Gabrielle Ray’s birthday, 28 April; views on the effects of motoring on kissing

Gabrielle Ray (1883-1973), English musical comedy dancer and actress, who celebrated her birthday on 28 April.
(photo: Bassano, London, circa 1909)

‘THE MOTOR MOUTH.
‘EFFECTS ON KISSING.
‘The medical specialist who recently had the hardihood to assert that motoring would ultimately put an end to kissing, because it made the lips hard, will find few supporters among lady motorists, who are practically unanimous in describing his prophecy as nonsense.
”’King goes by favor,” said one young lady, ”and perhaps it is because no one will kiss him or take him for a motor drive that the poor man is setting up to be an authority on something that we understand better then he does.”
‘From the many inquiries made recently a Daily Mail representative arrived at the conclusion that ladies will not accept as a scientific fact that statements of the medical pessimist.
”’Motoring will go out of fashion before kissing will,” said Miss Marie Studholme. ”The gold wind makes one’s face hard for a little while, but most of the kissable people in the world are now motoring.”
‘Miss Gabrielle Ray thinks the medical specialist is a very funny man; ”but as I don’t go in for kissing,” she said, ”I don’t know much about hard mouths. I have done a lot of motoring, but very little kissing. At the same time, I think it would be a pity to discourage those who like kissing because it seems to please them very much. If I have by accident kissed anyone I have never heard any complaint about my mouths; but there, you see, I put cream on my face when going out in a motor-car, because before I used to do so the wind made my face very dry.”
‘Mlle. Mariette Sully, the charming French actress at Daly’s Theatre [in <HREF=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merveilleuses>Les Merveilleuses], says it is very wicked of the doctor to talk like that. ”If he had said that motoring sops kissing because the automobile shakes so much,” she could understand him; ”but hard lips, oh, no, not at all.”
‘At the Apollo Theatre Miss Carrie Moore [who is appearing in The Dairymaids] holds the same views. ”Motor drives do not make the lips hard. Of course not. Motoring is lovely, and I am sure it won’t put kissing out of fashion.”
‘At the Gaiety Theatre [where The New Aladdin began its run on 29 September 1906] Miss Kitty Mason suggested that motoring will cause wrinkles round the eyes. ”People screw up their eyes when motoring,” she said, ”and I think that must eventually cause wrinkles.” ”Oh, I hope not,” said the other ladies so loudly that Mr George Edwardes had to call for order to allow the rehearsal to proceed.’
(The Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser, Grenfell, NSW, Australia, Saturday, 27 October 1906, p. 3c)

‘Living Pictures’ at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square, London, 1894: Marie Studholme, Constance Collier and Hetty Hamer as the Three Graces

Marie Studholme (1872-1930), Constance Collier (1878-1955) and Hetty Hamer (active 1890-1910), English actresses, as ‘The Three Graces’ among the ‘Living Pictures,’ first presented at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square, London, on Monday evening, 5 February 1894.
(photo: W. & D. Downey, London, 1894; published as a postcard by The Rotary Photographic Co Ltd., Rotary Photographic Series, no. 351 B, London, about 1902)

‘An addition to the Empire programme was made last night, when a series of ”Living Pictures” was presented. The back of the stage was focussed down to a large gilt frame, in which the pictures were set, the figures of the various subjects being embodied by several ladies. The first, ”Courtship,” showed a pretty couple (Misses Sheppard and Deroy), dressed in the Directoire style, leading over a rustic bride, amid the freshness of the Springtime. The next with ”Night,” in which Miss Hetty Hamer and Miss [Constance] Collier, two white-draped figures crowned with electric stars, were reclining amid Doré-like surroundings of jagged, tapering peaks against a mystic blue background. ”Duet” was a piece of marble statuary delicately tinted with changing lights that swept over the motionless figures (Madame Fionde and Miss Blowey). ”A Funny Song” was as glowing in colour as if fresh from the brush of the painter, and the expression of the three figures (Senorita Candida and Messrs [William] Lewington and [C.] Perkins) was admirable. One of the prettiest dealt with the old subject, ”Loves me! Loves me not,” in the familiar way, but in a bright Italian atmosphere, and with the blue sea as a background, the perfect taste of the accessories increasing the personal charm of the performers, Miss Marie Studholme and Miss Barker. Miss Deroy made a fascinating picture as a girl ascending an old staircase (the warm colours of her dress blending in complete harmony with the oaken wainscotting), and bidding a sweet ”Good-night.” Miss Hetty Hamer was another bright figure in ”Pets,” a Greek girl feeding pigeons in a corner of some secret grove. ”The Billet-doux” was placed in the powder and patches days, a young beau indulging in a moment’s flirtation with the maid, who is about to take his missive to her mistress (the Misses Belton and Hill). ”Springtime” was a poetic conception of the ”Sweetness of the year.” So charming was the grace of the young girl (Miss Hinde), dreamily resting among the branches of a pink-blossomed almond tree, that the audience vainly tried to interrupt the progress of the series in order to gaze again at the dainty sight. ”Charity,” in which Senorita Candida and Miss Deroy appear, is a somewhat conventional subject, representing a benevolent patrician offering her fur cloak to a homeless wanderer as shelter against the falling snow. ”The Three Graces” needs no further explanation, when it is said that the Misses Hetty Hamer, Collier, and Marie Studholme formed the trio. The series was concluded by a study in bronze, ”The Defence of the Flag,” portraying a vigorous patriotic group; but several of the favourites had to be repeated before the audience was satisfied. Excellent alike in conception, mouthing, and representation, the ”Living Pictures” at the Empire will prove a strong attraction.”
(The Standard, London, Tuesday, 6 February 1894, p. 3c)

‘Tableaux Vivants at the EMPIRE. A noticeable addition has been made to the programme at the EMPIRE Theatre, which promises to crown the house for some time. Never behindhand when anything savouring of novelty is I the air, the management have now introduced a series of ”Living Pictures,” produced in the style which has long been familiar to pleasure-seekers in France, Germany, and Russia. Similar representations have, of course, been given in London, but of the EMPIRE tableaux there is only this to be said: they are as well done, as richly and effectively mounted as is possible, with no suggestion of tinsel or tawdriness. The dramatis personæ are the Misses Hetty Hamer, Marie Studholme, Sheppard, Deroy, Collier, Blowey, Madame Fionde, Señorita Candida, and Messrs. Lewington and Perkins. The ”Living Pictures” meet with a good reception nightly, and it will be a pity of they do not remain in the programme for a long time to come.’
(The Graphic, London, Saturday, 10 February 1894, p. 151b//c)

Whereas Mesdames Studhome, Collier and Hamer were then actresses or members of the chorus at the Gaiety and Prince of Wales’s Theatres in London, all the others mentioned in connection with the ‘Living Pictures’ were ballet dancers or pantomimists employed at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square. All were then under contract to the impresario George Edwardes.

Marie Studholme in the United States, 1895/96

a colour lithograph cigarette card issued in the United States in 1895 by the P. Lorillard Company for its ‘Sensation’ Cut Plug tobacco with a portrait of Marie Studholme (1872-1930), English musical comedy actress and singer, at the time of her appearances in America in An Artist’s Model
(printed by Julius Bien & Co, lithographers, New York, 1895)

An Artist’s Model, Broadway Theatre, New York, 27 December 1895
‘An Artist’s Model, as presented last night by George Edwardes‘ imported company, was received with frequent applause, and many of the musical numbers were redemanded. Still it is difficult to understand why the piece should have made such a hit in England, or why it should have been found necessary to bring over an English company to interpret it for the delectation of American audiences… .
‘Marie Studholme, the Daisy Vane of the cast, is fully as pretty as she has been heralded to be. What is more to the point, she acts, sings, and dances with coquettish archness and charming vivacity.’
(The New York Dramatic Mirror, New York, New York, Saturday, 28 December 1895, p. 16c)

‘Another transfer from Broadway is that of An Artist’s Model, which goes to the Columbia immediately after the close of its term in this city. Brooklyn gets it with the London company intact, including a group of good vocalists, a set of competent comedians, and, perhaps above all, a prize beauty in Marie P. Studholme [sic], whose loveliness of person is an object of quite reasonable admiration.’
(The Sun, New York, New York, Sunday, 9 February 1896, p. 3b)

Columbia Theatre, Brooklyn, week beginning Monday, 10 February 1896
‘George Edwardes’ company, direct from the Broadway Theatre, appeared on Monday evening in An Artist’s Model. The bright, catchy songs, funny situations, and pretty girls caught the fancy of a large and fashionable audience, and encores were the order of the evening. Maurice Farkoa‘s laughing song was a great hit, and Marie Studholme’s pretty face and cut manners took the chappies completely by storm. Others were pleased were Nellie Stewart, Allison Skipworth, Christine Mayne, and Lawrence D’Orsay.’
(The New York Dramatic Mirror, New York, New York, Saturday, 15 February 1896, p. 16c)

* * * * *

‘MARIE STUDHOLME.
‘Said to Be the Most Beautiful Woman in England.
‘The present attraction at the Broadway theater, New York, is An Artist’s Model, and the most potent magnet of that successful production is Miss Marie Studholme, who is almost universally conceded to be the most beautiful woman in all England. She was quite popular in London, but it is safe to assert that she has received more newspaper notices during the two weeks she has been in this country than had ever been accorded to her in the whole course of her theatrical career.
‘Miss Studholme is a Yorkshire lass. She was born in a little hamlet known as Baildon, near Leeds, about twenty-two years ago. She was exceptionally pretty, even as a child, and, being possessed of considerable vocal and histrionic ability, it was decided that she should become in time a grand opera prima donna. To this end a thorough training was considered necessary, and Miss Studholme accordingly made her debut in Dorothy, singing the role of Lady Betty. Her next London engagement was in La Cigale, in which she had only a small part. She suffered from ill health at about this time and found it necessary to return to her native village to recoup.
‘After a very brief retirement Miss Studholme was lured back to the British metropolis by an offer of the character of the bride in Haste to the Wedding, at the Trafalgar theater [27 July 1892, 22 performances]. There here remarkable winsomness of manner was first notices by the newspapers. An engagement in Betsy at the Criterion [22 August 1892] followed, and again the fair young actress found it necessary to go home to win back her health and strength, which have since never failed her.
‘She soon returned to the Shaftesbury theater [13 April 1893], where Morocco Bound was the attraction. Here she enjoyed a positive triumph, having been successful in no less than three parts in the piece – those originally assigned to Violet Cameron and Jennie McNulty, besides her own. The enterprising and octopian George Edwardes, recognizing that the little beauty was also possessed of extraordinary versatility, immediately made Miss Studholme an offer to join his Gaity [i.e. Gaiety Theatre] company. This was accepted, and then the Morocco Bound syndicate made her a more tempting proposition to remain. She would have preferred to stay where she was in the changed circumstances, but the agreement had already been signed, and Miss Gladys Stourton in A Gaity Girl [i.e. A Gaiety Girl] at the Prince of Wales’ theatre [14 October 1893]. Her success I that role was enormous, and when Mr. Edwardes was getting together a special company to send to the United States, Miss Studholme is said to have been his very first selection. His wisom is demonstrated by the columns of priase devoted to the little English artiste by the not infrequently hypercritical New York theatrical critics.’
(The Saint Paul Daily Globe, St. Paul, Minnesota, Sunday, 3 May 1896, p. 9c)

Marie Studholme and John Coates in An Artist’s Model, New York, 1895

a colour half-tone postcard photograph of Marie Studholme (1872-1930), English musical comedy actress, and John Coates (1865-1941), English tenor, as they appeared as Daisey Vane and Rudolph Blair in the American production of An Artist’s Model, at the Broadway Theatre, New York, on 23 December 1895. This musical comedy was originally produced at Daly’s Theatre, London, on 2 February 1895 with Letty Lind and Hayden Coffin as Vane and Blair.
(photo: Langfier, London, 1895; postcard published Miller & Lang of Glasgow and London, in its ‘National’ series, circa 1904)

Gabrielle Ray to be married, 1912

Gabrielle Ray (née Elizabeth Clifford Cook, 1883-1973), English musical comedy dancer and actress
(photo: Bassano, London, probably 1909)

‘POPULAR DANCER.
‘MISS GABRIELLE RAY TO MARRY.
‘Miss Gabrielle Ray, whose dainty dancing and fascinating manner have made her one of the most popular of musical comedy actresses, has become engaged to Mr Eric Loder, a young member of [one] of the most distinguished families in England (says ”Lloyd’s News” of January 14 [1912]).
‘He is wealthy, aged 23, younger son of the late Mr Alfred Loder, grandson of the late Sir Robert Loder, first baronet, and younger brother of Mr Basil Loder, who four years ago resigned his commission of the Scots Guards, and married Miss Barbara Deane, one of the most charming singers in Mr Seymour Hicks’s ”Gay Gordons” company.
‘No date has yet been fixed for the marriage. Both are now spending a holiday in Paris, and Mr Loder has been to see several plays with Miss Ray.
‘Miss Gabrielle Ray, who was described in the ”Temps” the other day as the prettiest actress on the English stage, and the most beautiful woman in England, is 26. She first appeared on the boards as a child of 10 at the old Princess’s Theatre. Subsequently she played other child parts, including Cupid in ”Little Red Riding Hood” at Richmond. Her chance came [in a touring production of ] ”The Belle of New York,” which [first] took London by storm in [1898] at the Shaftesbury Theatre when that house had come to be regarded as an unlucky one.
‘She played Mamie Clancy, and doubtless much of her insouciant but captivating ways which are now characteristic of her developed as she played in ”The Belle” on tour during two years. She was Miss Gertie Millar’s understudy in ”The Toreador” during its long run at the Gaiety, and after going to ”The Girl from Kay’s,” returned to the Gaiety in ”The Orchid.” ‘After that she was a leading feature of most of Mr Geo. Edwardes’s subsequent successes, notably, in the scene from Maxim’s in [the first London production of] ”The Merry Widow.” In the last Gaiety production, ”Peggy,” she was one of the trio of beauties. [The others were Phyllis Dare and Olive May]
‘She is now the picture postcard favorite and has already surpassed the vogue formerly enjoyed by Marie Studholme and Edna May. One photograph company has taken her in no less than a thousand poses, and over 10,000 copies have been sold of her dressed as Millais’s ”Bubbles,” a picture to which her child’s face was singularly adapted.’
(West Gippsland Gazette, Warragul, Victoria, Australia, Tuesday, 30 April 1912, p. 3d)

Gabrielle Ray, ‘whose dainty dancing and fascinating manner have made her one of the most popular of musical comedy actresses,’ 1912

Gabrielle Ray (née Elizabeth Clifford Cook, 1883-1973), English musical comedy dancer and actress
(photo: Bassano, London, probably 1909)

‘POPULAR DANCER.
‘MISS GABRIELLE RAY TO MARRY.
‘Miss Gabrielle Ray, whose dainty dancing and fascinating manner have made her one of the most popular of musical comedy actresses, has become engaged to Mr Eric Loder, a young member of [one] of the most distinguished families in England (says ”Lloyd’s News” of January 14 [1912]).
‘He is wealthy, aged 23, younger son of the late Mr Alfred Loder, grandson of the late Sir Robert Loder, first baronet, and younger brother of Mr Basil Loder, who four years ago resigned his commission of the Scots Guards, and married Miss Barbara Deane, one of the most charming singers in Mr Seymour Hicks’s ”Gay Gordons” company.
‘No date has yet been fixed for the marriage. Both are now spending a holiday in Paris, and Mr Loder has been to see several plays with Miss Ray.
‘Miss Gabrielle Ray, who was described in the ”Temps” the other day as the prettiest actress on the English stage, and the most beautiful woman in England, is 26. She first appeared on the boards as a child of 10 at the old Princess’s Theatre. Subsequently she played other child parts, including Cupid in ”Little Red Riding Hood” at Richmond. Her chance came [in a touring production of ] ”The Belle of New York,” which [first] took London by storm in [1898] at the Shaftesbury Theatre when that house had come to be regarded as an unlucky one.
‘She played Mamie Clancy, and doubtless much of her insouciant but captivating ways which are now characteristic of her developed as she played in ”The Belle” on tour during two years. She was Miss Gertie Millar‘s understudy in ”The Toreador” during its long run at the Gaiety, and after going to ”The Girl from Kay’s,” returned to the Gaiety in ”The Orchid.” ‘After that she was a leading feature of most of Mr Geo. Edwardes‘s subsequent successes, notably, in the scene from Maxim’s in [the first London production of] ”The Merry Widow.” In the last Gaiety production, ”Peggy,” she was one of the trio of beauties. [The others were Phyllis Dare and Olive May]
‘She is now the picture postcard favorite and has already surpassed the vogue formerly enjoyed by Marie Studholme and Edna May. One photograph company has taken her in no less than a thousand poses, and over 10,000 copies have been sold of her dressed as Millais’s ”Bubbles,” a picture to which her child’s face was singularly adapted.’
(West Gippsland Gazette, Warragul, Victoria, Australia, Tuesday, 30 April 1912, p. 3d)

Gabrielle Ray (née Elizabeth Clifford Cook, 1883-1973), English musical comedy dancer and actress
(photo: Bassano, London, probably 1909)

‘POPULAR DANCER.
‘MISS GABRIELLE RAY TO MARRY.
‘Miss Gabrielle Ray, whose dainty dancing and fascinating manner have made her one of the most popular of musical comedy actresses, has become engaged to Mr Eric Loder, a young member of [one] of the most distinguished families in England (says “Lloyd’s News” of January 14 [1912]).
‘He is wealthy, aged 23, younger son of the late Mr Alfred Loder, grandson of the late Sir Robert Loder, first baronet, and younger brother of Mr Basil Loder, who four years ago resigned his commission of the Scots Guards, and married Miss Barbara Deane, one of the most charming singers in Mr Seymour Hicks’s “Gay Gordons” company.
‘No date has yet been fixed for the marriage. Both are now spending a holiday in Paris, and Mr Loder has been to see several plays with Miss Ray.
‘Miss Gabrielle Ray, who was described in the “Temps” the other day as the prettiest actress on the English stage, and the most beautiful woman in England, is 26. She first appeared on the boards as a child of 10 at the old Princess’s Theatre. Subsequently she played other child parts, including Cupid in “Little Red Riding Hood” at Richmond. Her chance came [in a touring production of ] “The Belle of New York,” which [first] took London by storm in [1898] at the Shaftesbury Theatre when that house had come to be regarded as an unlucky one.
‘She played Mamie Clancy, and doubtless much of her insouciant but captivating ways which are now characteristic of her developed as she played in “The Belle” on tour during two years. She was Miss Gertie Millar’s understudy in “The Toreador” during its long run at the Gaiety, and after going to “The Girl from Kay’s,” returned to the Gaiety in “The Orchid.” ‘After that she was a leading feature of most of Mr Geo. Edwardes’s subsequent successes, notably, in the scene from Maxim’s in [the first London production of] “The Merry Widow.” In the last Gaiety production, “Peggy,” she was one of the trio of beauties. [The others were Phyllis Dare and Olive May]
‘She is now the picture postcard favorite and has already surpassed the vogue formerly enjoyed by Marie Studholme and Edna May. One photograph company has taken her in no less than a thousand poses, and over 10,000 copies have been sold of her dressed as Millais’s “Bubbles,” a picture to which her child’s face was singularly adapted.’
(West Gippsland Gazette, Warragul, Victoria, Australia, Tuesday, 30 April 1912, p. 3d)

Grace Palotta, Minnie Tittell Brune and Nellie Stewart

‘Greetings from Australia’, Rotary postcard 5330B, with photographs of
Grace Palotta, Minnie Tittell Brune and Nellie Stewart
(photos: various, the majority London, 1905 and circa)

This real photograph postcard, no. 5330B in the Rotary Photographic Series by the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd of London, was produced for export to Australia about 1907. This example has been decorated with tinsel and is hand tinted. The three main portraits are of actresses well known to Australian audiences: Grace Palotta (daughter of Charles Palotta and his wife Emma, née Kleinhenn; 1867?-1959), Australian by birth but of Viennese ancestry, who became popular in musical comedy in the 1890s and early 20th Century in London and on tour in Australia; Minnie Tittell Brune (b.1883), American actress who toured Australasia between 1904 and 1909 and was also active in the United States and the United Kingdom; and Nellie Stewart (1858-1931), the most popular of all native born Australian actresses, who also appeared in the United States and the United Kingdom. The other photographs are stock images of various actresses, singers and dancers, including Lily Elsie, Vesta Tilley, Marie Studholme, Dorothy Frostick, Phyllis and Zena Dare, Gertie Millar, Gabrielle Ray, Daisy Jerome, Mabel Love, Billie Burke and Camille Clifford. Other examples of this card are to be found in the National Library of Australia ( 1) and (2).

Miss Hook of Holland

a poster for George Dance’s UK touring company production of Paul Rubens’s successful ‘Dutch Musical Incident,’ Miss Hook of Holland, starring Marie Studholme as Sally, the part originated by Isabel Jay when the piece was first produced at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre, London, on 31 January 1907
(printed and published by David Allen & Sons Ltd, London and Belfast, 1907)

Marie Studholme (1875-1930)
English musical comedy actress
and postcard beauty, in The Geisha
(photo: Langfier, Glasgow, late 1890s)

This real photograph postcard, a ‘Midget Post Card’ in the Rotary Photographic Co Ltd’s Rotary Photographic Series (no. 6865i), published about 1902 or 1903, shows Marie Studholme as she appeared in The Geisha, first produced at Daly’s Theatre, London, on 25 April 1896. This highly successful musical play by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank and music by Sidney Jones, ran in London for 760 performances. Although Miss Studholme is said to have understudied Letty Lind as Molly Seamore in this production (The Green Room Book, 1909), the fact that this photograph was taken by Langfier in Glasgow suggests that she was in the cast of one of several touring versions of The Geisha that criss-crossed the United Kingdom during the late 1890s.

Marie Studholme was again seen as Molly Seamore in the revival of The Geisha at Daly’s, London, on 18 June 1906. The cast also included May de Sousa.