Irene Castle

Birth Name:

Irene Foote

Birth Date:

04/17/1893

Birth Place:

New Rochelle, New York

Death Date:

01/25/1969

Place of Death:

Eureka Springs Municipal Hospital, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Age:

Cause of Death:

Heart failure

Cemetery Name:

Woodlawn Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Other Entertainers

Associates:

Vernon Castle

Irene Castle and her husband Vernon Castle were the best known ballroom dancers of the early 20th Century. Beginning about 1914 they operated several clubs and studios in the New York City area, toured the country dancing, and were able to charge as much as a thousand dollars an hour for lessons. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. The couple reached the peak of their popularity in Irving Berlin's first Broadway show, Watch Your Step (1914), in which they refined and popularized the Foxtrot. They also helped to promote ragtime, jazz rhythms and African-American music for dance. Irene became a fashion icon through her appearances on stage and in early movies, and both Castles were in demand as teachers and writers on dance.

Fun Fact

Irene and Vernon Castle were great animal lovers, and a number of their pets are buried around the Castle Monument, including their dog Zowie and her pet monkey, Rastus. After Vernon’s death, Irene became a staunch animal-rights activist, eventually founding the Illinois animal shelter, Orphans of the Storm. Their monument at Woodlawn Cemetery is named “At the End of Day.” Near the end of her life, Irene said in a magazine interview, “When I die, my gravestone is to say ‘humanitarian’ instead of ‘dancer.’ I put it in my will. Dancing was fun, and I needed the money, but Orphans of the Storm comes from the heart. It’s more important.”

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Woodlawn Cemetery

4199 Webster Avenue

Bronx, New York, 10470

USA

North America

Map:

Grave Location:

Parkview, Section 135

Grave Location Description

From the Jerome Avenue entrance, turn left on West Border Avenue and then right on Park View Avenue. Stay to the left and park at the Wedell monument on your left. Irene And Vernon Castle’s grave is about 75 feet northwest of the road across the lawn on your left directly behind the Wedell monument.