Bessie Wynn (June 1876 – July 8, 1968) was an American stage and vaudeville actress and singer. She was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and sang in church choirs while growing up. At 23 in 1899 she first appeared in the chorus of ''Papa's Wife'' starring

Anna Held Helene Anna Held (19 March 1872 – 12 August 1918) was a Polish-French stage performer on Broadway. While appearing in London, she was spotted by impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, who brought her to America as his common-law wife. From 1896 through ...

. She continued on Broadway and ultimately appeared in two enormous hit plays '' The Wizard of Oz''(1902) starring

Anna Laughlin Anna Laughlin (October 11, 1885 – April 5, 1937) was an American actress on stage and in silent films. In 1902, she became the first actress to play Dorothy Gale. Early life Anna Laughlin was born in Sacramento, California. She began appearing ...

;, '' Babes in Toyland''(1903-05) with William Norris and

Mabel Barrison Mabel Barrison (April 21, 1882 - November 1, 1912) was a Canadian born American stage actress and singer in the first decade of the 20th century. She was born Eva Farrance and joined a musical chorus while still in her teens. She appeared in vau ...

; and ''Wonderland'' in 1905. In 1907 she began appearing in Vaudeville and was a highly paid starrer for the Keith-Orpheum organization. She continued with Keith's in Vaudeville until Keith's folded in the 1930s. She then retired to her own chicken farm but came out of retirement in 1949 for a Palace Theater revival of Vaudeville programs. Bessie Wynn: "The Lady Dainty of Vaudeville"
by TravSD June 1 2013 As far as motion pictures she appeared in two news animated weeklys in 1913 and 1914. If she appeared for earlier film companies such as Edison, Lubin or Biograph she did so anonymously.

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cover of music sheet
NY Public Library, Billy Rose collection)
portrait
Univ. of Washington, Sayre collection)
Bessie Wynn
portrait by Windeatt
flip side
of Windeatt portrait {{DEFAULTSORT:Wynn, Bessie 1876 births 1968 deaths Actresses from Chicago People from Illinois Singers from Chicago