Dorothy Jardon

Dorothy Jardon, born Mary Jardon on June 1, 1883, in New York, was an American soprano and actress whose Broadway career spanned from 1903 to 1914. The daughter of Ignace Jardon, a French-born chef who emigrated to the United States in 1864, and Bridget Mary Jardon, née Kavanagh, who came from Ireland in 1884, she trained her voice under William S. Brady before establishing herself as a prominent figure on the American musical stage.

Jardon's Broadway appearances began with The Fisher Maiden in 1903 and encompassed a wide range of productions over the following decade. She starred in The Merry-Go-Round in 1908 and went on to appear in The Yankee Girl and Madame Sherry, the latter running from 1910 into 1911. Her subsequent credits included La Belle Paree, Bow-Sing, The Revue of Revues, and The Wedding Trip, all in 1911, with the last extending into 1912. She appeared in The Pleasure Seekers from 1913 to 1914, followed by The Dancing Duchess and Papa's Darling, which ran into 1915. Beyond Broadway, she played Bimoula in Oh! Oh! Delphine! at London's Shaftesbury Theatre in 1913.

Her operatic work brought additional distinction to her career. In 1919 she sang the title role of Fedora with the Chicago Opera, and in 1922 impresario Fortune Gallo cast her in the role of Carmen, after which she was regularly billed as "the American Carmen." That same year she was photographed alongside fellow singer Tamaki Miura. Jardon also made recordings for both the Victor and Brunswick labels, and composer Charles Wakefield Cadman wrote the song "Love Like the Dawn Came Stealing" specifically for her. She retired from the stage in 1927.

Jardon was married twice. Her first husband was songwriter Edward Michael Madden, and her second was Harry Edmond Oelrichs, whom she married in 1928. Her son Edward pursued a career as a singer before later becoming a brewery executive. Dorothy Jardon died in Los Angeles on September 30, 1966, at the age of 83.