Esther Muir

Esther Muir (March 11, 1903 – August 1, 1995) was an American actress who worked in both Broadway theater and Hollywood film. Born in Andes, New York, she grew up in a large family that included six sisters and three brothers. While still a high school student, Muir began modeling in New York City and simultaneously launched a stage career, joining the Greenwich Village Follies in 1922 as a showgirl. She also appeared in the International Review at the Majestic Theatre and in The Earl Carroll Vanities.

Her verified Broadway credits span 1929 to 1930 and include the play My Girl Friday, the revue The International, and the musical Lady Fingers. The decision to return to work during her first marriage, specifically to take a role in a My Girl Friday revival, was a factor she identified as contributing to her subsequent divorce.

In Hollywood, Muir is perhaps best remembered for her appearance alongside the Marx Brothers in A Day at the Races (1937). Prior to filming, she toured with the company in a stage version during which material for the picture was developed and refined. She described the brothers as dedicated comic performers who could spend days or weeks perfecting a single scene, and she characterized the overall experience as both unforgettable and lucrative. Her additional film credits include I'll Take Romance (1937), City Girl (1938), and The Girl and the Gambler (1939). A role she did not obtain was that of Belle Watling in Gone With the Wind; producer David Selznick sent her the script and expressed admiration for her work, but told her that a quality of sweetness came through even when she played tough characters, and the part went to another actress.

Muir's personal life included four marriages. In November 1929, columnist Walter Winchell introduced her to Hollywood director and choreographer Busby Berkeley, whom she married in Baltimore, Maryland. The marriage ended in divorce in 1931. On January 3, 1932, Muir and actor Rex Lease announced an engagement, though no wedding date was set and both parties were awaiting final divorce decrees. She subsequently married composer and producer Sam Coslow in Mexicali, Mexico, on November 1, 1934; the couple repeated their vows the following year in Ventura, California, and divorced in 1948. Their daughter, Jacqueline Coslow, became an actress and married actor Ted Sorel. Muir was also married to Richard Brown, president of General Time Corporation.

During the 1950s, Muir shifted her focus to real estate development in southern California, supervising projects that included four hundred tract homes. She contracted polio but recovered fully within two years. Muir died on August 1, 1995, at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, New York, at the age of 92, having resided in Somers, New York.