23 Facts About Fay Templeton

Fay Templeton was an American actress, singer, songwriter, and comedian.

Fay Templeton was a favorite headliner and heroine of popular theater, appearing until 1934.

Fay Templeton was born on December 25,1865, in Little Rock, Arkansas, where her parents were starring with the Fay Templeton Opera Company.

Fay Templeton's father, John Templeton, was a well-known Southern theatre manager, comedian, and author.

At age three, Fay Templeton, dressed as Cupid, sang fairy tale songs between the acts of her father's plays.

On October 7,1885, Fay Templeton had her formal Broadway debut in a revival of Evangeline.

Fay Templeton starred in the London premiere of Monte Cristo Jr.

Fay Templeton won accolades singing "The Same Old Thing", but the show lasted only 16 performances.

In 1903, Fay Templeton introduced the whimsical "The Woodchuck Song" written by Robert Hobart Davis for her, as part of the musical The Runaways.

Fay Templeton introduced the hit songs "So Long Mary" and "Mary Is a Grand Old Name".

Fay Templeton continued in vaudeville with an act that included songs from previous shows.

Fay Templeton appeared in only one full-length motion picture, preferring to perform in the live theatre.

Fay Templeton appeared in at least three short films from 1904 to 1907.

When Fay Templeton's husband died suddenly in 1932, she returned to the stage to resume earning a living; her husband's estate was never settled, leaving her without independent means of support.

In May 1883, Templeton eloped with William H West, a blackface minstrel performer, marrying in Nashville, Tennessee.

Fay Templeton acknowledged this marriage on the marriage license for her 1906 wedding to William J Patterson, altering her "age at first marriage" to 15.

In 1887, Fay Templeton began a long term relationship with Howell Osborn, the son of a wealthy New York City broker.

At his death in May 1895, Osborn left Templeton $100,000; Templeton signed the probate record as "Fay Templeton-Osborn, formerly Fay Templeton", implying that the couple were wed.

Further, on her marriage license to her final husband, Templeton listed her name as "Fay T Osborn".

At age 71 and suffering from arthritis, Fay Templeton found herself unable to support herself.

Fay Templeton died on October 3,1939, at age 73, in San Francisco.

The recordings' vocals featured other artists, but no voice recordings of Fay Templeton, either speaking or singing, were part of the wreckage recovery.

Fay Templeton's recovered titles are "Ma Onliest One", recorded in New York on April 17,1896, with Len Spencer heard in the vocals, and "Rendez Vous Waltz", recorded on July 1,1897, with music performed by the Metropolitan Orchestra.