Nancy McIntosh

Nancy McIntosh (1866 – February 20, 1954) was an American-born singer and actress who performed mostly on the London stage. Her father was a member of the notorious South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, which had been blamed in connection with the 1889 Johnstown Flood that resulted in the loss of over 2,200 lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

McIntosh is perhaps best known for creating the role of Princess Zara in Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia, Limited in 1893. She obtained this role after beginning a concert singing career in America in 1887, moving to London in 1890 and continuing her concert career in Britain. She became one of the last of W. S. Gilbert's actress proteges and continued her acting and singing career in Britain and America for several years. After McIntosh retired from the stage, she lived with Gilbert and his wife until Lady Gilbert's death in 1936 and eventually inherited Gilbert's estate, helping to preserve his legacy by selling his papers to the British Museum and leaving the remainder of the Gilbert estate to the Royal General Theatrical Fund.

Nancy McIntosh was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of William Ambrose McIntosh and his wife Minerva. William A. McIntosh was the president of a public utility, New York and Cleveland Gas Coal Company and a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. The club's activities were blamed (but the members were not held legally responsible) for the failure of the South Fork Dam, which caused the Johnstown Flood in 1889 that resulted in the loss of over 2,200 lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Nancy's brothers were John S. McIntosh (b. 1861), a businessman, and Burr McIntosh, a writer, publisher, photographer, war correspondent, radio personality, and stage and film actor. Nancy "was described as an expert horsewoman, had won prizes in sculling matches, could shoot and fence, played baseball and cricket and enjoyed swimming and diving."

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