George S. Irving

George S. Irving
Irving as Dario the conductor in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Me and Juliet in 1953
Born	Irving Shelasky (1922-11-01)November 1, 1922 Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	December 26, 2016(2016-12-26) (aged 94) Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart failure
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1943–2016
Spouse(s)	Maria Karnilova (1948-2001; her death; 2 children)

George S. Irving (born Irving Shelasky; November 1, 1922 – December 26, 2016) was an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway.

He was born Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts to Rebecca (née Sack) and Abraham Shelasky, Russian Jewish immigrants.

When Irving was 13 or 14, he sang in synagogues and churches as a boy soprano. By his final high school year in 1940, he heard about a dramatic school in Boston for those who were not quite draft age and who were tall and had deep voices, so he immediately received a scholarship. In 1942, he worked in the chorus of the St. Louis Muny Opera.

Irving made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in the United States Army in World War II. He received this role when one of the original actors lost his voice and Irving went on as his replacement. He explains the following: "I wrote to The Theatre Guild when they were casting Oklahoma! and asked them to remind Oscar Hammerstein that he knew me a little, and I got an audition and was cast in the chorus". Irving is best known to Broadway audiences for his role as opposite Debbie Reynolds and Jane Powell (successively) in Irene (1974), and his Tony nominated performance as Sir John in Me and My Girl (1987).

In 2008, Irving recreated the three roles he originally played in the ill-fated 1976 Joseph Stein musical So Long, 174th Street, now reworked, revised, and with its original title Enter Laughing at Off-Broadway's York Theatre Company, and received rave reviews for his rendition of "The Butler's Song". Irving performed his one-man cabaret show to great acclaim at Feinstein's in New York City in November 2008. On December 8, 2008, aged 86, Irving received the 17th Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre.