Hobart, Rose

By Carol A. Stabile

Rose Hobart was born Rose Kefer in New York City on May 1, 1905. Paul Kefer, Hobart’s father, was first cellist for the New York Symphony; her mother was an opera singer. She grew up in New York City, spending summers in an art colony in Woodstock, New York.1 Her parents divorced when she was 11 and Hobart and her older sister Polly spent two years in France with her grandmother, returning to New York when the US entered World War I.2

In 1920, Hobart joined a touring company, returning to New York City, where she auditioned for Eva Le Gallienne, who cast her in a touring company of Ferenc Molnár’s Liliom (a play that later became the basis for Rodger and Hammerstein’s musical Carousel).3

Rose Hobart recalled the homophobia she encountered while performing in Liliom. Close to Le Gallienne and not understanding that she was a lesbian, the cast assumed that Hobart was Le Gallienne’s lover. “People will forgive you men,” a cast member later told her, “but they will never forgive you women.” Le Gallienne told her “You can only judge people by how they treat you.” Hobart agreed and would continue to work with Le Gallienne in years to come.4

Hobart debuted on Broadway in 1923, playing the part of a young girl in The Lullaby by Edward Knoblock.5 Hobart continued to perform on stage, appearing in the 1930s in I Loved You Wednesday, Girls in Uniform, Springtime for Henry, and The Wind and the Rain. Hobart’s final major stage appearance was in 1939’s Dear Octopus.6

• 1Rose Hobart, A Steady Digression to a Fixed Point, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2.
• 2Ibid, 17.
• 3Ibid, 36.
• 4Hobart, A Steady Digression to a Fixed Point, 38.
• 5Ronald Bergan, “Rose Hobart,” The Guardian, September 13, 2000.
• 6“Rose Hobart,” Variety, September 13, 2000.

Films

Liliom (1930) - Julie

A Lady Surrenders (1930) - Isabel Beauvel

Chances (1931) - Molly Prescott

East of Borneo (1931) - Linda Randolph

Compromised (1931) - Ann Brock

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) - Muriel Carew

Scandal for Sale (1932) - Claire Strong

The Shadow Laughs (1933) - Ruth Hackett

Convention Girl (1935) - Cynthia 'Babe' LaVal

Tower of London (1939) - Anne Neville

Wolf of New York (1940) - Peggy Nolan

Susan and God (1940) - Irene

A Night at Earl Carroll's (1940) - Ramona Lisa

Ziegfeld Girl (1941) - Mrs. Merton

Singapore Woman (1941) - Alice North

Lady Be Good (1941) - Mrs. Carter Wardley

I'll Sell My Life (1941) - Dale Layden (Mary Jones)

Nothing But the Truth (1941) - Mrs. Harriet Donnelly

No Hands on the Clock (1941) - Marion West

A Gentleman at Heart (1942) - Claire Barrington

Mr. and Mrs. North (1942) - Carol Brent

Who Is Hope Schuyler? (1942) - Alma Pearce

Gallant Lady (1942) - Rosemary Walsh

Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942) - Mrs. Black

The Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1943) - Fraulein Von Teufel

Air Raid Wardens (1943) - (scenes deleted)