Her parents were John J. Templeton and Alice Van Asse, both of whom were actors/vaudevillians; Fay followed in their footsteps, making her Broadway debut in 1900.

Her career longevity was attributable not only to her physical appearance, which was of the fashionable robust nature of her time, but her multitude of talents from singing to composing.

[2] At age three, Templeton, dressed as Cupid, sang fairy tale songs between the acts of her father's plays.

At age 8, she played Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, making her New York debut at Grand Opera House.

[3] At fifteen, Templeton joined a light opera company, playing in a juvenile version of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S.

[3] After several years on the road playing in various melodramas and musical farces, Templeton was given the title role in Hendrik Hudson, which opened at the 14th Street Theater on August 18, 1890.

Her appearance and weight well suited the burlesque stage rather than Gay Nineties; moreover, her comedic versatility, long dark hair, sultry smile, and throaty-voiced singing continued to win over audiences.

Following her August marriage to Pittsburgh industrialist William Patterson, Templeton announced her retirement from the stage yet reprised her role in Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway for its November re-opening.

[12][13] In 1911, Weber & Fields began planning their reunion with a Jubilee touring company featuring all the old Music Hall stars.

[citation needed] During her time with Weber & Fields, Templeton frequently appeared alongside Peter F. Dailey, a well known burlesque and vaudeville performer.

Her sole foray into full-length motion pictures was 1933’s Broadway to Hollywood (film), which featured many stars of the stage in numerous roles.

[citation needed] Her most significant stage appearance was in 1934’s production of "Roberta" by Jerome Kern in the role of Aunt Minnie, a dress shop owner in Paris.

Written for Templeton, the musical number "Yesterdays (1933 song) has also entered the American songbook as a jazz standard.

[citation needed] Bob Hope, in his American stage debut, provided comic relief for this show, which ran nine months.

[citation needed] In May 1883, Templeton eloped with William H. West ("Billy"), a blackface minstrel performer, marrying in Nashville, Tennessee.

[citation needed] In 1887, Templeton began a long term relationship with Howell Osborn, the son of a wealthy New York City broker.

No marriage license or records for Osborn and Templeton are noted to support assertions that the couple married in France.

[19][20][21] In the 1941 musical Babes on Broadway, Judy Garland performs an impression of Templeton singing "Mary's a Grand Old Name".