Georgia O'Ramey (January 1, 1883 – April 2, 1928) was an American actress in comedies and musical theatre.

Early life

O'Ramey was born in

Fredericktown, Ohio Fredericktown is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Knox County, Ohio, Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,648 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. History Fredericktown was platted in 1807, and named after ...

to William B. O'Ramey and Emma Anquilla "Tude" Pearce. She attended

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

Career

O'Ramey played violin in revues as a young woman. She acted, sang and danced regularly in Broadway musicals and comedies through the 1910s, with roles in the shows ''

Lonesome Town "Lonesome Town" is a song written by Baker Knight. A version sung by Ricky Nelson became a hit single in the United States, reaching No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 15 on the R&B chart in 1958. The song was featured on his 1959 albu ...

'' (1906–1908), ''The Chaperon'' (1908–1909), ''Seven Days'' (1909–1910), ''The Point of View'' (1912), ''The Switchboard'' (1913), ''A Pair of White Gloves'' (1913), ''Dancing Around'' (1914–1915), ''Around the Map'' (1915–1916), ''Miss Springtime'' (1916–1917), ''

Leave It to Jane ''Leave It to Jane'' is a musical in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, based on the 1904 play '' The College Widow'', by George Ade. The story concerns the football rivalry between Atwater ...

'' (1917–1918), ''The Velvet Lady'' (1919), ''Daffy Dill'' (1922), ''Jack and Jill'' (1923), and ''

No, No, Nanette ''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical with a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''; lyrics by Irving Caesar and Harbach; and music by Vincent Youmans. The farcical story centers on three coup ...

'' (1925–1926). O'Ramey appeared in one silent film, ''The $5,000,000 Counterfeiting Plot'' (1914). She also had stints in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. "Every day I am adding to my vaudeville vocabulary," she confessed in 1920, "and when I go back to the legitimate I am afraid my friends who have never been in vaudeville will not understand me." During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she and her costar

Oscar Shaw Oscar Shaw (born Oscar Schwartz; October 11, 1887 – March 6, 1967) was an American stage and screen actor and singer, remembered primarily today for his role as Bob Adams in the first film starring the Marx Brothers, ''The Cocoanuts'' (1929 ...

posed for photos to promote Liberty Loans.

Personal life

O'Ramey married businessman Robert B. Griffin in 1912 in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

. They later divorced. After weeks of headaches, she died suddenly on April 2, 1928 at a hotel in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, just hours before the opening night of the show ''Nize Girl'', in which she was to star. She was survived by her parents, her only known immediate survivors. Her obituary in the ''New York Times'' noted that she was "Distinguished on the American stage for a dozen years as one of the few woman comedians who could successfully sustain a broad burlesque role." The ''Baltimore Sun'' recalled as "one of the best of our woman clowns. In a fuller sense than many of the others, she had the comedy spirit." She left her estate to her parents and to the

Actors Fund of America The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 17,000 people directly each year. Se ...

."Georgia O'Ramey Estate $11,995" ''New York Times'' (April 10, 1931): 27. ]

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:ORamey, Georgia 1883 births 1928 deaths American stage actresses Oberlin College alumni People from Fredericktown, Ohio American vaudeville performers American women in World War I American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses American women comedians Comedians from Ohio Actresses from Ohio 20th-century American comedians