Velma Whitman

Born to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Underwood^[1] in Richmond, Virginia,^[2] Whitman started her theatrical career after joining the C.S. Sullivan theatre company and starring in the 1905 production of Dora Thorne in the titular role,^[3] based on the novel of the same name by Charlotte Mary Brame. The Twice-a-Week Plain Dealer referred to Whitman's role as highly demanding, where a "less talented woman would fail" in the emotional range needed for the character, but she managed to give a "most worthy portrayal".^[4] After having worked with the Boler Stock Company in Denver at the end of 1905, she then joined the Crawford's Comedians group for a 1906 production of Under Two Flags from the novel by Ouida, where Whitman played the role of army mascot Cigarette.^[5]

In late 1906, Whitman formed her own vaudeville company under the name Whitman's Comedians,^[6] featuring Jack Roseleigh as the leading man^[7] and herself as the leading woman. In addition to an entire theater troupe, the company featured 20 musicians so they could provide their own accompaniment during plays.^[8] Her company played shows across the American South in large cities, doing shows exclusively in Texas from the end of 1907 through the beginning of 1908.^[9] The Atchison Daily Globe noted that their August 1909 show in Atchison, Kansas, was one of the very few they ever did in a city with less than 50,000 people.^[10]

Whitman was well known for her extensive collection of English and French gowns from prominent designers that she used in her performances, with her gowns described in a 1909 edition of the Waxahachie Daily Light as "one of the largest and most elaborate wardrobes of any leading woman in the country".^[11] One of the frequent theatrical productions by the company was The Mysterious Model, where Whitman played the main female lead Niobe, and is a retelling in modern day based on the mythology of Pygmalion and Galatea. The Winfield Daily Courier described Whitman's depiction of Niobe giving the character "a purity and innocence that were charming in her modern surroundings".^[12]

In 1911, Whitman started playing roles in other stock company shows for multiple theatrical seasons, frequently as the leading lady, such as the West End Heights Stock Company throughout 1911^[13] and the North Brothers Stock Company throughout 1912.^[14] During an extended series of performances in Oklahoma in March 1912 with the latter company, The Daily Oklahoman noted of her role in A Little Brother of the Rich that Whitman "not only possesses beauty of face and figure, but has a graciousness about her that simple charms, and she is an actress, too, in the truest sense of the word".^[15] Whitman and her husband would leave the North Brothers Stock Company in August 1912, though still remaining at their home in Oklahoma City.^[16] Roseleigh would later form his own company at the end of 1912 named Own Stock, where Whitman would join him as the ongoing leading role opposite him.^[17]

During January 1913, Whitman starred in shows held by the Frank North Stock Company in Fort Worth, Texas, to temporarily replace their former lead, Ruth Robinson.^[18] For the rest of February and March 1913, she stayed with Mrs. Philip Mohan in Santa Barbara, California, and announced on March 20 that she was planning to move permanently to California to begin starring in films.^[19] She joined the Lubin Company run by Wilbert Melville in July of that year as one of two leading women for the company's films.^[20] Her first film role for the studio was in the 1913 film Playing With Fire.^[21]

Whitman was married to Mike Levy, stage name Jack Roseleigh, after joining his company.^[22][23]