Carrie Moore

The beautiful yet rebellious Carrie Moore was one of Australia's most successful Edwardian actresses. She was born in Geelong Victoria in 1882.

Carrie started as a child star with J C Williamson, she was 13 years old and had a role in a pantomime. She was a leading lady at age 16 and for her 21st birthday, she received a contract with George Edwardes in London.


Above is a picture of Carrie in costume for an Australian production.

So at the age of 21 Carrie went to London to work for George Edwardes, the most famous theatrical manager in England.

She performed in the Cingalee for Edwardes and reportedly argued with him about wearing white make up . "Have you ever seen a white Cingalee?" She asked Below is Carrie in the Cingalee.

Her most famous role in London was as a Sandow Girl in the original London production of the Dairymaids. She gave a very scandalous interview speaking against corsets. As a Sandow girl she wore little more than drapery as you can see below.

She returned to Australia in 1908 and was Australia's first Merry Widow.( picture below.)

She then eloped with an bigamous Englishman, whilst being engaged to another one who was conveniently in England.

Carrie was bold and adventurous and was one of the few stars who performed in legitimate theatre, vaudeville, TV, radio and movies. She had a lovely soprano voice, but it was her charismatic presence that made her a star.

I've long been fascinated by Carrie and wrote a small book about her.

She died in Sydney in 1956 after living an incredible life.

Maud Jeffries

Many English Edwardian actresses married into the aristocracy, but it was unusual for an international actress to marry into an Australian squatter family. Maud Jeffries, an American actress, did so in the early 1900s.

Maud was born in the Southern United States in 1869. She was spotted by the famous actor Wilson Barrett and taken to England to perform in his company.

Here she is with Wilson

In 1897-1898 she came to Australia in a company headed by Barrett. They returned to England and every few years Maud would cross the Atlantic with her brother Norman to visit her family.

In 1904 Maud returned to Australia with a company headed by Julius Knight.

During that tour she met a young man called James Osborne who was the son of a wealthy squatter family. He was smitten with her and somehow joined the company. They acted together, and in 1905 he asked her to marry him. She agreed, finished the tour in 1906 and then retired from the stage.

Above you can see Maud acting as a very domestic Edwardian lady. Although many of the aristocratic marriages in England caused scandal, this marriage in the colonies, wasn't really frowned upon. In fact one of the papers said that James was a very lucky man.

Maud had a son, and lived out her life in the country with James. She made one appearance on stage before her death, a benefit with Julius Knight in 1910. She died in 1946 outliving her husband.

The London Gaiety Burlesque Company

The London Gaiety Burlesque Company toured Australia in 1892-1893. They were performers from the famous Gaiety theatre in London and included E J Lonnen, Marion Hood and Robert Courtneidge. Courtneidge later became a very famous producer/manager in his own right.

They performed two burlesques of opera on the tour, Faust up to date and Carmen up to data. These were,of course, parodies of the originals.

A tour by the Gaiety company was a huge event because they represented the very best in English entertainment, so everything about the production was of high quality, including the souvenirs.

One example was a lovely, "Souvenir of the Gaiety Theatre, George Edwardes" Which included a set of eight sketches by Percy Anderson.

Above is a soldier


This is Carmen and below is Frasquita.

These are beautiful examples of the time and effort that was taken to make visiting the theatre such a special experience in the late 19th Century.

More information about the tour is here

Harry Rickards and the Tivoli Theatre

Harry Rickards was an English music hall performer who became one of Australia's most successful theatre entrepreneurs. Although Rickards isn't very well known, his theatre chain, The Tivoli, is a magic word in Australian Theatre History.

Below is a letter dated 1893 on Harry Rickards' stationery. I'm not sure if it's signed by Rickards or by his brother Jack Leete. The Tivoli circuit was a family affair and Jack managed a lot of the business side.

This is a picture of Harry Rickards from an early 20th Century magazine. It outlines all the theatres he operated in Australia. These included the Tivoli in Sydney, The Opera House in Melbourne, and theatres in Adelaide and Brisbane. As you can see, Rickards had no problem with self promotion.

Finally, below is a 19th Century postcard of the New Opera House in Melbourne. It was later called the Tivoli and was run by Rickards. A shopping mall now stands on the site.

Frank Van Straten's book on the Tivoli called Tivoli, covers everything you want to know about the history of this legendary theatre chain.

Pantomime.

Pantomime was one of the major forms of entertainment for the Australian people in the 19th Century and J C Williamson pantomimes were for decades the highlight of the year for families in the capital cities. Every Xmas, Williamson would produce a lavish show with opulent sets, huge casts, elaborate choruses and dance productions.


Xmas 1883 saw Aladdin come to Melbourne. It starred J C Williamson's wife, Maggie Moore as the principal boy.








Everything about the pantomime experience was special, including the programmes, which detailed the names of cast and crew, the libretto of the panto and beautiful colour prints of the scenes.




10 years later Sydney was treated to Cinderella. Once again a huge production which featured a transformation scene showing the "wealth produce and progress of Australia.' Here is a part of the programme.

The nationalistic theme echoed the concerns of the community of the time. 1895 was the time of Federation debates and a rise in Australian nationalism. The pantomimes reflected the cultural concerns of colonial society and in many ways contibuted towards shaping political and social opinion.



Unfortunately pantomime is a fading art form, particularly in Australia, but in the 19th century it was the epitome of style, class and Christmas cheer.

More information about Australian pantomime.

Jean Jarrott

Some years ago I was sent some information about a woman called Jean Jarrott. Jean was an Australian performer who featured in Queensland WEA productions such as And so to Bed and The Insect Play in the late 1930s.

Here she is in Judgement Day, 1938, as Madame Carelli.

During World War 2 she performed for the Red Cross and with the Brisbane Repertory Society, which was being run by Barbara Sisley, a famous name in amateur theatre. Below is a programme of one of her shows.

I particularly like the war bonds ad on the back.

It says for her future happiness, invest in War bonds

In the 1950s, Jean travelled the world and when she returned to Australia she continued to work for Brisbane repertory. Her career contined through to the 1970s when she appeared in Australian TV serials such as " Until Tomorrow."

Here is Jean performing in the 1950s.

Jean was a talented and generous actress and a fixture in social and theatrical circles in Brisbane. She passed away in 2002.

Sydney Harbour Bridge and other articles

I've just started writing articles for Suite101.com. My profile includes a picture of me and also a list of the articles I have written.

Of the three articles, I think the most interesting was about De Groot,the man who opened the Harbour Bridge, illegally.

I cant believe he was charged with damaging a ribbon worth 2 pounds. Apparently bits of the ribbon are in the bowels of Mitchell Library.

Here's a lovely photo of our wonderful bridge courtesy of Adrian Ng.



It's so beautiful no wonder De Groot was so eager to open it.

My grandfather used to tell stories about travelling by ferry from Manly and watching the bridge being built above him. It must have been an incredible sight. It still is . A true engineering marvel.

Winifred Atwell

Winifred Atwell was a hugely popular star in Australia in the 1950s, everybody knew her. She was also a very talented musician and performer. I was lucky to get these candid snaps of her, some of them are on my website, but these are not.

Winfred's father was a pharmacist and she was supposed to follow the family path, but she was lured by music and succumbed to its siren song.

She played in the US, studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and wowed them with her boogie tunes in the clubs there. She headlined the Palladium and the music charts, and finally came to Australia to stay.

Above is a signed copy of a programme from Chequers in Sydney. In the pages of the programme she is asked a series of questions one of them is,

"What do you hate?"

She answers

"Colour prejudice and new shoes."

Winifred Atwell died in 1983 in Sydney.

La Motogirl

This curious postcard is of 'la motogirl'

She was brought to Australia by Harry Rickards, of the Tivoli Circuit in 1906. Her Manager, Fred Melville, accompanied her.

La Motogirl was taken from her cabinet on stage and left there to dance, sing, play the violin and perform other comedic feats. It was said that she was run by electricity, and sparks flew from her limbs as she performed.

The audience were allowed to look at La Motogirl and encouraged to decide, 'Is she real?"

A young American lady named Doris Chertsey may have also been part of the act.

Maude Beatty

While looking through my trunk full of theatre programmes yesterday I found a letter signed by Maud Beatty.

Maud was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1878. Her parents ran the Theatre Royal in that city. She and her younger sister, May, were soon recruited by Pollards Lilliputians, a famous children's theatre troupe.

Maud was famous as a teenager for taking the male lead roles in productions such as Paul Jones. According to Peter Downes, who wrote the definitive book on the pollard company, The Pollards, Maud's physique and voice made her suitable for such roles.

Here is a picture of Maud in tights from an old cigarette card.

By 1904, when the letter below was written, Maud had been to London and was performing at the Theatre Royal, Brisbane doing a variety turn.

In the letter she thanks an admirer for sending her some flowers. So she was obviously a very polite, well brought up lady. Nobody seems to know when Maud died, but she was still performing in 1919 with JC Williamson. Her sister May, two years younger, died in 1945.

Our Glad-Gladys Moncrieff

Gladys Moncrieff was one of Australia's greatest performers.Gladys began her career with J C Williamson and one of her most famous roles was as Teresa in Maid of the Mountains.


She would spend most of her life playing Teresa. Above is the original song music from 1921, with a very young Gladys on the cover.

Another of her famous roles was the lead in the Street Singer.

Glad's marriages, her accidents and her every move were chronicled by the Australian Press and avidly followed by the public. She was, in every way, a superstar.

When Her Majesty's Theatre in Sydney closed in 1933, who better to farewell the old place than Glad? Maid of the Mountains was the last performance in that grand old hall. Below is the front page of the programme for the final night, if you look closely, or click to enlarge, you can see Glad's autograph in the top right hand corner.

Glad died in 1976, but she is remembered forever.

Larry and Viv

I have always been a big fan of Gone with the Wind and especially the leading lady, Vivien Leigh. Vivien was an amazing woman because she courageously battled a terrible disease, bi polar disorder, and yet she produced some of the most incredible acting performances ever seen. Of course when Vivien lived there was no drug treatment , so she had shock treatment. There are stories of how she would have shock treatment in the morning and then in the evening, covering the burns with makeup, she would go on stage and produce a perfect performance.

In 1948, Vivien and her more famous husband, Laurence Olivier toured Australia. Vivien was already showing signs of her disease and according to the authoritative book on the subject,( Darlings of the Gods by Garry O Connor), their marriage was floundering.

That didn't bother the audiences. Larry and Viv were treated like royalty, literally. They reviewed troops, they came to parliament and were adored by the Australian press and public.

Above is an autographed copy of one of their programmes. The tour was conducted in a most professional manner and the programmes were exquisite works of art as can be seen.

In Sydney, they performed at the Tivoli Theatre, which was located near Belmore Park at Central. This was the second Tivoli, the first was located at Castlereagh Street and was transformed into the Embassy Cinema before demolition.Some years ago when I was working at a shop in Sydney, a customer told me that he had met Larry and Vivien during their tour. They had stayed in the Mosman area and he was a child at the time. He said Vivien was wonderful, but Larry was awful, a horrible man.

That is the lasting impression of Vivien Leigh in Australia.

-Leann

Minstrels

Everything I know about minstrels in Australia, I learned from Richard Waterhouse's book, From Minstrel Show to Vaudeville. If you are interested in the history of minstrels, I recommend buying it, it's a great read.

Minstrel shows were very popular in Australia in the mid to late 19th century. The tradition of end man and bones was incorporated into variety halls in Australia, and for many years, the Tivoli theatre chain had a minstrel style first part in every programme.

Why I am talking about minstrels? Well, whilst looking in my files last night, I discovered two music sheets.


The first is from Christy's minstrels and is probably an English sheet.

The song is , Smile your sweetest smile again, sung by Ernest Bruce of the original Christy's Minstrels, St James's Hall.

The second appears to be from Australia.

This is The Cuckoos Notes, sung by Mr Rawlinson of the original Christy's Minstrels. It was printed in England but sold at Palings in Sydney, according to an embossed stamp on the left hand side. Of interest is the fact that it has a signature, J Rawlinson, on the bottom left hand side.

Now according to Professor Waterhouse, a Christy's minstrel troupe toured Australia in the late 1860s. I wonder if this music sheet dates from then?

One famous graduate from an American minstrel group which toured later than Christy's was Irving Sayles. An article about Irving is here

Minstrelsy is a fascinating area of Australian theatre history. If you have an interest in it, Professor Waterhouse's book is the best place to start.

-Leann

Tragic Comedians

I've spent today writing an article about Tivoli comedian Tom Dawson.

Tom was a cheerful man who thrilled Australian Tivoli audiences for over a decade. For some reason at age 41, he decided to go to war and died on the fields of France. Tragic.

This lead me to think of that other tragic comedian, George Lauri.

George was an English man who came from a theatrical family. He really had no choice but to become a stage performer.He came to Australia in 1891 and about 4 years later, replaced J C Williamson's star comic, William Elton, in the Royal Comic Opera Company. George worked for Wiliamson's for many many years, but he also met a tragic end.

Here is George in costume in a wonderful Talma photograph.

I like this photo because of the sly smile on George's face, and also for what it says about images of orientalism in the theatre in the 19th century. By my guess, this is a late 19th century photo.

Below is George's wife, Marietta Nash, who was also a performer. She wasn't as famous as George.

Poor George had a nervous breakdown in 1907 after working for Williamson for 16 years without a real holiday. He returned to the stage but was still suffering from exhaustion and depression

In January 1909, George, whilst on holiday with Marietta, sat on the balcony of their beach cottage. Marietta went inside for a moment and heard a cry. She ran out to find George bleeding profusely from a cut to his throat. He had sliced his jugular vein with a straight razor.

His last words were;

'I am tired of life.'

Poor George, and poor Marietta.

-Leann

Some Circus History

Australia has a long long circus history and the place to discover it is at Dr Mark St Leon's website . The website has an incredible variety of resources, including genealogical resources. It is an amazing history site.

I suppose Ashton is the most famous name in Australian circus history. However, another famous name is Wirth. The Wirths ran circuses around Australia for decades their most famous offspring, who wasnt really their offspring at all, was May.

May was an Australian born bareback rider who enthralled audiences with her astounding acrobatic tricks on horseback.She was applauded and idolised in America and worked as a starring act for Barnum and Bailey, but she was never really appreciated in Australia. More on May here

The Wirth family ran a circus until the 1960s and one day I accidentally discovered and subsequently purchased the following items.

Firstly, a Xmas card from Wirths dated 1953-1954

There is a lovely picture of an acrobatic rider in the top left hand corner.



With the card were these photographs, which give some indication of how a circus travelled in the 1960s.









I'm not sure a circus would be allowed to have so many elephants today.



Circus is a long held Australian tradition. Circus folk were often derided in the past, but hopefully we've outgrown that sort of prejudice . What is incredible is the sheer skill of circus performers. Some evidence of this is in this youtube video of Australian acrobats,The St Leons in the United States in 1959, posted by Mark St Leon.



-Leann

Stage Hands Union 1890

I mentioned earlier, that last year I was able to purchase some memorabilia from descendants of Jack Ricketts. Jack was a scenic artist who eventually became the manager of Wonderland City for William Anderson. Jack was also a union man.


Life in the 1890s was unkind to workers. There was a depression and a consequent increase in worker organisation. The result was the formation of many different unions. One such union was the Stage Hands Protective and benefit union.

It was formed at a meeting held in Trades Hall ( in Melbourne I think) in September 1890, and Jack was there and elected secretary. Below are some of the notes he took from that meeting.


The first resolution passed was the proposition to form a stage hands union. The aims of it were First to maintain a fair rate of wages in theatres Secondly to obtain a finality of hours of labour in theatres. Thirdly to protect the employees of theatres against the introduction of cheap unskilled labour.

Of course every union must have funds and the stage hand union was no exception. They met the first Sunday of each month at the Trades Hall in Carlton and charged an entrance fee of two shillings 6 pence or 6 pence weekly. Of course nobody was allowed entry unless they had a union card like this.


Jack must have been either particularly rich in April 1891 or a long way behind in his dues because that month he contributed 14 shillings to the cause




Im not sure how long the Stage Hands Union lasted, but by the 1920s scenic designers had their own associaton, the Society of Scenic Artists of Australia .

Sydney Theatres past and present

I was born and bred in Sydney and sometimes I'll even admit it. One of the side effects of this affliction is, that to me, a real city is a city that is constantly destroying and rebuilding its streets. In my opinion, if a city is not a building site, it is not a real city.

Today I took some photos of the sites of two of Sydney's most famous theatres, Her Majestys and The Criterion.

Her Majestys Theatre was built in 1887 on the eastern side of Pitt Street on the corner of Market Street. This was Her Majesty's in the early years.

And this is the building site it is today.

Her Majesty's closed in 1933 with a performance of Maid in the Mountains, starring Gladys Moncrieff. A Woolworths store opened on the site, but it is probably best known as the former site of Centrepoint.

More on Her Majestys is here

The next demolished theatre I looked at was the Criterion. The Criterion was built in 1886 and lived on the corner of Pitt and Park Streets Sydney.

Below is the Criterion Theatre at the height of its glory.

The Criterion was demolished in 1935 so that Park Street could be widened. Basically they demolished the theatre and kept the pub! Here is the pub as it appeared today.





You can read more about the 'Cri' here

There's a nice document from 1993 which has a list of Sydney's old theatres and their locations. It was done by the Masonic Historical Society of NSW and a copy is held at the Royal Australian Historical Society in Sydney.

By the way, why was Queen Victoria wearing such colourful clothes today? I think the council workers were trying to undress her. Scandal!




-Leann