Eva Condon (1880–1956) was an actress of the

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 ...

stage and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

, from the early to mid 20th century.

Stage career

She resolved to pursue acting at the age of 16. Condon graduated from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

before becoming an

understudy In theatre, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

in the

John Drew Jr. John Drew Jr. (November 13, 1853 – July 9, 1927), commonly known as John Drew during his life, was an American stage actor noted for his roles in Shakespearean comedy, society drama, and light comedies. He was the eldest son of John Drew Sr., ...

company for several seasons. Her ambition was to excel in high comedy. Her first appearance was in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

in ''A Single Man''. She portrayed a villainess in a Thais Lawton role. Condon acted in ''Too Many Cooks'' at the 39th Street Theater in February 1914. This was her favorite theatrical production. Written by Frank Craven, the comedy featured its author in the part of the home builder. The following October she was in ''The Moneymakers'' at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the It ...

on Broadway. The play was written by Charles Klein who was once in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and helped protect

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. In 1930–31 Condon played the role of Mrs. Amos Evans in the touring production of ''

Strange Interlude ''Strange Interlude'' is an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. It won the 1928 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. ''Strange Interlude'' is one of the few modern plays to make extensive use of a soliloquy technique, in ...

'', a nine-act,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winning play by

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

. At the American Theater in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

Condon was with a

troupe Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...

that performed '' You Can't Take It with You'' in November 1938. She had the role of ''Penny'', the playwriting mother. Clarence Oliver headed a cast which was replete with some of Broadway's best actors. In 1947 she appeared as a nun in an orphanage opposite

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include '' One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darli ...

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Western (genre), Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven f ...

's Kiss of Death (1947). She appeared with

Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893 – June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by cri ...

and

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

in ''The Dark Is Light Enough'' in 1955. In vaudeville Condon paired with

Florence Nash Florence Nash (née Ryan) (October 2, 1888 — April 2, 1950) was an American actress and author. She was the sister of theater and movie actress, Mary Nash. Early life Florence was born to James H. and Ellen Frances (née McNamara) Ryan. She ...

. In motion pictures she performed with

Madge Kennedy Madge Kennedy (April 19, 1891 – June 9, 1987) was a stage, film and television actress whose career began as a stage actress in 1912 and flourished in motion pictures during the silent film era. In 1921, journalist Heywood Broun described her ...

Select theatre credits

* 1910: ''The Other Fellow'' * 1912: ''C.O.D.'' * 1922: ''Spite Corner'' * 1923: '' Icebound'' * 1924: ''The Best People'' * 1926: ''Move On'' * 1928: '' Gods of the Lightning'' * 1934: '' Small Miracle'' * 1935: ''The Hook-up'' * 1940: '' Higher and Higher'' * 1943: '' The World's Full of Girls'' * 1949: ''The Closing Door'' * 1955: ''

The Dark Is Light Enough ''The Dark Is Light Enough'' is a 1954 verse play by Christopher Fry, which he wrote for Dame Edith Evans and set during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. It is formally a comedy, but Fry subtitled the play 'A Winter Comedy' to signal its tragic ...

References

;Notes * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Condon, Eva American stage actresses American vaudeville performers American film actresses American silent film actresses Hunter College alumni 20th-century American actresses 1880 births 1956 deaths