Wilhelmina "Minnie" Dorothy Peper (June 17, 1878 – January 15, 1960), known professionally as Jane Oaker, was an American theatre actress.
Early life Wilhelmina Dorothy Peper was born in St. Louis, Missouri,Harry Prescott Hanaford, Who's Who in Music and Drama (H. P. Hanaford 1914): 239. the daughter of Christian C. Peper, a wealthy tobacco manufacturer.Johnson Briscoe, The actors' birthday book (Moffat, Yard and Company 1908): 145."Christian C. Peper Dies of Heart Disease" Tobacco: An Illustrated Weekly Journal (April 8, 1920): 5. Peper attended Vassar College, and the New York School of Dramatic Art."Wins a Fortune" Topeka State Journal (December 28, 1906): 5. via Newspapers.com
"I am ready to assert most positively and from personal observation that a big bank account is of the greatest importance in pushing a girl forward in a dramatic career," she wrote of her wealthy background, adding "a trunkful of imported toggery will give the rich girl an opportunity to appear in one of those coveted roles that calls for no more talent than a series of handsome gowns."Jane Oaker, "The Rich Girl on the Stage" Broadway Magazine (September 1904): 55–57.
Career
Oaker started on the stage in the 1900, as Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream."Stage Robs Society Again" Cañon City Record (October 25, 1900): 3. via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection In 1903 she headed the Jane Oaker Stock Company."Hale Hamilton in Denver" Topeka State Journal (May 16, 1903): 7. via Newspapers.com Broadway appearancesJames E. Sprott, "The Stage" The Business Woman's Magazine (July–August 1903): 76. by Oaker included roles in The Pit (1904),"'The Pit' – 'Tis Pitty" New York Times (February 11, 1904): 9. The Pillars of Society (1904), The Silver Girl (1907),"The Sacrifice Heroic" New York Times (October 27, 1907): X2. Love Among the Lions (1910),"The New Plays" The Theatre (September 1910): 69. The Importance of Being Earnest (1910),"Portraits of Stage Favorites" Cosmopolitan (April 1911): 660. Cousin Lucy (1915),"Julian Eltinge in Klein's Last Play" New York Times (August 28, 1915): 7. Lightnin' (1918–1921),"Mr. Hornblow Goes to the Play" Theatre Magazine (October 1918): 209."No Joke to Play One Role for Five Years" Boston Globe (March 11, 1923): 60. via Newspapers.com and Los Angeles (1927–1928). On the London stage, she was seen in The Butter and Egg Man (1927).J. P. Wearing, The London Stage, 1920–1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (Rowman & Littlefield 2014): 535. "Hail 'Butter and Egg Man'" New York Times (August 31, 1927): 19. She starred in Clyde Fitch's comedy Girls on tour in 1908."A Quiet Month" The World To-Day (July 1908): 695.
In 1907 the New York Times reported that Oaker saved a five-year-old child in the path of an oncoming car on Broadway."Actress in Real Rescue" New York Times (October 18, 1907): 11. In 1924 she was hurt as a passenger in an automobile accident in San Francisco."Actress Injured" The Herald-Press (February 15, 1924): 3. via Newspapers.com
Personal life Oaker married actor Hale Hamilton in 1901."Jane Oakes to be Married" Los Angeles Herald (January 8, 1901): 3. via California Digital Newspaper Collection"Actors Married at St. Louis" New York Times (December 22, 1901): 2. They divorced in 1912, just before Hamilton married another actress, Myrtle Tannehill."'Jane Oaker' Divorced Here a Month Ago; Husband Remarries" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (December 15, 1912): 29. via Newspapers.com
Oaker died in St. Louis in 1960, and was buried in the city's Bellefontaine Cemetery."Mrs. Jane Hamilton Funeral Held Here" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (January 19, 1960): 9. via Newspapers.com
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