Edith Day was Born in Minneapolis on April 10, 1896. She grew up in her parnets home at 2219 Lyndale Avenue South. Her father, Oscar Day was a newspaperman and dramatic critic for the Minneapolis Tribune. In 1912 she landed a role in a play called On a Roof Garden performed Wednesdays and Thursdays at the Minneapolis Auditorium. She also took part in a dancing quintet that performed something called The Girl in Pink before each show. In 1914 she graduated from North High School. In 1915 she joined Al Jolson’s Dancing Around company. After appearing in Girl of the Great Northwest in the Tribune’s photoplays her rise to stardom was meteoric. In 1916 Edith made her Broadway debut in Pom-pom. She appeared in Follow Me the same year. At the end of following year, she starred in a musical comedy called Going Up. The show ran was a big hit and ran for 351 performances. Edith also appeared in three silent films, The Grain of Dust (1918), A Romance of the Air (1918), and Children Not Wanted (1920). Who could forget that one!
In 1919, she career took another leap when she began playing the title role in Irene. The play was big on Broadway and in less than a year into the run, she went across the pond to recreate the role in the London production at the Empire Theatre. In 1920, she recorded Alice Blue Gown, the hit song from Irene. In 1922 she returned to the states to perform in Broadway productions of Orange Blossoms and Wildflower. She returned to the role of Irene in London a couple years later, and found further success in West End productions of Rose-Marie, The Desert Song , Show Boat , and Rio Rita. She was a favorite of King George and frequently gave command performances for him. Edith retired from acting in the early 1940’s after her son, who served as a pilot for the R.A.F. was killed in action during the war. In 1960, she returned to the stage for Noël Coward’s Waiting in the Wings in the London production of Coward’s musical Sail Away at the Savoy Theatre in 1962. Edith passed away at the age of 75. She’s buried at Highgate Cemetery in London.
