Grace La Rue

The American stage actress and vocalist Grace La Rue was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1882. Although she began her theatrical career at the age of eleven, it was not until 1906 that she first made her mark. On 3 November that year, she appeared at the Casino, New York, as Evelyn Ormsby in the musical play The Blue Moon, a part originated in London by Billie Burke. Thereafter, she featured successfully in a number of similar New York productions, including The Follies of 1907 and 1908, The Troubadour (Lyric, 1910) and Betsy (Herald Square, 1911). In 1913 Grace La Rue made her first trip to London, where on 4 August 1913 at the Palace Theatre she made a sensation by singing You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It). Composed by James V. Monaco, with lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, it had been introduced by Al Jolson in the musical Honeymoon Express at the Winter Garden Theatre, New York, on 6 February 1913. Miss La Rue then appeared in another musical, The Girl Who Didn't at ... [Details Intro]