- Once wired vaudeville producer E. F. Albee: 'Beginning next week my salary must be $10,000 per week". He wired back: "Your salary will remain $1,000 per week". At her next performance she sang eight bars of the opening song, stopped and said: "That's $1000 worth of my act" and walked off.
- She introduced George M. Cohan's song, "Over There."
- With husband Jack Norworth, starred in stage shows and co-wrote songs. Most famous composition is "Shine On, Harvest Moon".
- Married 5th husband, Benjamin L Friedland, onboard the steamship Leviathan.
- Was told by George M. Cohan that the name Dora Goldberg may be a hindrance to success on Broadway. Dora was then changed to Nora and Bayes was derived from the Hebrew letter beis.
- Was one of just a handful of actresses to have a Broadway theater named after her.
- Musical comedy star popular on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Had adopted three children, all were under the age of 10 at the time of her death.
- When annoyed with coughing coming from the audience, she would sometimes feign a coughing fit and then sarcastically say: "Please excuse my very rude behavior".
- Was known for her charity work, her last public performances were at two charitable events just a couple of days before her abdominal operation.
- In July of 1914 her doctor erroneously told her she had six months to live.
- In 1925 four men surrounded her car, shot her chauffeur and stole the jewelry she was wearing. The thieves later learned that it was costume jewelry.
- In 1929 the proceeds from her estate auction amounted to less than $1000.
- Father: Elias Goldberg; Mother: Rachel Miller.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content