Wikipedia

Felice Lascelles

Felice Lascelles (née Felicia Madge Lessels; 19 July 1904 – 29 April 1961) was a British musical comedy actress, singer and dancer who performed on stage from the early 1920s to 1940, under the managements of Charles Cochran, Jack Buchanan, Leslie Henson,[9] and Lee Ephraim.[10]

Felice Lascelles
Born
Felicia Madge Lessels

(1904-07-19)19 July 1904
Wallasey, Merseyside[i]
Died29 April 1961(1961-04-29) (aged 56)
London
OccupationMusical comedy actress
Years activeEarly 1920s–1940
Children2, incl. Andy Irvine

She is best known for her leading roles in the national tours of Kid Boots (1926), Sunny (1927–1930), Darling, I Love You (1931), Stand Up and Sing (1932), and Venus in Silk (1939), among other shows. She took the lead in the pantomime adaptations of Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1930), Goody Two-Shoes (1931), and Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1939–1940). She is the mother of stage actress Susan Neil and folk musician Andy Irvine.

Early life

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Lascelles was born Felicia Madge Lessels on 19 July 1904, in Wallasey, Merseyside.[2][3][i] Her father, William Lessels, was born in Leeds and her mother, Elizabeth Malvina Cunningham, in Salford. The couple settled in Merseyside, and Felicia was the fourth of their seven children, five of whom survived into adulthood.[2] The eldest child, Leonie Margaret Isabel Lessels (b. 13 May 1893),[2] who later adopted the stage name of Leonie Lascelles, became a pianist and singer, and left Wallasey to start her career in London.[3] One of Leonie's first advertised appearances was in June 1912, performing in a sextet called The Gollies.[11]

Felicia had performed at concerts from the age of five and, since she had always aspired to be an actress, also left Wallasey for London.[3] In the early 1920s, she decided to seek an engagement, even though she had no idea on how to obtain an audition. After simply turning up at the Winter Garden Theatre in London, she was offered a place in the chorus and gained experience in her chosen profession under the stage name of Felice Lascelles.[12]

Career

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1923–1926: Chorus girl and understudy

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Lascelles began her stage career touring in two plays by George Grossmith Jr. & J. A. E. Malone, first as a chorus girl in The Cabaret Girl (1923) at the Prince's Theatre, Bristol.[13] In the second, The Beauty Prize (1924), which opened at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, on 4 February and closed at the Prince's Theatre, Manchester, on 3 May, she played the small role of Shinny Fane, with The Stage praising her performance in two reviews,[14][15] and the Liverpool Evening Express describing her as "a young and promising Liverpool artiste."[16] She then toured with Jack Buchanan's company in both Toni (1924) and Boodle (1925), two shows which opened in Birmingham.[17] Toni had initially been performed during a trial week at the Theatre Royal, Hanley on 6 August 1923,[18][19] and then opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Birmingham on 5 May 1924,[20] ahead of its full run at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London, from 12 May to 13 December, totalling 248 performances.[21][22]

In 1925, Lascelles joined the cast of Charles B. Cochran's On With the Dance, which starred Alice Delysia and Leonid Massine, and included songs by Noël Coward. In addition to playing a small, uncredited comedy part,[ii] Lascelles understudied Hermione Baddeley for a year.[17] The show opened at the London Pavilion on 30 April and closed on 14 November, after 229 performances.[24] Five days after its run ended, a new edition of this show—minus the Coward material—called Still Dancing, opened at the same venue on 19 November, with the same cast, including Lascelles in several scenes. A preview, published in the Weekly Dispatch on 15 November, included her photo, captioned: "Felice Lascelles, to appear in Still Dancing, the new revue at the Pavilion."[25] The show closed on 27 February 1926, after 114 performances.[26][27]

1926–1932: Kid Boots, Sunny to Goody Two-Shoes

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She was part of the chorus in the 1926 run of Kid Boots at the Winter Garden, London,[28] when Leslie Henson saw her rehearsing as understudy to the leading lady and made her an offer of her first leading part as Polly[3][5] in that play's national tour,[12] which opened at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, on 30 August 1926,[29] and in which she sang "The Two Of Us" with Claude Bailey.[30] After the performances of Kid Boots at the Liverpool Empire Theatre, Lascelles changed roles again and switched to playing the part of Beth on 27 September for the rest of the tour,[31] which closed at the Empire Theatre, Newcastle, on 22 January 1927.[32]

Lascelles starred in the title role of Sunny Peters in the national tour of Sunny (1927–1930), presented by Jack Buchanan and Lee Ephraim,[33] in which she sang "Who?" and "The Wedding Knell".[34] After a dress rehearsal on Sunday night, 3 July 1927, personally conducted by Buchanan,[35] the tour opened at the Hippodrome Theatre in Margate on 4 July.[33] The cast included Max Kirby (in Buchanan's original role of Jim Demming[36]), Rex Rodgers, Naylor Grimson, George Neil, Ethel Stewart, Kathleen Burgess, and Iris White as principal dancer. The whole company was deemed about the strongest on the road, with over 70 people: performers, bandsmen, stage carpenters, baggage men, flymen, wardrobe women and dressmakers. Nineteen tons of scenery and electrical effects were carried in seven railway carriages, including one for the horse and the dogs.[37] This musical comedy was so popular that two separate companies of actors toured it simultaneously in the provinces and some London boroughs.[iii] Lascelles' company, directed by Lee Ephraim, did so for nearly three years, closing at the Hippodrome in Ilford on 31 May 1930,[40][41] with Lascelles performing throughout the whole run, except for an absence of ten weeks due to illness, from 26 December 1927 until 27 February 1928, during which Pearl Greene stood in for her.[42][43][iv]

Lascelles' first leading appearance in pantomime was as Goldilocks in Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1929–1930),[17] in which she sang "Tip-Toes",[44] and Elsie Prince was Principal boy (Roland).[45] This show opened at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham, on 21 December 1929 and closed there on 1 February 1930, after eight weeks.[45] One week into the run, the reviewer for the Sunday Mercury—"Astra"—commented on Lascelles' performance: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears is her first experience in pantomime, and she has made good. It would be difficult to find a more graceful principal girl."[17]

For most of 1931, Lascelles joined the national tour of Darling, I Love You, a musical comedy starring Gus McNaughton, in which she played Peggy Sylvester, the show's heroin, after taking over from Elsie Arnold[46] for her first performance in that role at the Theatre Royal, Huddersfield, on 19 January.[47] When the show was at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, for the second week after Lascelles joined the tour, the reviewer for the Liverpool Echo reported that: "Miss Felice Lascelles, a pretty and graceful heroine in voice and presence, learned in a tribute of flowers how Merseyside rejoices in the success of its local talent."[7] In November 1931, Lascelles left the tour, after passing the role of Peggy on to Lillian Newman.[48] For that year's winter season, she had been pre-announced for the role of principal girl in the pantomime adaptation of Robinson Crusoe.[49] However, she joined another pantomime instead, Goody Two-Shoes, which opened at the Theatre Royal, Exeter, on 26 December 1931.[50] She played the lead role of Goody, and Irene Lister was the Principal boy (Colin).[50] In that role, she sang solo: "Tie a little string about your finger", "Prince Charming", and "All Change for Happiness", as well as duets with Lister: "For You" and "Close Your Eyes".[51] The show closed on 13 February 1932, after 69 performances.[52]

1932–1933: Stand Up and Sing to Follow the Girl

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After taking a long break around the birth of her daughter in June 1932,[53] Lascelles returned to the stage in October of that year, playing the role of Ena in the national tour of Stand Up and Sing,[54] in which she sang "Mercantile Marine" and "Take It or Leave It".[55] This run opened at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, on 31 October 1932,[56] and was suspended after the 10 December show at the Empire Theatre, Leeds, to be merged into the Christmas season organised by Lee Ephraim, before closing on 14 January.[57] On Saturday, 3 December 1932,[58] Lascelles and Eric Fawcett—among other members of the cast of Stand Up and Sing and other theatrical companies—volunteered to appear in a charity special matinee performance at the Empire Theatre, Sheffield, in aid of Sheffield Council of Social Service, in which they sang the amusing duet "It's Not You".[59]

During Lee Ephraim's Musical Comedy Season, which took place from 24 December 1932 to 21 January 1933 at the Empire Theatre in Newcastle,[60] Lascelles was part of a company of 80 artists assembled to perform in three of Jack Buchanan's musical comedy shows in succession over four weeks: Sunny, That's a Good Girl, and Stand Up and Sing.[61] At the end of the first performance of Sunny on 24 December, after Lascelles had reprised her leading role of Sunny for the first time in nearly two years, the delighted audience called for repeated curtains and Eric Fawcett—who played Jack Buchanan's original part of Jim Demming—addressed the audience in appreciation.[62] For the second of these three shows, opening on 2 January 1933, Lascelles debuted her role of Moya Malone in That's a Good Girl, with Fawcett as Bill Barrow and Ethel Stewart as Joy Dean.[63] For the third show, opening on 9 January 1933, Lascelles played in Stand Up and Sing but departed from her usual role of Ena which was, on this run, performed instead by Ethel Stewart, who had originally played it opposite Jack Buchanan.[57] The fourth and final week, opening on 16 January 1933, was divided between re-runs of Sunny and That's a Good Girl, with three consecutive days allocated to each play.[64] Later in 1933, Lascelles was "the girl" in Follow the Girl, a show that was well received but ran for only three weeks, one each at the Palace Theatre in Halifax on 30 October,[65] at the Opera House in Blackpool on 20 November,[66][67] and at the Theatre Royal in Brighton on 27 November.[68]

1935–1936: Concert party and Variety shows

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On 17 June 1935,[69] Lascelles and her husband George Neil joined one of Will Seymour's Bubbles concert party companies[v] for a trial week at the Princess Pier in Torquay, with Lascelles playing a soubrette and dancer, and Neil directing as well as performing light comedy. On 1 July,[74] the show relocated to the Victoria Pavilion, Ilfracombe, for the summer season's residency, closing on 21 September after 12 weeks.[73] Their performance was also relayed on regional radio, at 8pm on 9 July.[75][76] The following year, she appeared as herself, performing in the Gaiety Whirl of 1936, a yearly variety show organised by Ben Popplewell & Sons Ltd. at the Gaiety Theatre, Ayr for the whole summer, opening on 8 June and closing on 3 October, totalling 204 performances.[77][78][79]

1938–1940: Venus In Silk to Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp

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Lascelles was Mizzi in Venus In Silk (1938),[80][81] a musical comedy written by Robert Stolz and starring Carl Brisson, Kitty Reidy, Leo Franklyn, and Arthur Rigby.[82] In this role, she sang three songs with Franklyn's Lt. Ladislaus: "One Will Do For Two", "Get Your Man", and "We'll Hire a Skiff".[83] Although it had been intended for a West End production, the show stayed away from London because of the war,[84] but toured in the provinces, opening at the Kings Theatre, Southsea on 30 January 1938 and closing at the Opera House Theatre, Blackpool on 23 April, for a total of 96 performances.[85]

When World War II broke out in September 1939, Lascelles had been in South Africa with Leslie Henson's Gaiety Company since June of that year,[86] performing in Going Greek and Swing Along,[87] on a tour that was scheduled to end in late autumn.[88] But on 1 September, they left for England on a blacked-out liner, the Windsor Castle.[89] During the voyage, which ended on 26 September,[89] the company entertained the other passengers,[87] as well as the crews of three naval vessels one afternoon on 15 September, during a stay in port at Sierra Leone for seven days while waiting for a warship to escort the liner back to England.[89][87]

Back in England, Lascelles played the role of Tilly in The Fleet's Lit Up, which opened at the Hippodrome, Birmingham, on 20 November 1939,[90] and closed at the Empire Theatre, Nottingham, on 9 December, after 39 performances.[91] Her final appearance on stage was as the Princess in that Christmas season's pantomime adaptation of Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, with Elsie Prince in the role of Aladdin; this show ran from 26 December 1939[92] to 27 January 1940, for 44 performances.[93]

Personal life

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In February 1927, Lascelles secretly married actor George Anderson Neil in Newcastle. At the time, Neil had been her fellow principal in Kid Boots, and later in Sunny.[43] They had a daughter, Susan, born on 13 June 1932,[53] who also became an actress.[1] From a second marriage to Archibald Kennedy Irvine in 1941, Lascelles gave birth on 14 June 1942 to a son, Andrew, who started out as a child actor in 1950 and performed on stage, in film, and on TV.[94] As a teenager, he also studied classical guitar[95] and eventually moved to Ireland in 1962, where he carried on acting for a while before changing careers to become a popular folk musician, known as Andy Irvine.[96]

Lascelles died of cancer on 29 April 1961.[97][98]

She had a great collection of 78s, songs from long-forgotten musical comedies that I listened to on a wind-up gramophone. She was wonderful. Regretfully, I didn't listen enough to all the stories she had when she was alive. She always had to be the centre of attention. As I always say about her: she may have given up the stage, but she never stopped acting!

— Andy Irvine, The Humours of Planxty, "The Child Actor", by Leagues O'Toole (2006).[95]

Works

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Musical theatre

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Further information: List of performances by Felice Lascelles
  • The Cabaret Girl (1923) – (Chorus girl)
  • The Beauty Prize (1924) – Shinny Fane
  • Toni (1924) – (Small part, uncredited)
  • Boodle (1925) – (Small part, uncredited)
  • On with the Dance (1925) – (Small part, uncredited / understudy to Hermione Baddeley)
  • Still Dancing (1925–1926) – One of the Ladies
  • Kid Boots (1926) – Chorus girl / understudy (London run); first Polly, then Beth (National tour)
  • Sunny (1927–1930) – Sunny Peters
  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1929–1930) – Goldilocks
  • Darling I Love You (1931) – Peggy Sylvester
  • Goody Two-Shoes (1931–1932) – Goody
  • Stand up and Sing (1932) – Ena
  • That's a Good Girl (1933) – Moya Malone
  • Follow the Girl (1933) – Girl
  • Bubbles (1935) – Soubrette and dancer
  • Gaiety Whirl of 1936 (1936) – As herself
  • Venus In Silk (1938) – Mizzi
  • Going Greek (1939) – (Unknown)
  • Swing Along (1939) – (Unknown)
  • The Fleet's Lit Up (1939) – Tilly
  • Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (1939–1940) – Princess

Partial filmography

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In an interview with the Liverpool Evening Express on 14 September 1926, Lascelles stated that she "has acted on many occasions for the films, but prefers the stage, and in particular musical comedy."[3]

  • Love and the Whirlwind (1922)[99]

References

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Explanatory footnotes

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  1. ^ a b Lascelles' birth place is disputed: O'Toole has Lisburn, County Antrim;[1] Lessels Yates says Wallasey, Merseyside,[2] as Lascelles herself stated during an interview with the Liverpool Evening Express on 14 September 1926.[3] Whenever she performed in the Liverpool area, local papers would refer to her association with Wallasey as a past resident.[4][5][6][7][8]
  2. ^ Lascelles' "small comedy part" is not credited in Mander & Mitchenson.[23]
  3. ^ In the late 1920s, two separate companies toured simultaneously with Sunny in the provinces; one with Lascelles as "Sunny", the other with Elsa Brown, who performed in the same role—for example: at the King's Theatre, Southsea (Mon 8 – Sat 13 August 1927).[38] In 1932, Lee Ephraim organised a new tour, this time with Lalla Collins as "Sunny", at the Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow (Mon 6 – Sat 11 June 1932).[39] Lascelles reprised the role for a final time during Lee Ephraim's short, year-end seasonal run from 24 December 1932 to 21 January 1933.
  4. ^ Lascelles became unwell during the 26 December 1927 performance at the King's Theatre in Dundee and her understudy, a 17-year old chorus girl named Miss Boulson, stood in for part of the show and again full time the next day, when Lascelles was rushed to the Dundee Infirmary to undergo emergency surgery for appendicitis.[42] On Saturday 7 January 1928, Pearl Greene took over the lead role of Sunny from Boulson for the last day of the Dundee run,[100] and for the following eight weeks, at: the Empire in South Shields (9 January);[101] the Empire in West Hartlepool (16 January);[102] the Opera House in Middlesbrough (23 January);[103] the Hippodrome in Darlington (30 January);[104] the Theatre Royal in York (6 February);[105] the Grand Theatre in Hull (13 February)[106] and the Hippodrome in Huddersfield (20 February),[107] after which Lascelles returned to the role on 27 February 1928, at the Theatre Royal in Halifax.[34]
  5. ^ Will Seymour was a theatre actor, producer and director who, in the spring and summer of 1935, ran two separate concert party companies presenting Bubbles. Company 1 played a trial week at the South Parade Pier in Southsea on 20 May,[70] before opening for their third consecutive summer residency[71] at the Grove Park Pavilion, Weston-Super-Mare, on 8 June,[72] closing on 30 September.[73] Its artists, directed by Will Seymour, were: Connie Clive, Helen Brothers, Madeline Rossiter, Douglas Young, Trevor Watkins, Harry Brunning, Peggy and Betty Nicholls, and Seymour himself, with Winifred Swinford at the piano.[70] Company 2 played a trial week at the Princess Pier in Torquay on 17 June,[69] prior to opening their own summer season's residency at the Victoria Pavilion in Ilfracombe on 1 July,[74] closing on 21 September.[73] Its artists, directed by George Neil, were: Gwen Adeler, Eileen Cusack, Felice Lascelles, Harry Turner, and Neil himself, with Jacqueline & Leo Conriche at the pianos.[75]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b O'Toole 2006, p. 35.
  2. ^ a b c d Lessels Yates 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Liverpool Evening Express; 14 Sep 1926.
  4. ^ Liverpool Post & Mercury; 29 Jul 1926.
  5. ^ a b Liverpool Post & Mercury; 14 Sep 1926.
  6. ^ Liverpool Echo; 23 Jan 1931.
  7. ^ a b Liverpool Echo; 27 Jan 1931.
  8. ^ Liverpool Echo; 28 Aug 1931.
  9. ^ Exeter and Plymouth Gazette; 10 Dec 1932.
  10. ^ The Stage; 17 Dec 1931.
  11. ^ The Stage; 13 Jun 1912.
  12. ^ a b Leicester Chronicle; 3 May 1930.
  13. ^ Theatricalia; The Cabaret Girl.
  14. ^ The Stage; 7 Feb 1924.
  15. ^ The Stage; 21 Feb 1924.
  16. ^ Liverpool Evening Express; 5 Feb 1924.
  17. ^ a b c d Sunday Mercury; 29 Dec 1929.
  18. ^ Wearing 2014, p. 211.
  19. ^ Staffordshire Sentinel; 7 Aug 1923.
  20. ^ Birmingham Daily Post; 1 May 1924.
  21. ^ UoL; Toni.
  22. ^ Bulles Production; Toni.
  23. ^ Mander & Mitchenson 2000, pp. 128–139.
  24. ^ Wearing 2014, pp. 359–360.
  25. ^ Weekly Dispatch; 15 Nov 1925.
  26. ^ Wearing 2014, pp. 400–401.
  27. ^ London Revues; Still Dancing.
  28. ^ Wearing 2014, p. 418.
  29. ^ Manchester Evening News; 3 Aug 1926.
  30. ^ The Stage; 2 Sep 1926.
  31. ^ The Stage; 2 Dec 1926.
  32. ^ Newcastle Daily Journal; 18 Jan 1927.
  33. ^ a b Isle of Thanet Gazette; 2 Jul 1927.
  34. ^ a b Halifax Evening Courier; 28 Feb 1928.
  35. ^ Isle of Thanet Gazette; 9 Jul 1927.
  36. ^ Marshall 1979, p. 248.
  37. ^ Eastbourne Gazette; 27 Jul 1927.
  38. ^ Portsmouth Evening News; 9 Aug 1927.
  39. ^ The Stage; 9 Jun 1932.
  40. ^ Surrey Advertiser; 21 May 1930.
  41. ^ The Stage; 29 May 1930.
  42. ^ a b Dundee Evening Telegraph; 28 Dec 1927.
  43. ^ a b Derby Daily Telegraph; 11 Apr 1928.
  44. ^ Evening Despatch; 27 Dec 1929.
  45. ^ a b The Stage; 5 Dec 1929.
  46. ^ The Stage; 4 Dec 1930.
  47. ^ Halifax Evening Courier ; 20 Jan 1931.
  48. ^ Forest Hill & Sydenham Examiner; 28 Nov 1931.
  49. ^ Huddersfield Daily Examiner; 12 Nov 1931.
  50. ^ a b The Stage; 19 Nov 1931.
  51. ^ Exeter and Plymouth Gazette; 28 Dec 1932.
  52. ^ Exeter and Plymouth Gazette; 26 Jan 1932.
  53. ^ a b Liverpool Daily Post; 16 Jun 1932.
  54. ^ The Stage; 8 Dec 1932.
  55. ^ Belfast Telegraph; 15 Nov 1932.
  56. ^ The Stage; 3 Nov 1932.
  57. ^ a b Sunday Sun; 8 Jan 1933.
  58. ^ Sheffield Daily Telegraph; 3 Dec 1932.
  59. ^ Sheffield Daily Telegraph; 5 Dec 1932.
  60. ^ The Era; 14 Dec 1932.
  61. ^ Sunday Sun; 18 Dec 1932.
  62. ^ Sunday Sun; 25 Dec 1932.
  63. ^ Sunday Sun; 1 Jan 1933.
  64. ^ Sunday Sun; 15 Jan 1933.
  65. ^ Halifax Evening Courier; 31 Oct 1933.
  66. ^ Blackpool Times; 17 Nov 1933.
  67. ^ Blackpool Times; 24 Nov 1933.
  68. ^ Mid Sussex Times; 28 Nov 1933.
  69. ^ a b The Stage; 20 Jun 1935.
  70. ^ a b The Stage; 23 May 1935.
  71. ^ The Stage; 4 Apr 1935.
  72. ^ The Stage; 13 Jun 1935.
  73. ^ a b c The Stage; 5 Sep 1935.
  74. ^ a b The Stage; 1 Aug 1935.
  75. ^ a b Western Morning News; 9 Jul 1935.
  76. ^ BBC Archive; 9 Jul 1935.
  77. ^ Gaiety Whirl, Summer 1936.
  78. ^ Daily Record; 28 May 1936.
  79. ^ Gaiety Whirl; 28 Sep 1936.
  80. ^ Bradford Observer; 22 Mar 1938.
  81. ^ The Stage; 31 Mar 1938.
  82. ^ Hampshire Telegraph; 28 Jan 1938.
  83. ^ Venus in Silk; 15 Nov 1937.
  84. ^ Gänzl 1986, p. 473.
  85. ^ Lancashire Evening Post; 5 Apr 1938.
  86. ^ Evening Despatch; 10 May 1939.
  87. ^ a b c Sunday Sun; 3 Dec 1939.
  88. ^ The Stage; 20 Jul 1939.
  89. ^ a b c Lincolnshire Echo; 3 Oct 1939.
  90. ^ Birmingham Gazette; 22 Nov 1939.
  91. ^ Nottingham Journal; 5 Dec 1939.
  92. ^ Birmingham Daily Post; 27 Dec 1939.
  93. ^ Birmingham Daily Post; 16 Jan 1940.
  94. ^ O'Toole 2006, p. 35–37.
  95. ^ a b O'Toole 2006, p. 36.
  96. ^ O'Toole 2006, pp. 41–43.
  97. ^ A. Irvine Biography.
  98. ^ O'Toole 2006, p. 41.
  99. ^ The Motion Picture Studio; 13 May 1922.
  100. ^ Dundee Evening Telegraph; 6 Jan 1928.
  101. ^ The Stage; 12 Jan 1928, p. 15; col.4.
  102. ^ The Stage; 12 Jan 1928, p. 1; col.4.
  103. ^ Newcastle Daily Chronicle; 24 Jan 1928.
  104. ^ The Stage; 2 Feb 1928.
  105. ^ Yorkshire Post; 8 Feb 1928.
  106. ^ Hull Daily Mail; 14 Feb 1928.
  107. ^ Halifax Evening Courier; 21 Feb 1928.

Sources

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Books

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  • Gänzl, Kurt (1986). The British Musical Theatre. 1915–1984 (hardcover). Vol. II (1st ed.). Basingstoke & London: Macmillan Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-333-39744-2.
  • Mander, Raymond; Mitchenson, Joe (2000) [1957]. Theatrical Companion to Coward (hardcover). Barry Day and Sheridan Morley (2nd ed.). London: Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1-84002-054-0.
  • Marshall, Michael (1979) [1978]. "Career of Jack Buchanan". Top Hat and Tails - The story of Jack Buchanan (hardcover). Foreword by Fred Astaire (2nd ed.). London: Elm Tree Books. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-241-89602-0. 1926 October Jim Demming in Sunny at the London Hippodrome.
  • O'Toole, Leagues (2006). The Humours of Planxty (hardcover) (1st ed.). Dublin: Hodder Headline. ISBN 978-0-340-83796-2.
  • Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1920–1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (hardcover) (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8108-9301-6.

Theatre programs/playbills

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  • Gaiety Whirl of 1936 (Theatre program/playbill). Felice Lascelles. Ayr, UK: Ayr Gaiety Theatre. 1936. p. 3. Retrieved 29 June 2023. Throughout the Summer Season. Twice nightly 6.50 and 9.00{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • Venus in Silk (Theatre programme). Birmingham: Theatre Royal. 15 November 1937. p. 3. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Songs by Ladilsaus and Mizzi: "One Will Do For Two", "Get Your Man", "We'll Hire a Skiff".

Magazines and newspapers

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Websites

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  • Lessels Yates, Lynly (10 June 2024). "The family history of John LESSELS and Elizabeth Hamilton MURRAY" (PDF). lynly.gen.nz. pp. 8, 15. Retrieved 21 April 2024. 7-1-1-4 Felicia Madge LESSELS, born 19 July 1904, Wallasey, Cheshire, England
  • "Biography". andyirvine.com. Chapter 1. 21 YEARS A-GROWING. Retrieved 5 July 2023. Cisco [Houston] died of cancer. Same day [29 April 1961] as my mother died of the same disease.
  • "The Cabaret Girl (1923-1924)". theatricalia.com. Matthew Somerville. Cast & Crew. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  • "Toni". golny.leeds.ac.uk. University of Leeds - German Operetta in London, New York, and Warsaw. n.d. Operetta Productions [Scroll down to "Hirsch, Hugo"]. Retrieved 13 May 2024. Toni, Shaftesbury Theatre, London, 12 May 1924 (with Jack Buchanan as Toni, 248 perfs). Book & lyrics by Douglas Furber & Harry Graham. Additional music by Stephen Jones. P: Herbert Bryan; SD: Frank Smythe; MD: Thomas Tunbridge; DD: Jack Buchanan.
  • "London Musicals 1920-1924: Toni" (PDF). bruxellons.be. Bulles Production. n.d. [Scroll down to p.37]. Retrieved 13 May 2024. Toni. London run: Shaftesbury, May 12th – December 13th (248 performances) (...)
  • "Still Dancing". London Revues. guidetomusicaltheatre.com. The Guide to Musical Theatre. [Scroll down to pp. 354–358]. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  • "Bubbles (Regional Programme)". BBC Programme Index. London: BBC Archive. Retrieved 1 June 2024. First broadcast: Tue 9th Jul 1935, 20:00 on Regional Programme Western
  • "Popplewells "Gaiety Whirl" of 1936 - 7th Annual production". National Library of Scotland. p. 1. Retrieved 9 May 2024. 17th programme - week commencing Monday 28th September 1936.
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