Vernon and Irene Castle
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Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers of the early 20th century. Vernon Castle (May 2, 1887 - February 15, 1918) was born William Vernon Blyth in Norwich, England. Irene Castle (April 17, 1893 - January 25, 1969) was born Irene Foote in New Rochelle, New York.
Starting in 1914, the couple operated several dance clubs in the New York City area, and toured with their dance routines. They made one silent film together, The Whirl of Life (1915), but Vernon served as a pilot during World War I, and died in an airplane crash near Fort Worth, Texas in 1918.
Irene went on to star in about a dozen silent films, retiring from show business in the 1920s. She married three more times, to Robert Tremain, Frederic McLaughlin and George Enzinger. She saw her stories about her life with Vernon made into a movie, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, in 1939. She served as a technical advisor on the film. Irene was also an active animal-rights activist and founded the dog shelter "Orphans of the Storm," which is still active.