Edna Hibbard ~ The Comedy Star

 

Edna Hibbard was a Broadway actress known for playing comedic roles

She was born Edna Louise Hibbard on May 12, 1894 in Ft. Wayne, Michigan. At the age of thirteen she made her stage debut in a Wisconsin production of The Kreutzer Sonata. Then she toured the country with a stock company and performed in vaudeville. In 1914 she married Philip Dunner, a stage manager. The following year she appeared in the films The Fight and The Apaches Of Paris. Edna landed a starring role in the 1918 Broadway show Rock-A-Bye Baby. It was a hit and her performance got rave reviews. After divorcing her husband she married actor Stuart Sage in 1920. Their marriage lasted less than two years. She starred in numerous Broadway shows including Ladies Of The Evening, Tenth Avenue, and The Crooked Square. Edna became known for her sharp tongue and for playing comedic roles. On November 19, 1922 she married John C. Seager, a wealthy steamship agent.

She had a supporting role in the 1922 Vitagraph film Island Wives. Producer Carl Laemlle cast her in Polish Blood but she was replaced before filming began. Edna originated the role of Dorothy Shaw in the hit show Gentleman Prefer Blondes. She divorced John and married Lester Bryant, a theater owner, in 1926. Unfortunately the couple had financial problems and in 1929 they filed for bankruptcy. In 1932 she returned to Broadway to star in Anybody's Game. It would be her last major role. Edna spent the next few years performing in vaudeville. Her husband Lester became her manager. By 1942 her show business career was over and she was working in a dress shop in New York City. Tragically she accidentally fell down a flight of stairs and died on December 25, 1942. She was only forty-eight years old. Edna was buried at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.