Cleo Mayfield

Cleo Mayfield (born Cleo Empey; August 6, 1898 – November 8, 1954) was an American actress and singer.

Biography

Mayfield was born Cleo Empey, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence B. Empey in Hutchinson, Kansas. As a child, she attended the North Side school in Hutchinson, before moving with her family to Kansas City, Missouri at the age of twelve. By 1913, she had assumed the stage name Cleo Mayfield. For the remainder of Lean's career, the two would frequently appear together in theatrical productions. In February 1914, Mayfield married Cecil Lean in a civil ceremony in Chicago. Prior to their marriage, Mayfield and Lean had been in a romantic relationship for over two years that only a few of their closest friends knew about. or the Plymouth Theatre. Her Broadway appearances include productions of: The Man with Three Wives, The Blue Paradise, Miss 1917, Look Who's Here, The Blushing Bride, and Innocent Eyes. Her notable theatrical appearances away from Broadway include the touring production of No, No, Nanette that debuted in Detroit in January 1925.

Mayfield made her final Broadway appearance in 1944, in a comedy play called Right Next to Broadway. After a lengthy struggle with cancer, Mayfield died on November 8, 1954, at her residence in New York City at the Ansonia Hotel.