musical Courted Into Court.]] In addition to her performing and singing, Irwin also wrote the lyrics to several songs, including "Hot Tamale Alley", with music written by George M. Cohan. In 1907 she married her manager, Kurt Eisfeldt, and began making records for Berliner/Victor. Several of these recordings survive and give a notion of the actress's appeal. Irwin's buxom figure was much in vogue at the time and, combined with her charming personality, made her one of America's most beloved performers for more than thirty years. In 1914, she made her second silent film appearance, this time in the feature-length adaptation of George V. Hobart's play, Mrs. Black is Back, produced by Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company and filmed for the most part at her own sprawling home in New York. Still pictures showing May survive from this movie. A highly paid performer, Irwin was a shrewd investor and became a very wealthy woman. She spent a great deal of time at a summer home on secluded Club Island, a small island off of Grindstone Island of the Thousand Islands, and at her winter home on Merritt Island, Florida, before retiring to a farm near Clayton, New York, where a street would eventually be named in her honor. Irwin retired in 1925. Personal life May Irwin was married twice. Her first marriage was to Frederick W. Keller, of St. Louis, from 1878 until his death in 1886. From 1907 to the end of her life, she was married to Kurt Eisfeldt. The couple lived at West 44th Street, New York. Irwin had two sons by her first marriage, Walter Keller (born ca. 1879 - when she was 17) and Harry Keller (b. 1882 - when she was 20). Death May Irwin died in New York City on October 22, 1938, aged 76. She is interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, NY. FilmographyThe KissMrs. Black Is Back'' References Works cited Further reading External links May Irwin and Flo Irwin at Whitby Public Library and Archives Digital Collection May Irwin photo gallery at NYP Library May Irwin Collected Works of May Irwin recordings Canadian women singers Canadian silent film actresses Canadian stage actresses Musicians from Ontario People from Brevard County, Florida Actresses from New York City People from Jefferson County, New York People from Whitby, Ontario Vaudeville performers 1862 births 1938 deaths Burials at Kensico Cemetery Canadian emigrants to the United