Maxine Elliott also known as Little Jessie, Dettie or by her birth name Jessie Dermott, was an American actress and businesswoman. She managed her own theater and experimented with silent films in the 1910s. Immensely popular, she was rumored to have intimate relationships with highly notable people such as King Edward VII and J.P. Morgan. During World War I, she was active on the cause of the Belgian relief.
Maxine Elliott, circa 1905, by Burr McIntosh
Maxine Elliott story on the front page of September 3, 1915, The Seattle Star
Maxine Elliott's Theatre was originally a Broadway theatre at 109 West 39th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1908, it was designed by architect Benjamin Marshall of the Chicago-based firm Marshall and Fox, who modeled the façade after the neoclassical Petit Trianon in Versailles. In later years, it was known as WOR Mutual Radio Theatre (1941–1944), CBS Radio Playhouse No. 5 (1944–1948), and CBS Television Studio No. 44 or CBS Television Studio Studio 51 (1948–1956). The theater was demolished in 1960 to make way for the Springs Mills Building.
Maxine Elliott's Theatre before its opening on December 30, 1908