Lang, Eva

(1885-1933)

   Born Eva Clara Lang in Columbus, Ohio, she grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, studied acting with Georgia Brown, and further developed her talent in O. D. Woodward's stock company (playing a Kansas City, Omaha, Denver circuit), where she long remained a favorite of matinee girls, indeed a mainstay of the company from 1905 to 1913. As an ingénue, she toured the Midwest with particular success in Under Two Flags. Her more mature role as Mary Magdalen in The Holy City in 1907 made a powerful impression. Married to actor John Halliday from 1918 to 1928, she appeared with him in New York in Main Street (1921). After a period of retirement, she had a very emotional homecoming performance in Kansas City in 1930 and another, in 1932, as Stella Dallas.