Actresseses photographed with their children.
Seymour Hicks (1871-1949) and his wife, Ellaline Terriss (1871-1971) and their daughter Betty (b. 1907), who was widely known as ‘Baby Betty’ and later professionally as Betty Seymour Hicks.
Postcard 4051 B in the Rotary Photographic Series, published in 1908 by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, London.
(photo: Foulsham & Banfield, London, 1908)
‘London, Sept. 21 [1910].
‘The latest fashion among English actresses is to be photographed with their children. The family life of English theatrical people has always been of interest to the British public, and the new postcards and photographs of actresses holding their children in their arms or on their knees have sold better than any other pictures of the same gifted yet domesticated ladies.
Muriel Beaumont (Mrs Gerald Du Maurier, 1881-1957) and two of her daughters, Angela (1904-2002) and Daphne (1907-1989), both of whom became well known writers.
Postcard E 1927, published by the Aristophot Co Ltd, London, 1908.
(photo: Rita Martin, London, 1908)
‘It seems to please theatregoers to know that the leading lady of the company is in private life a good mother and excellent housewife, and they give her an extra round of applause for these qualities. Middle-class England does not believe in the artistic temperament, and any little idiosyncrasies in the private affairs of actresses meet with disapproval. Domesticity is the drawing card. the knowledge that a stage favorite is comfortably settled in her own home with a devoted husband and one or two future actors learning their lessons at her knee is unction to the British matron’s soul.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Hicks lead in public favor as examples of domestic theatrical life. The public knows their ménage intimately, and takes a tremendous interest in Baby Betty, the little daughter of the household. Both Mr. Hicks and his wife, Ellaline Terriss, take the audience into their confidence, and in the course of a musical comedy they have been known to mention Baby Betty and the stage of her health or the fact that she sent her love to everybody, and such announcements are received with cheers of delight.
‘Betty once wrote an ode which was published. She is just 5 now. If no news of the child is forthcoming admirers have been known to call out from the depths of the pit and inquire for the latest news. Naturally, Mr. and Mrs. Hicks have been photographed with Betty countless times, and their pictures in plush frames adorn many British homes.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Gerald du Maurier are another couple in whom great interest is taken. On the stage Mrs. du Maurier is Miss Muriel Beaumont. She rarely acts now, as home interests are engrossing. Her little daughter Angela is 4, and promises to be a real Du Maurier in appearance as well as in ways. she has not yet any stage aspirations.
Isabel Jay (Mrs Henry Sheppard Hart Cavendish, 1879-1927) and her daughter Cecilia Claribel (1903 – 1963) in their Spyker car.
Postcard 4846B in the Rotary Photographic Series, published about 1907 by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, London.
(photo: Foulsham & Banfield, London, circa 1907)
‘Mr. and Mrs. Fred Terry, who are soon to appear in America, are very proud of their tall daughter, who has just made her debut in Priscilla Runs Away. She calls herself Miss Neilson-Terry, but is known to her intimates as Phillida. Though she is taller than her mother, and very well developed, she is only 17. She is very pretty. At present the post card shops are filled with a variety of pictures of the Fred Terry family.
‘Miss Maie Ash, who married Stanley Brett, a brother of Seymour Hicks, a year or so ago, is the proud mother of a very recent baby and she has lost no time in being pictured with her little son. Miss Ash was one of the prettiest of the pretty girls in Mr. Hicks’ company, and was a musical comedy favorite. Just now she is playing a sketch with her husband.
‘Miss Eva Moore, who is Mrs. H. Esmond in private life, has two children, and is a devoted mother. Her stage career takes her from her family a good deal, as she is in demand to create parts in her husband’s plays as well as others, but she has her children with her all she can. The Moore family of girls, five of them, is a type of a theatrical family often found in England. Every Miss Moore went on the stage when she arrived at years of discretion, and two of them, Miss Eva and Miss Decima Moore have become successful actresses.
‘Miss Violet Vanbrugh and her husband, Arthur Bourchier, are having a difficult time to persuade their daughter Prudence that 12 is not the proper age to begin a stage career. Prudence has had dramatic aspirations since she was little more than a baby, and Mr. Bourchier confesses that before long she is likely to get her way and appear at his theater in a Christmas play.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Maude are another couple in whom the public is interested here, and though their one child, Winifred, is seldom seen on post cards or photographs, her clever sayings and doings are well known, and her debut is looked forward to.
‘Miss Nancy Price, who for years has played adventuress parts in risky French gowns and red wigs, is really, to the joy of her audiences, a model wife and mother. She, too, has a small daughter, who is kept carefully from the glare of the footlights out in the suburban home where Miss Price makes her way after the fatigues of Drury Lane performances.
Ellaline Terriss and her daughter ‘Baby Betty.’
Postcard 11706 C in the Rotary Photographic Series, published in 1911 by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd, London.
(photo: Foulsham & Banfield, London, 1911)
‘Mrs. G.P. Huntley’s small boy [Timothy] has seen his father act very often, but not his mother, as for the last few years she [Eva Kelly] has seldom appeared on the stage.
‘Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Irving have a daughter very like her mother [Dorothea Baird], with silky flaxen hair and blue eyes. She dances prettily, and can recite yards of poetry.
‘Mrs. Kendal, who used to be regarded as an example of theatrical motherhood, seems to have dropped out in recent years. One sees no pictures of her with her children, who are grown now.
‘Miss Ellen Terry is probably the most devoted mother in the theatrical world, yet she is never pictured with her son or daughter. She has never figures before the public in the role of mother, but those who know say that her devotion to her children [Edward Gordon Craig, and Edith Craig] is the greatest thing in her life. She has started both of them several times in various careers in which they wished to embark, and she is always the kind friend to whom they go in their difficulties. to see Miss Terry and Miss Edith Craig, her daughter together is to realize the strong bond between them.
‘Miss Annie Hughes, whose forte is playing the part of catty, sneaky, little ladies of the Country Mouse variety, has a son, who is her special joy and pride.’
(The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Sunday, 2 October 1910, Miscellany Section, p.10b-g)
Footlight Notes 