Ivah Mae Wills Coburn (August 19, 1878 – April 27, 1937) was an American actress and Broadway producer.

Early life

Ivah Wills was from

Appleton City, Missouri Appleton City is a city in St. Clair County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,032 as of the 2020 census. It is the largest city in St. Clair County. History Appleton City was originally called Arlington, and under the latter name wa ...

, the daughter of George Browning Wills and Anna Kunz Wills. She was raised in

Brookston, Indiana Brookston is a town in Prairie Township, White County, Indiana, Prairie Township, White County, Indiana, White County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,554 as of the 2010 United States Census. History Brookston was platted in 185 ...

. She studied drama at the

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution h ...

."Mrs. C. D. Coburn, Actress, is Dead"
''New York Times'' (April 28, 1937): 28.

Career

She began her acting career in touring companies run by E. H. Sothern and Amelia Bingham. Ivah Wills Coburn's Broadway performing and producing credits included ''The Yellow Jacket'' (1916), ''

The Imaginary Invalid ''The Imaginary Invalid'', ''The Hypochondriac'', or ''The Would-Be Invalid'' ( French title ''Le Malade imaginaire'', ) is a three- act ''comédie-ballet'' by the French playwright Molière with dance sequences and musical interludes (H.495, H. ...

'' (1917), ''The Better 'Ole'' (1918-1919), ''Three Showers'' (1920), ''French Leave'' (1920), ''The Bronx Express'' (1922), ''The Farmer's Wife'' (1924-1925), ''The Right Age to Marry'' (1926), ''The Yellow Jacket'' (1928-1929), ''Falstaff'' (1928-1929), ''The Plutocrat'' (1930), and '' Troilus and Cressida'' (1932). Coburn and her husband had a touring repertory company that presented Shakespeare, French and Greek dramas and comedies at college campuses throughout the United States."Mrs. Ivah Coburn, Known for College Drama Tours, is Dead"
''Chicago Daily Tribune'' (April 28, 1937): 14. They directed the Mohawk Drama Festival in Schenectady, New York in 1935 and 1936.

Personal life

Ivah Wills met Charles Coburn when he was playing Orlando to her Rosalind in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

''. They married in 1906, in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

. She died in 1937, at Lenox Hill Hospital, from "intestinal influenza". Among the honorary pallbearers at her funeral were

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

, Theodore E. Steinway,

Walter Hampden Walter Hampden Dougherty (June 30, 1879 in Brooklyn – June 11, 1955 in Los Angeles), known professionally as Walter Hampden, was an American actor and theatre manager. He was a major stage star on Broadway in New York who also made numerous ...

Dixon Ryan Fox Dixon Ryan Fox (December 7, 1887 – January 30, 1945) was an American educator, researcher, and president of Union College, New York from 1934 until his death in 1945. Fox graduated from Columbia College in 1911. He took his Ph.D in histor ...

Augustin Duncan Augustin Duncan (April 17, 1873, San Francisco – 1954, New York City) was an American actor and director active in New York and London during the first half of the 20th century. Biography The eldest boy of four children of Joseph Charles Duncan ...

, and Edgar Lee Masters. After her death, Charles Coburn left the stage and found success in films, winning the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...

in 1944 for '' The More the Merrier''."Actor Charles Coburn, 84, Dies After Minor Surgery"
''Janesville Daily Gazette'' (August 31, 1961): 24. via Newspapers.com

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coburn, Ivah Wills 1878 births 1937 deaths People from Appleton City, Missouri American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses People from White County, Indiana Actresses from Missouri Actresses from Indiana American theatre managers and producers Women theatre managers and producers