Olive May

Olive May (November 17, 1871 – July 24, 1938) was an American stage actress whose Broadway career spanned more than three decades, from 1894 to 1928. Born in 1871, she built a reputation as a versatile performer across plays, musicals, and revues during a formative era of American theater.

May's stage work encompassed a wide range of productions. Early in her career she appeared in The Butterflies (1894), playing Suzanne Elise, and in The White Heather (1897) as Mollie Fanshawe. She performed in the popular play Arizona, taking on the role of Bonita for its Chicago debut in 1899, a part later assumed by Eleanor Robson by the time of the production's 1900 New York opening. That same year she appeared in Richard Carvel as Patty Swain. May also performed with Maude Adams's company and was associated with the well-regarded play Arizona during its regional run. Her later Broadway credits included the musical Ginger, the revue Parisiana, and the plays The Triumphant Bachelor, The Enemy, and Hell's Bells.

In her personal life, May was married to playwright Henry Guy Carleton from 1894 to 1898. In 1907 she married actor and manager John W. Albaugh Jr., the son of John W. Albaugh; he died in 1910. May died on July 24, 1938, in Beverly Hills, California, at the age of 66.