Professionally known as Rita Redmond, she was a comedienne, singer, and actress, in Vaudeville. She appeared on Broadway as Lulu Larchmont (the Florida Nightingale) in "Bankers and Brokers," and as Barronne De Cammembert in "The Merry Whirl." She was described as "The most beautiful woman on stage," in reviews. Newspaper accounts (Fultonhistory.com) tell of her devotion to her family and call her a real life heroine, who "Works faithfully for suffering relatives." One may have been her second husband, Leon H. Brush, who lost his eyesight to optical paralysis when only in his 20s. She organized benefits to raise money for his treatment. Unfortunately his case was declared hopeless by a team of specialists. Rita was the daughter of Francesco [Frank] Faggiani and Angelina Celestri, and the sister of Vincent, Emmanuela, Francesca, Isabella (Earl Goforth), Catherine, and Richard (Nina Harrington). Isabella was also in Vaudeville and was half of the team of Goforth and Doyle. Rita married Frederich Wagner in 1895 and then Leon H. Brush,(about 1900) with whom she had 2 children, Florence K. Brush, and Edward Leon Brush. Leon H. Brush was the great grandson of Eleanor Van Tassel, who many historians believe was the inspiration for Washington Irving's Katrina Van Tassel in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
Professionally known as Rita Redmond, she was a comedienne, singer, and actress, in Vaudeville. She appeared on Broadway as Lulu Larchmont (the Florida Nightingale) in "Bankers and Brokers," and as Barronne De Cammembert in "The Merry Whirl." She was described as "The most beautiful woman on stage," in reviews. Newspaper accounts (Fultonhistory.com) tell of her devotion to her family and call her a real life heroine, who "Works faithfully for suffering relatives." One may have been her second husband, Leon H. Brush, who lost his eyesight to optical paralysis when only in his 20s. She organized benefits to raise money for his treatment. Unfortunately his case was declared hopeless by a team of specialists. Rita was the daughter of Francesco [Frank] Faggiani and Angelina Celestri, and the sister of Vincent, Emmanuela, Francesca, Isabella (Earl Goforth), Catherine, and Richard (Nina Harrington). Isabella was also in Vaudeville and was half of the team of Goforth and Doyle. Rita married Frederich Wagner in 1895 and then Leon H. Brush,(about 1900) with whom she had 2 children, Florence K. Brush, and Edward Leon Brush. Leon H. Brush was the great grandson of Eleanor Van Tassel, who many historians believe was the inspiration for Washington Irving's Katrina Van Tassel in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
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