May Irwin

May Irwin
in the Broadway production of Mrs Black is Back (1904)
Born	Georgina May Campbell (1862-06-27)June 27, 1862 Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Died	October 22, 1938(1938-10-22) (aged 76) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1870s-1922
Spouse(s)	Frederick W. Keller (1879-1886 his death); 2 sons Kurt Eisenfeldt (1907-1938; her death)

May Irwin (June 27, 1862 – October 22, 1938) was a Canadian actress, singer and star of vaudeville.

Born at Whitby, Ontario in 1862 as Georgina May Campbell, her father, Robert E. Campbell, died when she was 13 years old; her stage-minded mother, Jane Draper, in need of money, encouraged May and her younger sister Flora to perform. They created a singing act, billed as the "Irwin Sisters," that debuted at the Adelphi Theatre in nearby Buffalo, New York in December 1874. By late 1877, their careers had progressed and they were booked to appear at New York's Metropolitan Theater, then at the Tony Pastor Theatre, a popular New York City music hall.

The sisters proved popular enough to earn regular spots for the ensuing six years, after which 21-year-old May set out on her own. She joined Augustin Daly's stock company from 1883 to 1887, where she made her first appearance on the theatrical stage. This comedian was known for her improvisation skills. An immediate success, she went on to make her London stage debut at Toole's Theatre in August 1884. By the age of 25, she was earning $2,500 a week. In 1886, her husband of eight years, Frederick W. Keller, died unexpectedly. Her sister Flora married New York State Senator Thomas F. Grady.

By the early 1890s, Irwin had married a second time and developed her career into that of a leading vaudeville performer with an act known at the time as "Coon Shouting", in which she performed African American-influenced songs. In the 1895 Broadway show The Widow Jones, she introduced "The Bully Song", which became her signature number. The performance also featured a lingering kiss, which was seen by Thomas Edison, who hired Irwin and her co-star John C. Rice to repeat the scene on film. In 1896, Edison's Kinetoscope production, The Kiss, became the first screen kiss in cinematic history.