially selections from Shakespeare and the Bible). Often she skillfully
portrayed a variety of characters in a single evening, using extensive changes
of costume and wigs.
A
great success for eighteen years, Emma Randle was almost always busy touring.
She performed widely across Texas and later across the United States. She
retained the family cottage in Whitewright, coming back from time to time to
visit old friends, to rest, and to perform—always to sold-out houses.
Grayson College History Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any links inoperable, please send me a message. |