Irene Hayes (1896 – September 16, 1975) was a

Ziegfeld girl The term "Ziegfeld Girl" (or "Ziegfeld Follies Girl") is used broadly to describe the "singers, showgirls, comediennes, nddancers" who appeared in Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.'s theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' ...

and businesswoman who owned Irene Hayes Wadley & Smythe, a leading

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 ...

florist, and Gallagher's Steak House after the death of her husband, Jack Solomon. She bought the florist Wadley & Smythe on

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

, adding her name, as no new businesses were allowed on Park Avenue at that time. "The right flowers do a lot of good and the wrong ones work mischief," she would often say. "I honestly believe that flowers, or rather the lack of them, have the power to change the map of the world. Do you think

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

would have burned

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

if he had been surrounded with the peace and gentleness of

mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 600 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. Species are native to the Americas, from North Dakota to northern Argentina, and to eastern Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, and ...

lilies ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

and

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

? I could mention any number of tyrants whose lives would have been less violent if only they had loved flowers." An active participant in the Manhattan social scene, she was a good friend of the Nordstrom Sisters. Until her death in the 1970s she always had a table at the Ziegfeld Ball and made her home in Manhattan at her apartment on Sutton Place. She died of an apparent heart ailment at St. Vincent's Hospital in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, New York City, aged 79 and was cremated at Ferncliff.

References

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

obituary,
Irene Hayes, 79, Florist Here, Dies
, September 17, 1975.

External links

Gallagher's Steak HouseIrene Hayes Wadley Smythe Florists
1896 births 1975 deaths Actresses from Manhattan American women restaurateurs American restaurateurs Ziegfeld girls American socialites American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen {{US-business-bio-1890s-stub