My grandfather, Harold Ely Merrick, had a brief, but apparently illustrious career as an actress. While attending University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business (1923-1927), Harold joined Mask and Wig, the oldest all male acting troupe in the United States (www.maskandwig.com).
In 1924, Harold played the role of ‘Ralston Travers, a social barnacle’ in That’s That. Each succeeding year he was a leading lady. His first female role was in 1925’s Joan of Arkansas. In 1926’s, A Sail and a Sailor, he was cast as ‘Miriam Coffin, engaged in amassing a fortune at the expense of others’.
The Mask and Wig troupe hit the road annually and performed around the country. Stops included performances in the bright lights of places such as Atlantic City, New York, Harrisburg, Detroit, Wilmington, Lancaster, Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. The finale was two weeks of no doubt sold out performances in Philadelphia. Harold was a member of the regular Mask and Wig club while he was an undergraduate, was elected to the graduate club in 1927, and remained friends with members of the troop throughout his lifetime. It was a highlight of his time at University of Pennsylvania.
Although he never acted ‘professionally’ again, Harold was a very funny person and always entertained his family and friends with his antics. His daughter, Anne, remembers one time she was in a fabric store and knocked a bolt of fabric off a shelf. Harold pretended to be shocked and horrified, ran down the aisle of the store, dove into a large box of fabric scraps, and vanished.
Harold Ely Merrick – Merrick Family Tree #1
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