Clarence Marion Brune was a noted scholar, dramatist and actor in the early twentieth century. He led an adventurous and widely varied life; several legal scandals and his marriage to the popular stage actress Minnie Tittel overshadowed his brilliant scholarly contributions to multiple fields.
Brune was born Clarence Marion Browne in Portland, Michigan on February 1, 1867 to Robert and Mary Ann (McConnell) Brune. He had at least one brother, Robert Browne. Very little is known about his early life and early education; before he attended Columbia University for college preparation, information regarding his early years is unverifiable.
Brune received his A.B. from Harvard University in 1890, and subsequently a Licencie-es-Lettres the the University of Paris, his Ph.D. from Illinois Wesleyan University, an L.L.B. from the Chicago Law School, and his D.C.L. Catholic University of America and King’s University in 1908. Afterwards, he also earned an LL.D. from Laval University. His education encompassed several fields, including in-depth legal studies and literature.
Brune led a full and distinguished legal career. He was admitted to the Bar in 1894, and over the course of his life he became a member of the Bars of the Supreme Courts of the United States of America, the State of Illinois, the State of California, and the District of Columbia. He practiced law for a number of years in Chicago and San Francisco. He acted as a legal and business representative for several American corporations in London, and was the Special Attorney in charge of the Spanish-American War Loan for the Secretary of the Treasury, as well as a government attorney for the War Department Board of Contract Adjustment and the Assistant Counsel for the War Department Board of Appraisers.
Despite his legal background, Brune was implicated in several legal scandals throughout his life. After graduating from Harvard, he joined his brother Robert (who later became a Secret Service agent) in Idaho to help run the Moscow National Bank. During his three years with the bank, he acted as a cashier, and traveled widely to sell stock of the bank to investors using falsified statements and documents. When the bank went under in 1898, the brothers had swindled several investors of significant funds, which were never recovered. The next year, Brune and his new wife were sued repeatedly in the state of Washington for land speculation fraud. Brune was sued again in a widely-publicized case with Melbourne McDowell, in which he was found guilty for illegally holding the rights to certain plays, amid a whirlwind of testimony by McDowell of being drugged, kidnapped, coerced into marriage, and shipped abroad by a devious Brune. Legal scandals continued to dog Brune, including two cases in Australia where he was accused of plagiarizing a play and stealing a car.
Between his numerous degrees and scandals, Brune found the opportunity to become a celebrated stage actor in the United States and abroad with his wife, the very famous Minnie Tittel Brune. They toured continuously in the United States for nearly a decade before leaving for Australia in 1904. In Australia, his career waned, while Minnie became one of the biggest stars in Australian stage history. When they finally left Australia in 1909, they lived between London and the United States for several years; she continued to act, to lesser acclaim, and he wrote several plays and managed a theater and another production company.
Brune became a Captain, Q.M.C. in the United States Army for three years (June 20, 1917-July 15, 1920). He spent nearly two years in France, Germany, and England with the AEF and nearly one year in Washington with the War Department Boards of Contract Adjustment and Appraisers. During his time in the military, he invented three patented improvements to airplane propellers, and wrote a legal textbook on Shakespeare that is widely used in legal literature courses to this day.
Biographical information after this period is impossible to verify, except that Brune appears to have focused more on his legal career and writing for the last twenty years of his life. He died about 1940.
The Clarence Marion Brune Papers are a collection of undated papers, manuscripts, and research notes written by Brune over the course of his life. There is no biographical information or correspondence in this collection. The two largest series are Drama, and Literature and Poetry.
The first series, Drama, boxes 1-2, is a collection of papers and notes written on the history and research of dramatic writers, figures, movements, and events in theatrical history. Brune wrote several papers and has extensive notes on Shakespeare, Greek Tragedy, Tragi-Comedies, and the Elizabethan era of theater, among other topics.
The second series, Education, box 2, is a smaller collection of papers and notes written on the contemporary sociology of the education and schooling system.
The third series, Law, box 2, is a smaller collection of papers and notes written on legal histories and topics, including Brune's thesis from the Catholic University of America exploring the Roman laws of testaments.
The fourth series, Literature and Poetry, boxes 3-4, is a larger collection containing papers and notes written about literary figures, works, and periods of interest. Brune has several papers relating to his studies of Romanticism and Romantic figures and works, as well as Petrarch and Petrarch's influence.
The fifth series, Manuscripts, box 5, is a collection of two plays authored by Brune.
The sixth series, Religious Studies, box 5, is a collection of papers written on a variety of religious topics, mostly relating to cultural examinations of religious influence.
The seventh series, Science, box 5, consists of a single paper, written on Brune's study of ocular imagery.
The Clarence Marion Brune Papers consists of 7 series:
None
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
This collection was donated to the Catholic University of America in 1943 by Brune's wife, Minnie Tittel Brune, after her husband's death.
PROCESSING INFORMATION
Processing completed in April 2011 by Lauren Kanne. EAD markup completed in April 2011 by Lauren Kanne.
This series contains manuscripts, notes, and research papers written by Brune regarding dramatic and theatrical topics.
This series contains several papers written by Brune on the topics of education and school systems.
This series contains several complete studies Brune wrote on legal topics, including his thesis from the Catholic University of America.
This series contains manuscripts, notes, and research papers written by Brune regarding figures and topicsin the fields of literature, poetry, and literary criticism.
This series contains two completed play manuscripts written by Brune, along with drafts and notes on those scripts.
This series contains several incomplete and completed manuscripts and research papers with religious themes and religious cultural studies.
This series contains a single file on Brune's scientific study of ocular imagery.