Cleo Mayfield (born Cleo Empey; August 6, 1898 – November 8, 1954) was an American actress and singer.

Biography

Mayfield was born Cleo Empey, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence B. Empey in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

. As a child, she attended the North Side school in Hutchinson, before moving with her family to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

at the age of twelve. Mayfield first met Cecil Lean in Chicago in 1912, during the production of ''

The Military Girl ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' at the Ziegfeld Theatre. By 1913, she had assumed the stage name Cleo Mayfield. For the remainder of Lean's career, the two would frequently appear together in theatrical productions. In February 1914, Mayfield married Cecil Lean in a

civil ceremony A civil, or registrar, ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the United Kingdom, this person is typically called a registrar. In the United States, civil ceremonies may be performe ...

in Chicago. Prior to their marriage, Mayfield and Lean had been in a

romantic relationship Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions. The ''Wiley Blackwell En ...

for over two years that only a few of their closest friends knew about. In July 1935, in the presence of Mayfield, Lean collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Over the course of her career, Mayfield made numerous appearances on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

stages and toured widely—as far afield as London—in a variety of musicals. Her Broadway appearances include productions of: '' The Man with Three Wives'', ''

The Blue Paradise ''The Blue Paradise'' is a musical in a prologue and two acts, with music by Edmund Eysler, Sigmund Romberg and Leo Edwards, lyrics primarily by Herbert Reynolds, and a book by Edgar Smith, based on the operetta ''Ein Tag im Paradies'' (''A D ...

'', ''

Miss 1917 ''Miss 1917'' is a musical revue with a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, music by Jerome Kern, Victor Herbert and others, and lyrics by Harry B. Smith, Otto Harbach, Henry Blossom and others. Made up of a string of vignette (literature), v ...

'', ''

Look Who's Here To look is to Visual perception, use sight to perceive an object. Look or The Look may refer to: Businesses and products * Look (modeling agency), an Israeli modeling agency * Look (American magazine), ''Look'' (American magazine), a defunct ...

'', '' The Blushing Bride'', and '' Innocent Eyes''. Her notable theatrical appearances away from Broadway include the touring production of

No, No, Nanette ''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical with a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''; lyrics by Irving Caesar and Harbach; and music by Vincent Youmans. The farcical story centers on three coup ...

that debuted in Detroit in January 1925. Mayfield made her final Broadway appearance in 1944, in a

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

play called '' Right Next to Broadway''. After a lengthy struggle with cancer, Mayfield died on November 8, 1954, at her residence in New York City at the

Ansonia Hotel The Ansonia (formerly the Ansonia Hotel) is a condominium building at 2109 Broadway, between 73rd and 74th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 17-story structure was designed by French architect Paul Emile Duboy ...

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayfield, Cleo 1898 births 1954 deaths American vaudeville performers Actresses from Kansas City, Kansas Singers from Kansas People from Hutchinson, Kansas American stage actresses American musical theatre actresses 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers Musicians from Kansas City, Kansas Burials at Kensico Cemetery Deaths from cancer in New York (state)