Irene Dailey (September 12, 1920 – September 24, 2008) was an American stage, film, and television actress.

Early years

Dailey was born on September 12, 1920, in New York City, the daughter of Helen Theresa (née Ryan) and Daniel James Dailey. For 17 of her first 23 years as an actress she worked as a waitress to support herself. During another five-year span she opened a shop on New York's East Side, making and selling lampshades. She also had psychoanalysis to help her deal with her problems.

Dailey received the 1966 Drama Desk Award for her work in Rooms, and played Nettie Cleary in the original Broadway production of the Tony Award-winning drama, The Subject Was Roses (1964).

Filmography

Film

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

|1968

|Daring Game

|Mrs. Carlyle

|

|-

|1968

|No Way to Treat a Lady

|Mrs. Fitts

|

|-

|1970

|Five Easy Pieces

|Samia Glavia

|

|-

|1971

|'

|Gladys 'Ma' Grissom

|

|-

|1979

|'

|Aunt Helena

|

|}

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

|1958

|Decoy

|Millie Baker

|"Blind Date"

|-

|1959

|Naked City

|Amy Gary

|"Four Sweet Corners"

|-

|1962

|Naked City

|Auntie Maud

|"Goodbye Mama, Hello Auntie Maud"

|-

|1962

|'

|Mrs. Prinzler

|"The Avenger"

|-

|1962

|Sam Benedict

|Amelia Carter

|"Everybody's Playing Polo"

|-

|1963

|'

|Miss Frank

|"Mute"

|-

|1963

|Dr. Kildare

|Sara Anderson

|"A Trip to Niagara"

|-

|1963

|'

|Agatha Miller

|"The Bride Wore Pink"

|-

|1964

|Ben Casey

|Caroline Bullard

|"Heap Logs and Let the Blaze Laugh Out"

|-

|1964

|Brenner

|Mrs. Friedman

|"The Vigilantes"

|-

|1965

|'

|Annie Cloyne

|"Threshold"

|-

|1966

|Hawk

|Hallie Simmons

|"How Close Can You Get?"

|-

|1968

|NET Playhouse

|Ruth

|"Home"

|-

|1969–1970

|'

|Pamela Stewart

|TV series

|-

|1972

|Jigsaw

|Mrs. Cummings

|TV film

|-

|1974–1986

|Another World

|Liz Matthews

|Contract role

|-

|1987

|American Playhouse

|Mrs. McGuire

|"Stacking"

|-

|1987–1994

|Another World

|Liz Matthews

|Recurring role<br />(final appearance)

|}

Selected discography

  • 1965: Of Poetry and Power: Poems Occasioned by the Presidency and by the Death of John F. Kennedy (Folkways Records)
  • 1967: The Wick and the Tallow By Henry Gilfond (Folkways Records)

Further reading

References

  • Dailey Discography at Smithsonian Folkways