Allys Dwyer (August 10, 1903 – October 15, 1998)[1] was an American actress who became a college educator.
Early years
Dwyer was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Augustin Dwyer of New York. Her father was vice-president of the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. She graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree from the College of New Rochelle.[2] She also acted in a student production while she was there.[3]
Career
Acting
Dwyer debuted as a professional actress in the play The Fool, performing with a touring company, after which she joined the Henry Jewett Players in Boston.[2] In 1925, she performed with the Dowling and Anhalt troupe.[4] In 1926, she acted with the Fulton Players in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.[5] In August 1929, she became the leading actress with the Bainbridge Players[6] at the Shubert Theater in Minneapolis.[7] Her work there included portraying Nina in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude.[8] Her tenure with the Bainbridge Players ended in December 1929,[9] when she left to work in motion pictures under a contract with Fox Film Corporation.[6]
On Broadway, Dwyer appeared in The Five O'Clock Girl (1927), A Regular Guy (1931), and Hot Money (1931).[10]
Academics
By 1936, Dwyer (going by her married name, Allys Dwyer Vergara) had become a lecturer in speech at the College of New Rochelle.[11] By 1939, she had become an associate professor of speech.[12] She also continued her own education at Columbia Teachers College, where in 1946 she wrote the dissertation A Critical Study of a Group of College Women's Responses to Poetry.[13]
Personal life
Dwyer was married to George Vergara, a former professional football player who later owned an insurance agency in New Rochelle, New York, and was mayor there from 1956 to 1960.[14]
Recognition
The College of New Rochelle established the Allys Dwyer Vergara Award to recognize students for excellence in speech.[15]
References
^"United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VS6V-DPX : 7 January 2021), Allys Vergara, 15 Oct 1998; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
