Isabel Irving

Isabel Irving (February 28, 1871 –September 1, 1944) was an American stage actress.

Isabel Irving
Isabel Irving, ca. 1907
Born	(1871-02-28)February 28, 1871 Bridgeport, Connecticut
Died	September 1, 1944(1944-09-01) (aged 73) Nantucket, Massachusetts
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]

Isabel Irving, a 1907 photograph

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

Gallery

Photographs of Isabel Irving

• 
  1907 photograph
• 
  Photograph, ca. 1890/ca. 1900
• 
  Photograph, ca. 1888
• 
  1913 photograph