Allys Dwyer

Allys Dwyer (August 10, 1903 – October 15, 1998) was an American actress and college educator whose career spanned professional stage work, Broadway, and academic life. Born in New York, she was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Augustin Dwyer; her father served as vice-president of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. Dwyer graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree from the College of New Rochelle, where she also participated in student theatrical productions.

Her professional acting career began with a touring company production of The Fool, after which she joined the Henry Jewett Players in Boston. In 1925 she performed with the Dowling and Anhalt troupe, and in 1926 she worked with the Fulton Players in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Her regional stage work continued when, in August 1929, she took on the role of leading actress with the Bainbridge Players at the Shubert Theater in Minneapolis. Among her performances there was the role of Nina in Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude. Her time with the Bainbridge Players concluded in December 1929, when she departed to work in motion pictures under a contract with Fox Film Corporation.

On Broadway, Dwyer appeared in three productions between 1927 and 1931. Her Broadway credits include the musical The Five O'Clock Girl in 1927, and the plays A Regular Guy and Hot Money, both in 1931.

Following her acting career, Dwyer pursued an academic path under her married name, Allys Dwyer Vergara. By 1936 she had joined the faculty of the College of New Rochelle as a lecturer in speech, and by 1939 she held the rank of associate professor of speech. She continued her own studies at Columbia Teachers College, where in 1946 she completed the dissertation A Critical Study of a Group of College Women's Responses to Poetry. The College of New Rochelle later established the Allys Dwyer Vergara Award to recognize students for excellence in speech.

Dwyer was married to George Vergara, a former professional football player who subsequently owned an insurance agency in New Rochelle, New York, and served as mayor of that city from 1956 to 1960.