Isabel Irving
American actress
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Isabel Irving (February 28, 1871 –September 1, 1944) was an American stage actress.
Isabel Irving | |
|---|---|
Isabel Irving, ca. 1907 | |
| Born | February 28, 1871 |
| Died | September 1, 1944 (aged 73) |
| Years active | 1887–1936 |
| Spouse | William H. Thompson (1899 – 1923) |
Irving made her London debut at the Lyceum Theatre in 1890 as Daisy in Nancy and Company.[1]
In 1894, she signed a three-year contract with the manager of the Lyceum Theatre in New York, stipulating "for the first time in her short career on stage," that she shall have "leading business."[2] Until that time she had played the ingenue and other small parts.[2]
Life
Isabel Irving was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on February 28, 1871 to Charles Washington and Isabella Irving.[3] She made her New York stage debut in c. 1886[4][5] at the Standard Theatre in The Schoolmistress under Rosina Vokes.[6]
In 1899, after a secret engagement, Irving married the actor William H. Thompson who died in 1923.[5]

In 1907, an Oregon newspaper (The Morning Oregonian) called her a "brilliant American actress" and "a charming actress and comedienne" during her national tour performance there in Susan In Search of a Husband.[7][8]
She retired from her long career in theater in 1936 after completing her final tour in Three Wise Fools. She died in 1944 in Nantucket at 73.[3][4]
Selected appearances

Irving appeared in numerous productions during her 50-year career.[3][6][4][9]
- The Schoolmistress (as Gwendoline)
- Pantomime Rehearsal
- Nancy and Company (as Daisy)
- Gwynee's Oath (as the ingenue)
- Popping the Question (as the waiting maid)
- The Great Unknown (as Pansy)
- As You Like It (as Audrey)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (as Oberon)
- The Hunchback (as Helen)
- The Last Word (as Miss Rutherell)
- The Arabian Nights (as Maitland)
- Needles and Pins
- The Critic
- The Lottery of Love
- The Cabinet Minister
- She Stoops to Conquer
- Merry Wives of Windsor
- The Age of Innocence
- Uncle Vanya
- Three Wise Fools