Irene Ware

Irene Ware (born Irene Catherine Ahlberg; November 6, 1910 – March 11, 1993) was an American actress. She was a beauty queen and showgirl before appearing in 29 films between 1932 and 1940, and is mostly remembered for her roles as Princess Nadji in Chandu the Magician (1932) with Edmund Lowe and Bela Lugosi, and as Boris Karloff's and Lugosi's leading lady in 1935's The Raven.

Irene Ware
Irene Ware in Chandu the Magician (1932)
Born(1910-11-06)November 6, 1910
Albany, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 11, 1993(1993-03-11) (aged 82)
Orange, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Years active1929–1993
Spouse(s)John Meehan Jr. (divorced)
Fred Campbell
Children2

Early years
Irene Ware and Bela Lugosi in Chandu the Magician (1932).
Irene Ware in The Raven (1935)

Irene Catherine Ahlberg was born November 6, 1910, in Albany, New York.[1] Her father, Ernest Ahlberg, born in Sweden, managed a saloon. Her mother, Anna Freya, born in New York of Austrian parents, was a real estate agent. She lived in New York and Los Angeles. Her sister, Anita, was an artist.[2]

Beauty queen

As an 18-year-old stenographer, (5`6"/1.68 cm tall), Ware was crowned Miss Greater New York, then Miss United States in 1929,[3] and the same year was first runner-up for the title of Miss Universe at a pageant held in Galveston, Texas. She also won $1,000. ("Miss United States" was an unofficial alternative to the Miss America Pageant, which was not held in 1929. The Miss Universe contest of the 1920s was not connected to the current Miss Universe system, which was launched in 1952.)

Acting

Ware debuted on stage in a revue at the Metropolitan Theatre Boston in July 1929,[2] She performed in Early Carroll's Sketch Book (1929) and in the 1930 and 1931 versions of Earl Carroll's Vanities on Broadway.[4] She was then contracted to Fox Studios and moved to Hollywood, changing her name to Irene Ware. Her first movie was Society Girl, in 1932 at Fox Film Corporation as uncredited together with names like James Dunn, Peggy Shannon and Spencer Tracy. The second film, which quickly made her a star, was Chandu the Magician, also released in 1932 and directed by Marcel Varnel.

Personal life
Irene Ware

Ware's first marriage was to American screenwriter John Meehan, Jr., who won three Oscars for his work. Her second marriage was to federal Judge Fred Campbell. She left the industry to become a mother to their two children, John and Deirdre Meehan.

Author Gregory William Mank wrote in 'Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff the Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration', (McFarland & Company), (2010), that Ware lived in Encinitas; had "Severe dementia"; and that she died in the evening, of "Pneumonia", in the Western Medical Centre, Santa Ana.

Filmography
False Pretenses (1935) Betty Compson, Sidney Blackmer, and Irene Ware

References
  1. "Favorite recipes of famous women". The Honolulu Advertiser. January 26, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved October 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Miss United States is visiting Boston". The Boston Globe. July 4, 1929. p. 12. Retrieved October 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "'Miss New York' National Winner". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 11, 1929. p. 7. ProQuest 104818664. Retrieved October 19, 2020 – via ProQuest.
  4. "Irene Ahlberg". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
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