Fay Davis (December 15, 1872 – March 1, 1945) was an American stage actress from Boston, Massachusetts who was a star of many Shakespearean plays.

Early life

Fay Davis was born December 15, 1872 in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended the Winthrop School in Boston and a school of oratory. Davis studied under the

monologist A monologist (), or interchangeably monologuist (), is a solo artist who recites or gives dramatic readings from a monologue, soliloquy, poetry, or work of literature, for the entertainment of an audience. The term can also refer to a person wh ...

Leland Powers. Davis became popular as a reciter in Boston and other places in New England. She also acted as an amateur in her hometown.

Career

Davis came to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1895 to join the company of Sir Charles Wyndham. She quickly achieved success as Zoe Nuggetson in ''A Squire of Dames''. In 1896 she went to the

St. James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mon ...

where she remained five years. At this time she played her first roles in productions of the works of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. In 1902 Davis returned to America and made her debut at the Empire Theatre under

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

. For Frohman, Davis appeared as Wilhelmina in ''Imprudence''. In the first decade of the twentieth century she acted in a number of London plays, namely ''Rupert of Hentzau'', ''A Debt of Honour'', ''The Wisdom of the Wise'', ''Iris'', and ''Caesar's Wife''. She returned to England in 1906, acting in the provinces and then London. In the latter she appeared in leading roles in ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

'', ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'', and ''Twelfth Night''. In 1910 she played in ''Trelawny of the Wells'' in London. In 1914 she appeared in a film of ''

Enoch Arden ''Enoch Arden'' is a narrative poem published in 1864 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, during his tenure as England's poet laureate. The story on which it was based was provided to Tennyson by Thomas Woolner. The poem lent its name to a principle in ...

''. During World War I Davis was in ''Searchlights'' and ''Daddy Long-Legs''. Her final London shows were ''The Heart of a Child'' (1921), ''The Second Mrs. Tanqueray'' (1922), ''Secret Service'' (1926), ''Hamlet'' (1930), and ''The Shadow Princess'' and ''On The Rocks'' (1933). Her final professional appearance was at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

in London in 1933, although she later made two appearances onstage in wartime fundraising galas in 1939 and 1942.

Personal life

She was married to the actor

Gerald Lawrence Gerald Leslie Lawrence (23 March 1873 – 9 May 1957) was a British actor and manager. Lawrence was born in London in 1873, the son of Emily Mills ''née'' Asher (1832-1912) and John Moss Lawrence (1827-1888), an investor. Lawrence studied sta ...

. Their daughter, Marjorie Fay Lawrence (b.1908) was murdered in 1930.''News Chronicle'', 7th July 1930.

Death

Davis died in

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

, England in 1945.

References

* ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "Fay Davis Is Dead; Noted Actress, 72", February 27, 1945, Page 19.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis Fay 1873 births 1945 deaths 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Boston American expatriate actresses in the United Kingdom American Shakespearean actresses