Author. Michael Oelrichs was an American poet and playwright along with being a theater actress. She was from a socially prominent family. She was the reigning debutante of Newport society until her marriage in 1910 to Leonard M. Thomas, a rising young diplomat. She soon became a fervent suffragist, going so far as to sport a bobbed haircut, considered scandalous at that time. In 1914, she began writing poems, many of them showing the influence of Walt Whitman. She published her collection "Miscellaneous Poems" in1916 under the name Michael Strange and used that name for all her published and stage work thereafter. A volume titled simply "Poems" followed in 1919. In 1918 she adapted Leo Tolstoy's "The Living Corpse," which was produced successfully on Broadway with John Barrymore in the lead. She began an affair with Barrymore that led to her divorce from Thomas in 1919 and her marriage to the actor in 1920, lasting for eight years. In 1920 she wrote "Claire de Lune," which was presented in April of 1921, starring John and Ethel Barrymore. After her divorce from Barrymore, she married attorney Harrison Tweed in 1929. In 1936 she had a poetry and music program on WOR, a New York radio station, and it soon became a regular feature, with a full orchestra eventually accompanying her readings. Michael Strange died from leukemia on November 5, 1950.
Author. Michael Oelrichs was an American poet and playwright along with being a theater actress. She was from a socially prominent family. She was the reigning debutante of Newport society until her marriage in 1910 to Leonard M. Thomas, a rising young diplomat. She soon became a fervent suffragist, going so far as to sport a bobbed haircut, considered scandalous at that time. In 1914, she began writing poems, many of them showing the influence of Walt Whitman. She published her collection "Miscellaneous Poems" in1916 under the name Michael Strange and used that name for all her published and stage work thereafter. A volume titled simply "Poems" followed in 1919. In 1918 she adapted Leo Tolstoy's "The Living Corpse," which was produced successfully on Broadway with John Barrymore in the lead. She began an affair with Barrymore that led to her divorce from Thomas in 1919 and her marriage to the actor in 1920, lasting for eight years. In 1920 she wrote "Claire de Lune," which was presented in April of 1921, starring John and Ethel Barrymore. After her divorce from Barrymore, she married attorney Harrison Tweed in 1929. In 1936 she had a poetry and music program on WOR, a New York radio station, and it soon became a regular feature, with a full orchestra eventually accompanying her readings. Michael Strange died from leukemia on November 5, 1950.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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