Irene Wallach "Renee" Harris (June 15, 1876 – September 2, 1969) was an American theatrical manager and producer who was one of the first female theatre managers in the United States, taking over the management of the Hudson Theatre. Harris was interested in the theater, but had no experience with it other than as a patron. While attending a matinée, she met her husband, the noted theatrical manager and producer Henry B. Harris. The two had a whirlwind courtship, with Harris assisting her husband in his work even before the marriage. Through their work together, Harris learned about both theater management and theatrical production. Her husband said that she was competent enough to take over his business if anything happened to him.
The couple owned New York theaters and large homes, and traveled extensively for both business and pleasure. They had taken an extended journey through Europe and North Africa and were returning to the United States after finalizing some theatrical business in London. The Harrises were sailing on the maiden voyage of the new White Star liner, . When the ship began sinking, Harris wanted to stay with her husband. Despite being injured by a fall, she climbed out of the first lifeboat she was placed in before it was lowered into the water. Harris finally left Titanic fifteen minutes before the liner sank.
She returned to New York a widow and decided to continue her husband's business because she felt it was what he would have wanted. With the help of her father-in-law, Harris was able to successfully keep the business going. When her husband's will was settled, she learned there were more debts than assets. Her father-in-law advised her to close the business but Harris felt this would be an insult to his name and memory. She threw herself into hard work and was able to pay her husband's debts.
After these bills were paid, Harris enjoyed enough success to afford the lifestyle she had led before Titanic. In the course of her theater work, she discovered people such as Barbara Stanwyck, Mae Clarke, and playwright Moss Hart. But the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent depression meant the end of her assets and brought hard times to all in the entertainment industries. Later in life, Harris became friends with Walter Lord and helped with his book A Night to Remember and was involved in the subsequent film based on the book. She died in 1969 at age 93.
Early years and marriage She was born Irene Wallach on June 15, 1876, in Washington, D.C. She was the daughter of Philip and Rachel (Hilzheim) Wallach. Harris was the seventh of nine children in the large Jewish family. Her father owned a jewelry store next to the Willard Hotel; he died when Harris was six years old and her mother took in boarders to support the family. Several boarders worked as secretaries in various government offices and it was suggested to Harris that she take secretarial training. Harris followed the suggestion and got a job in a Tennessee congressman's office where she worked for three years.
By age 22, Harris had moved to New York City, where she studied law and worked as a legal secretary. She had an interest in the theater, attending as many performances as she was able. Harris was attending a matinee when she felt someone's hand on the back of her neck. Surprised, she quickly turned around and found theatrical producer Henry B. Harris behind her. Her intentions were to speak sternly to the offender, but she changed her mind when she saw his kind eyes and pleasant smile.
Despite a ten-year difference in their ages, the producer and the law student had an interest in the theater in common. Mr. Harris discovered she had a keen sense of the theatrical world and soon was asking her to help him by reading plays and attending rehearsals.(subscription required) The couple met in August 1899 and married on October 22, 1899, at Harris' sister's home in New York. After the marriage, the couple moved into an apartment in New York's Wellington Hotel, where Harris met Evelyn Nesbit, who was also living there. She also met Lillie Langtry when she was on a tour of the United States; Mr. Harris was serving as her manager for the tour. When the Harrises visited London in 1906, Langtry introduced them to King Edward, who invited them to be his guests in the Royal Box at Epsom Downs.
Harris' husband was the son of noted theatrical producer William Harris Sr. He worked for his father before going into business on his own in 1901. The couple owned New York theaters, large homes and traveled extensively. Harris considered herself spoiled by her husband. She said her husband had taught her everything she knew about the theater, Mr. Harris was so sure of his wife's abilities, he once told Edgar Selwyn, "I never take an important step without consulting Renee. If anything happened to me, she could pick up the reins."
After a long continental holiday which began in late 1911 and included a journey to North Africa, the couple was returning to the United States. While in England, Mr. Harris combined business with pleasure. He had signed Rose Stahl to appear in Maggie Pepper and would bring the production to London in May. He also began working with motion pictures; during his London visit, he had secured the US rights for the British full-color film The Miracle. Mr. Harris wired his associate, Charles Klein, that he and Renee would be sailing on the maiden voyage of the new White Star liner . The thought of this was so upsetting to Klein, he wired back, pleading with his friend not to sail on the ship. Mr. Harris replied to Klein by wire saying it was too late to make any changes.
Titanic Titanic made her way out of the port of Southampton on April 10, 1912. As she was being guided into the harbor, the giant ship caused a large displacement of water which made the moored swiftly rise and fall. The motion snapped the mooring cables tethering the New York and the ship began moving toward Titanic. A collision was narrowly averted when one of the tugboats assisting Titanic was able to get a line on the New York; the tugboat then towed the wayward ship out of the path of the Titanic. The two ships were between three and four feet apart before the New York was able to be halted. Harris was at the rail of Titanic watching the efforts to stop the New York when a stranger came up to her and asked, "Do you love life?" Harris replied that she did; the stranger went on, "That was a bad omen. Get off this ship at Cherbourg, if we get that far. That's what I'm going to do."
On April 14, Harris slipped and fell on one of the Titanic staircases. She fractured her right elbow and was in some pain as a result of her injury. Harris and her husband later went to dinner but retired to their cabin early, where they were playing double Canfield. The cabin's closet door had been left open and Harris was watching her clothing swinging quickly on their hangers. At dinner, there had been talk of icebergs in the region and she thought it odd that the ship was moving so fast under those conditions. The hangers suddenly stopped moving. Everyone was told to put on life jackets and come on deck within a short period of time. Mr. Harris helped his wife dress warmly and put her jewelry in his pockets for safe keeping.
The Harrises along with Mr. and Mrs. Emil Taussig made their way to the main deck. After the women had been seated in a lifeboat, there were still some vacant seats. When Mr. Harris and Mr. Taussig both tried to accompany their wives, they were threatened with revolvers. The boat was lowered with those seats still vacant. Harris wanted to leave the ship with her husband; despite her broken elbow, she was able to leave the lifeboat before it was lowered into the water. Harris continued her refusals to leave her husband aboard Titanic until Captain Edward Smith told her she was denying her husband the chance to save himself by her refusal to board a lifeboat. He claimed Titanic had many rafts in its stern and that the men would have an opportunity at them when the women had left the ship. She remained aboard Titanic until the last boat to be successfully, Collapsible Boat D, was filled. Fifteen minutes after it was lowered, the ship sank.
Three Titanic crewmembers accompanied the passengers of the lifeboat, but only one man was able to do any work at rowing the boat. Most of the women aboard were also unable to help at rowing, so Harris and another female passenger had to work at rowing the lifeboat along with the Titanic crew member. Despite their efforts, the lifeboat took on water and continued to sink deeper into the sea. About a half-hour before the arrival of the rescue ship , Titanic Fifth Officer Harold Lowe, in charge of Lifeboat No. 14, was able to take this boat into tow from his own.
After boarding Carpathia, Harris composed herself enough to request that a message be sent to family and associates informing them she was safe and was still hopeful about the safety of Mr. Harris. When Carpathia arrived in New York on April 18, Harris was met by her father-in-law, brother, and the family doctor. Her first words to those who greeted her were, "I have come back alone." Harris remembered very little of what happened during the next two months. Her sister, Edna, spoke for her at a news interview; she attended a Masonic memorial service for her husband at the Hudson Theatre, but had no recollection of being there. She continued to hope that her husband's body would be recovered and identified; Harris' brother traveled to Halifax to try to locate his brother-in-law's body. His remains were never recovered, despite the promise of a substantial reward. Harris later sued the White Star Line for $1 million for the death of her husband; she received only a fraction of this amount.
Despite her troubles with the White Star Line, Harris came to admire the conduct of Fifth Officer Harold Lowe. She later gave an interview specifically to bring attention to Lowe's actions. Aboard Carpathia and again in New York City, she tried to offer him a monetary award which he turned down both times, saying merely that he did his duty. Harris instead sent a set of nautical instruments, including a sextant, a telescope, and binoculars, to an event in Lowe's hometown where he was being honored, each inscribed with the phrase "The real hero of the Titanic." In 1932, Harris would again note of Lowe in an article that he had stood out in her memory as "one of the finest men it has been my privilege to meet."
Changes in fortune Mr. Harris' will was filed in probate court with the bulk of the estate going to his wife. After his death, there was much speculation in the theater world as to whether his widow would sell her husband's company and theaters, or if she would try to manage them and produce plays herself. At first, Harris was unsure about what she wanted to do. After talking with her father-in-law and remembering that her husband once told her, "You are a better businessman than I am.", she decided to continue her husband's business with the assistance of William Harris Sr. Both were in accord that the business would be run as Mr. Harris did. The business became known as the Estate of Henry B. Harris with Harris being known professionally as Mrs. Henry B. Harris. The decision to carry on in her husband's stead made Renee Harris the first female theatrical manager and producer on Broadway. In reality, this was not technically correct, since Charlotte Baldwin (1778–1856) had managed a theatre in Broadway already in the 1820s.
Harris continued alone in this field until 1922 when Anne Nichols, a playwright, also began managing plays. Both Harris and Nichols were mentioned as being among the top woman directors of plays in 1922.