Editing Irene Dailey (section)

== Career ==
By age 42, Dailey had been in "about a dozen Broadway plays", none of which were successful.<ref name="pp">{{cite news |last1=Royal |first1=Don |title=Dan's Busy Sister |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-irene-dailey/162837732/ |access-date=January 12, 2025 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=February 24, 1963 |page=128|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> For 17 of her first 23 years as an actress she worked as a waitress to support herself. During another five-year span she opened a shop on New York's East Side, making and selling lampshades. She also had psychoanalysis to help her deal with her problems.<ref name=pp/>

In 1965, Dailey taught at, and was director of, the School of the Actor's Company in New York.<ref name="s">{{cite news |last1=Aspbury |first1=Helen Anne |title=Irene Dailey: Actress And Teacher |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-irene-dailey/162832105/ |access-date=January 12, 2025 |work=The Sun |date=December 3, 1965 |location=Maryland, Baltimore |page=B 6|via = [[Newspapers.com]] }}</ref>

Dailey received the 1966 [[Drama Desk Award]] for her work in ''[[Rooms (play)|Rooms]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dramadesk.com/1965_1966dd.html |title=Drama Desk Awards (1965–1966) |publisher=DramaDesk.com |access-date=2008-10-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080704130402/http://www.dramadesk.com/1965_1966dd.html |archive-date=2008-07-04 }}</ref> and played Nettie Cleary in the original Broadway production of the [[Tony Award]]-winning drama, ''[[The Subject Was Roses]]'' (1964).<ref name="NYT"/> Other Broadway credits included ''[[Idiot's Delight (play)|Idiot's Delight]]'', ''[[The Good Person of Szechwan|The Good Woman of Szechwan]]'', and ''[[You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running]]''.<ref name="ibdb" />

In 1969, Dailey joined the cast of the long-running CBS serial ''[[The Edge of Night]]'' as Pamela Stewart,<ref name="NYT"/> the vindictive wife of Nicole Drake's ex-husband Duane who stabbed Stephanie Martin to death. In 1971 she won the [[Sarah Siddons Award]] for her work in Chicago theatre. Dailey later joined the cast of ''[[Another World (TV series)|Another World]]'' in 1974 as the fourth actress to play the role of family matriarch Liz Matthews. While other members of the Matthews family were written out in the early 1980s, she remained a major character on the show until the summer of 1986, returning in November 1987 on a non-contract basis, being prominently featured in the show's 25th and 30th anniversary shows, and making her last appearance in May 1994.<ref name="NYT"/>

Her work on ''Another World'' was recognized with a [[Daytime Emmy Award]] for [[Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series|Outstanding Actress]] in 1979;<ref name="NYT"/> two of her fellow nominees were her ''AW'' costars [[Victoria Wyndham]] and [[Beverlee McKinsey]].<ref name="TV Guide 2903"/> The meddling "Aunt Liz" was first a rival with Rachel for the love of Mac Cory, and later became his secretary. As Liz mellowed, Dailey was allowed to show her flair for comedy, but as the Matthews family dwindled onscreen, she became a sounding board for various friends and family and a well-meaning busy-body. After the death of Liz's great niece Sally, Dailey was written out, but the following year was brought back due to popular demand. The Matthews family had a brief resurgence, and Liz became a confidante for her great niece Olivia. After that storyline ended, Liz continued to appear at special events, most notably at Ada Hobson's memorial and at a Cory Publishing gathering which coincided with the show's 30th anniversary. After her final appearance in 1994, she appeared on Broadway in a revival of the Strindberg play ''[[The Father (Strindberg)|The Father]]'', receiving excellent notices for her performance as [[Frank Langella]]'s nurse who must manipulate him into a straitjacket after he goes insane. Her film credits include ''[[No Way to Treat a Lady (film)|No Way to Treat a Lady]]'' (1968), ''[[Five Easy Pieces]]'' (1970) and ''[[The Amityville Horror (1979 film)|The Amityville Horror]]'' (1979).<ref name="NYT"/>

According to Dailey, she was a self-described lifelong [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] and a practicing [[Catholic]].<ref>An Interview with Irene Dailey, Skip E. Lowe, 1994</ref> She never married nor had any children due to a lack of interest in either.<ref>An Interview with Irene Dailey, Skip E. Lowe, 1994</ref>