Today being St. Patrick’s Day, and Women’s History Month, it seemed a fitting time to do a profile on Elizabeth Murray (circa 1871-1946), whose date of birth is unknown. Murray performed Irish songs and stories, and is also described as having had ragtime and “coon songs” in her repertoire. She came out of vaudeville but had aspirations for straight parts, and went on to Broadway, where she was a sporadic presence between 1904 and 1938, peaking between 1911 and 1917. In addition to big time vaudeville on the Keith and Orpheum circuits, including the Palace, she could also be seen in shows like Watch Your Step (1914-1915) and The Cohan Revue of 1916.
To learn more about vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.
(Travalanche) 