Edith Day

Day on the cover of sheet music for Irene

Edith Day (April 10, 1896 - May 1, 1971) was an American actress.

Life and career

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Day made her Broadway debut in Pom-pom in 1916. Three years later she became a major star playing the title role in Irene. Five months into the run, she departed the cast to create the role in the London production. Embraced by the London critics, she decided to remain there after the show closed and went on to become the first lady of West End musicals, with triumphs in Rose Marie, The Desert Song, and Show Boat.

Day's movie career consisted of three silent films, The Grain of Dust (1918), A Romance of the Air (1918), and Children Not Wanted (1920).

Day retired from acting in the 1930s. In 1960 she briefly returned to the stage in Noel Coward's Waiting in the Wings.

Day was married three times, to theatre producer Carle Carleton, actor Pat Somerset, and Henry Horne. Her only son died in World War II. She died in London at the age of 75.

Day's eponymous cocktail is made with dry gin, grapefruit juice, sugar, and an egg white.

External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing