Sophie Eyre, Irish born actress, photographed by Sarony, New York, circa 1885

Sophie Eyre (1853?-1892), Irish born dramatic Actress
(cabinet photo: Sarony, New York, circa 1885)

‘THE LATE SOPHIE EYRE
‘The death is announced at Naples, Italy, Nov. 5 [1892], of Sophie Eyre, the well known leading lady. She had been sojourning in that city, and succumbed to an attack of heart disease. Six years ago, Sophie Eyre told THE CLIPPER the story of her life. She was born Sophia Lillian Ryan, at Tipperary, Ire., about 1857, and was the daughter of Maj. Ryan. At the age of seventeen she married Maj. Lonsdale, of the Seventh English Hussars, and went with her husband to India, where, at nineteen, she became a widow. Returning to England, she followed an inclination, which, in an amateur way, had manifested itself while she was quite young, and adopted the stage. Her first professional appearance was made at the Theatre Royal, Portsmouth, Eng., in a small part, and she remained at that house six months. Then she went on a provincial tour in ”Diplomacy,” playing Zicka. The following season she made another tour of the English provinces, doing the lead and playing at all the principal theatres of Great Britain outside of London. The Summer of that year she filled in with the stock at the Torquay Theatre. About May, 1882, she went to London and made her debut June 17 at a special matinee at the Adelphi Theatre as Queen Anne in the historical play, ”The Double Rose,” after which Aug. Harris, of the Drury Lane Theatre, engaged her to support Ristori at his house. Then she signed with the management of the Adelphi, and appeared Nov. 18, 1882, in ”Love and Money.” Later she acted in ”Rachel the Reaper,” after which she returned to the Drury Lane. On March 5, 1884, she created the title role in Sydney Hodges’ ”Gabrielle” at the Gaiety Theatre, London. A few weeks later Lester Wallack engaged her for this country, and she made her American debut June 23, 1884, at Utica, N.Y., with the Wallack Co. in the title role of ”Lady Clare.” She traveled through the West, and in California, about January of 1885, she married Chauncey R. Winslow [1860-1909], a resident of Cincinnati, O. Her New York debut was accomplished Oct. 26, 1885, in ”In His Power,” at Wallack’s. The play was a failure, and was immediately withdrawn. Then Miss Eyre went on the road by arrangement with Mr. Wallack, at the head of Charles Frohman’s Co., playing ”La Belle Russe.” Later Miss Eyre had trouble with Mr. Wallack, and withdrew from the theatre. She was in 1888 divorced from Mr. Winslow, and had since married again.’
(The New York Clipper, New York, Saturday, 12 November 1892, p. 573b/c, with engraved portrait)

* * * * *

‘Kyrle Bellew, Mr. Wallack’s latest imported leading man, is also an ex-Australian… . He has put Mr. Wallack in an unpleasant predicament. Miss Sophie Eyre was engaged for leading parts this season and Mr. Bellew absolutely refuses to play with her on the ground that she is too large and would spoil his appearance on the stage. So much for having a petted actor in a company… .’
(Newark Daily Advocate, Newark, Ohio, 11 December 1885, p. 3c)

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Marjorie Hume (1893-1976), English stage and screen actress

Marjorie Hume (1893-1976), English stage and screen actress
(photo: unknown, probably London, circa 1914)

Marjorie Hume, who became a well-known actress in British films after 1917, began her career on the London stage, making her first appearance during the run of the musical play The Dancing Mistress (Adelphi Theatre, London, 19 October 1912). Miss Hume, who in 1933 married Eric Lindsey (1900-1964), died on 13 March 1976.

Joseph Coyne and Gertie Millar in the duet, ‘A Dancing Lesson’ in The Quaker Girl, Adlephi Theatre, London, 1910

Joseph Coyne (1867-1941), American actor and singer, and Gertie Millar (1879-1952), English actress and singer, both stars of English musical comedies, as they appeared as Tony and Prudence in the duet, ‘A Dancing Lesson‘ in Act II of The Quaker Girl, first produced at the Adelphi Theatre, London, on 5 November 1910.
(cabinet photo: Alfred Ellis & Walery, London, 1910)

Henry A. Lytton and the Cosy Corner Girls from The Earl and the Girl, London, 1904/05

Henry A. Lytton (1865-1936), English actor and singer, with the ‘Cozy Corner Girls’ (left to right, Gertrude Thornton, Clare Rickards and Hilda Hammerton) in the musical comedy, The Earl and the Girl which was first produced at the Adelphi Theatre, London, on 10 December 1903 before being transferred to the Lyric Theatre, London, on 12 September 1904.
(photo: unknown, probably Bassano or Ellis & Walery, London, 1904; postcard published by the Rapid Photo Co, London, 1904)

‘My Cosy Corner Girl,’ composed by John W. Bratton, with lyrics by Charles Noel Douglas, was imported from the United States for inclusion in The Earl and the Girl, when it was sung by Henry A. Lytton and Agnes Fraser. They also sang it at the Charles Morton Testimonial Matinee at the Palace Theatre, London, on 8 November 1904.

‘The Earl and the Girl, the most successful of all the musical comedies in which I appeared and the one which gave me my biggest real comedy part, ran for one year at the Adelphi, and then for a further year at the Lyric. When it was withdrawn I secured the permission of the management to use “My Cosy Corner,” the most tuneful of all its musical numbers, as a scena on the music-halls, and with my corps of Cosy Corner Girls it was a decided success.’
(Henry A. Lytton, The Secrets of a Savoyard, London, 1921, p. 86; Lytton’s ‘My Cosy Corner’ scena ran at the Palace Theatre, London, from April to June 1905)

‘My Cosey Corner Girl’ sung by Harry Macdonough, recorded by Edison, USA, 1903, cylinder 8522
(courtesy of Tim Gracyk via YouTube)

Mrs Barney Williams featured on the cover of ‘My Mary Ann Polka’ by Louis-Antoine Jullien, London, 1856/57

Mrs Barney Williams (1828-1911), American actress, featured on the cover of ‘My Mary Ann Polka’ by Louis-Antoine Jullien (1812-1860)
(colour lithograph music sheet cover by John Brandard (1812-1863), printed by M. & N. Hanhart, the music printed by T. Sharp, 16 Great Tichfield Street, Oxford Street, London, 1856/57)

Jullien dedicated his popular ‘My Mary Ann Polka’ to Mrs Barney Williams, probably in 1856, at the time of her and her husband’s tour of the United Kingdom, during which they appeared at the Adelphi Theatre, London, on various occasions between 1855 and 1857. ‘My Mary Ann Polka’ was described shortly after its publication as ‘a sprightly piece of music, in which the Yankee melodies of ”Bobbing Around,” ”My Mary Ann,” and ”Sing Song Polly,” are very happily introduced and adapted to the Polka step.’ (Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 15 January 1857, p. 3b)

John Martin Harvey as King Konrad of Polavia in the one-act play, The Conspiracy, first produced at the Theatre Royal, Dublin, in 1907

John Martin Harvey (1863-1944), English actor, as King Konrad of Polavia in the one-act play, The Conspiracy by Robert Barr and Sidney Lewis-Ransom, the action of which centres on a plot by a group of noblemen to depose or assassinate their monarch.
(photo: Daily Mirror Studios, London, 1908; postcard 726 S, published by J. Beagles & Co Ltd, probably 1908)

The Conspiracy was first produced by John Martin Harvey at the Theatre Royal, Dublin, on 8 November 1907. He introduced the piece to London audiences on 9 September 1908, during a twelve weeks’ season at the Adelphi Theatre. The Stage judged his performance as ‘a bold and dignified impersonation, yet graced with all that charm of manner and of diction which render his work so pleasurable.’ (London, Thursday, 14 November 1907, p. 14d). Harvey revived The Conspiracy at the Palladium Theatre, London, on 26 December 1910.

Bessie Skeet, Marion Brown, Helen Paites, Billy Blane and Camille Barnette as they appeared in bathing costumes in High Jinks, produced at the Lyric Theatre, New York, on 10 December 1913

left to right: Bessie Skeet, Marion Brown, Helen Paites, Billy Blane and Camille Barnette, American chorus girls, as they appeared in bathing costumes in High Jinks, the musical comedy produced at the Lyric Theatre, New York, on 10 December 1913 (after a short out of town trial run) and transferred to the Casino Theatre, New York, on 12 January 1914. High Jinks eventually reached London on 24 August 1916, when it was produced at the Adelphi Theatre.
(photo: White, New York, 1913)

‘Arthur Hammerstein will bring his musical comedy High Jinks to the Lyric Theatre Wednesday night [10 December 1913]. The book of the new musical show is by Leo Ditrichstein and Otto Hauerbach and the music is by Rudolph Friml, who was first introduced to the American public a year ago by Mr. Hammerstein through the production of The Firefly
‘High Jinks is in three acts, and the action all takes place in Paris during a carnival. Dr. Thorne, an American nerve specialist practicing in the French capital, has a friend by the name of Dick Wayne, an explorer, and Wayne has discovered a drug in the form of a perfume called ”High Jinks.” The effect of this perfume is to make the timid brave, the pessimist an optimist, the serious man jovial, and the prudish person a daredevil. The complications of the piece are brought about by the manner in which Dr. Thorne experiments with this curious drug. Much of the plot is told in songs.
‘The cast of High Jinks includes Elizabeth Murray and Tom Lewis, featured at the head of a lit of principals. Among the other players are Ignacio Martinette, Elaine Hammerstein, the daughter of Arthur Hammerstein, who makes her professional début in this production; Robert Pitkin, Burrell Barbaretto, Snitz Edwards, Blanche Field, Ada Meade, Mana Zucca, Emilie Lea, Augustus Schultz, and Elsie Gregley.’
(The New York Times, New York, New York, 28 December 1913, p. 23)

* * * * *

One of the hit songs of High Jinks was ‘The Bubble,’ a studio recording of which was made on cylinder by Emory B. Randolph and chorus. (For another copy, click here.) ‘The Bubble’ also recorded in 1916 by Marie Blanche, a member of the London cast of High Jinks. For a selection of orchestral highlights from the show, click here.

Hilda Dugdale, English musical comedy actress and dancer

Hilda Dugdale (active early 20th Century), English musical comedy actress and dancer, about the time she was appearing during 1906 on tour in the United Kingdom with William Greet‘s company in the musical comedy, The Earl and the Girl. She appeared as Elphin Hay, a part originally played by Agnes Fraser when the piece was first produced at the Adelphi Theatre, London, on 10 December 1903.
(photo: unknown, UK, circa 1906)

Roxy Barton as Titania in the revival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, produced by Oscar Asche at the Adelphi Theatre, London, 1905

Roxy Barton (1879-1962), Australian actress, as she appeared as Titania in the revival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, produced by Oscar Asche at the Adelphi Theatre, London, on 25 November 1905. Other members of the cast including Oscar Asche as Bottom and Beatrice Ferrar as Puck.
(postcard photo: Alfred Ellis & Walery, London, 1905; published in London by J. Beagles & Co, no. 24 P)

For a drawing by Charles A. Buchel of Oscar Asche, Roxy Barton and Beatrice Ferrar in their respective roles in this production, see the Folger Shakespeare Library. Another drawing by A.M. Faulkner of Osche as Bottom and Barton as Titania is in the same collection.

Roxy Claudia May Barton, the daughter of Russell Barton and his wife, Jane McCulloch Davie, was born in Sydney, NSW, Australia, on 8 May 1879. She was married at the parish church of St. Marylebone, London, on 14 June 1906 to the actor Henry Stephenson.

‘A most interesting wedding, which took place recently in London, was that of Miss Roxy Barton, daughter of Mr. Russell Barton, of Five Dock. You will doubtless remember Miss Barton, a very tall, handsome girl, and a clever actress, any who played several seasons in Sydney, notably rather a long one with The Message from Mars Company. It was that self-same messenger whom Miss Barton was married – Mr. Henry Stephenson Garraway, known on the stage as Henry Stephenson. Thus they met for the first time, and the engagement has been one of long standing. She is said to have made an extremely handsome bride. Mr. and Mrs. Garraway intend playing for a season in the States, where something good has been offered to them. It will probably be a long time before Mrs. Garraway returns to her native land. When she does she will receive a hearty welcome, as she has a large circle of friends.’
(The Sydney Mail, Sydney, NSW, Australia, Wednesday, 4 July 1906, p. 48b)

Roxy Barton died at the Plymouth Nursing Home, Penarth, Glamorgan on 1 March 1962.

Ronald Buchanan as Nuitane in Aloma on tour in the United Kingdom, 1926

Ronald Buchanan (active 1920-1940), English actor as Nuitane on a United Kingdom tour during 1926 and 1927 of Aloma, a Tale of the South Sea) in which he played opposite Iris Darbyshire in the title role, accompanied by Darby Foster, Doris Sainsbury and others.
(photo: unknown, probably 1926; postcard by Fielding, Leeds)

During the first London run of Aloma, which began at the Adelphi Theatre on 21 May 1926, Ronald Buchanan played the part of ‘Shorty’ and Aloma by Vivienne Osborne.

A contemporary note written on the reverse of this postcard reads: ‘Mr. C Ronald Buchanan as ‘Nuitane’ in ‘Aloma’. His attire is skant in this role, but his acting is fine. He is a splendid physique of a man. Oct. 18 1926.’